Qi Yuan kept the matter of the invitation in mind.
Still, a Demon Slaying Assembly three hundred years later?
How could he possibly wait that long?
In three hundred years, even the Qing dynasty would have risen and fallen!
Paying it no further heed, he logged off at lightning speed.
When the annoying wooden cat puppet began meowing incessantly once more, Qi Yuan didn't bother tossing another dried wooden fish into its mouth this time.
He stood up, patted the wooden cat puppet on the head, and looked out at the glorious morning light. "The whole day's work depends on a good start in the morning!"
Shaking off his lethargy, his gaze swept into his storage bag.
The moment he saw the mountain of books and cultivation method jade slips piled inside, his face fell.
"I came to another world, and I still have to work 996!"
At the Black Mountain Sect, Qi Yuan had gone to great lengths to empty out their Library Pavilion of all its books and cultivation method jade slips.
To Qi Yuan, cultivation methods were the most important thing.
After all, most cultivation methods in this world were not suited for him.
He needed to read other books, use the information his eyes perceived, accumulate knowledge, and ultimately perfect his own cultivation method.
Last time, when he used his junior sister Jiang Lingsu's cultivation jade slips—over six hundred methods—even skimming through them had taken him two whole days.
And now, what he had to read was far more than six hundred methods, and books were much harder to absorb than jade slips.
On top of that, last time had only been Qi Refinement cultivation methods, so a quick skim was enough. Now, to perfect his Foundation Establishment method, he had to examine them thoroughly.
With this many books, there was no way he could finish them in a single month.
Qi Yuan buried his head in the books and read with earnest concentration.
He studied them with utmost focus.
For this was the very foundation for creating his Foundation Establishment method.
He studied these dry methods more conscientiously than advanced calculus.
Alas, his reading speed was terribly slow; each method took ages, utterly incomparable to quantum speed-reading.
"I’d better achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment soon so I can project my divine sense. That way reading won't be so exhausting." Qi Yuan flipped through a book, thinking that divine sense was truly a wonderful thing.
Unfortunately, only after reaching the Foundation Establishment realm could one project divine sense for quantum speed-reading.
...
For several days in a row, Qi Yuan spent his days reading books and his nights online playing the game.
With Xiao Jia's buffs, Qi Yuan was already powerful enough to walk brazenly through the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground.
Although he still couldn't slay the Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign, as his strength grew, he was now capable of hurting it.
The terrifying Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign was completely helpless against Qi Yuan as well.
It could only watch Qi Yuan go on a slaughtering spree across the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground.
"Mighty Sword Skull Cracker!"
"I don't have a head! How are you going to crack my skull?"
As usual, Qi Yuan dubbed voices for the robe monsters in the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground, entertaining himself to inject a bit of fun.
Otherwise, the dull grind of monster farming would simply be too tedious.
His experience bar skyrocketed.
At Level 89, he was not far from Level 90.
From a distance, Qi Yuan glanced at the Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign flying over. "Time to bolt."
He couldn't be bothered to fight the Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign; it was better to wait until he reached Level 90, when he would have much better odds.
Qi Yuan quickly backed out.
He had killed enough for today; he couldn't stay online any longer or his brain wouldn't be able to take it.
Disengaging his fusion with Xiao Jia, Qi Yuan dug a pit as usual.
Suddenly, he spotted several translucent purple fruits growing on a crooked tree in the graveyard.
They looked like a cross between grapes and apples.
He picked a few and took a bite. A tartness reminiscent of waxberries burst across his taste buds. "Pretty good. Want one?"
He held it out to Xiao Jia.
Xiao Jia didn't respond.
Qi Yuan sighed. "No mouth, can't eat, and can't... yeah, this marriage definitely has to end in divorce!"
Xiao Jia felt wronged and slid out a wooden plaque that read "Snuggle."
Qi Yuan chuckled, scooped Xiao Jia into his arms, and burrowed into the pit.
He settled into a comfortable position, lying there like a salted fish on a bed, embracing the chilly Xiao Jia while sending a message to Jin Li.
Only, he looked down at the well-behaved, cute, and quiet Xiao Jia.
He paused.
*I already have a wife, yet I'm chatting with a female netizen—does this count as cheating?*
It seemed that after the divorce, the court would definitely order him to compensate her.
He owned nothing in the world except a great sword.
Putting the thought aside, Qi Yuan fell into his daily chat with Jin Li.
Jin Li was like a night breeze by the river, cool and gentle, brushing against one like a drizzle of fine rain.
"Has Sima Ting made any moves?"
"Be careful."
"I'm almost done clearing the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground. Maybe I can help you then."
"Good night. Too sleepy. Can't stay up late gaming anymore; gotta get up and read in the morning."
Looking at these messages, Jin Li, dressed in thin silk gauze, replied with a "Good night" as well.
At this moment, a cloud of worry lingered over her face.
A few days ago, a Sovereign-rank powerhouse from the prime minister's manor had died mysteriously and horribly.
For Jin Li, this was undoubtedly a good thing, yet she couldn't bring herself to feel happy at all.
Sima Ting and she maintained a delicate balance.
Now that a Sovereign-rank powerhouse had perished, Sima Ting might stop caring about saving face and legitimacy, and force a palace coup.
Lately, troop movements in Southern Qian had been extremely frequent.
Jin Li could already sense the sharp edge of the military formations; a murderous aura permeated the capital.
And all she could rely on was barely a thousand Imperial Guards.
Imperial authority had been shelved away twenty years ago.
How could she possibly turn the tide now?
Exhausted and overwhelmed with drowsiness, Jin Li slowly drifted off to sleep.
What she didn't know was that inside the prime minister's manor, a momentous event was being plotted.
The once arrogant and noble chancellor, Sima Ting, now hunched his back like a lapdog.
Beside him were two people: one fat, one thin.
The fat one was the very arch-demon Sima Ting least wanted to see.
In his early years, when rising to power, he had relied on this arch-demon's strength.
This served as leverage against him.
The thin one was a Sovereign-rank powerhouse from the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect.
He hadn't expected the two of them to be in cahoots.
And now, the two most powerful factions in this world had cast their sights upon Southern Qian.
The pressure weighed squarely on his shoulders.
The thin Sovereign narrowed his eyes. "Sima Ting, it's just a bunch of mortal troops. Why grieve over them? This will be recorded as a great merit for you. In three years, when the Sacred Lord's plan succeeds, out of these dozen or so nations, whichever one you want will be yours."
The demon Sovereign laughed heartily. "Those who achieve great things do not sweat the small stuff."
A short while ago, their demon clan had coordinated with the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Lord's body double to slay the true Heavenly Fortune Sacred Lord.
As compensation, the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect ceded Southern Qian to the demon race.
And now, this demon Sovereign had arrived carrying a decree from a Supreme Sovereign to act as the vanguard.
The vanguard's task was simple: exhaust Southern Qian's military strength while simultaneously forging a supreme sovereign artifact—the Bloodless Sovereign Staff.
The conditions required to forge this sovereign staff were extremely harsh.
That was why he had contacted the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect to put pressure on Sima Ting.
They forced Sima Ting to mobilize troops into the capital.
By setting up a massive formation to amass the murderous aura of the battle arrays and then slaughtering the entire city to push the blood essence to its peak, they could create the supreme sovereign artifact, the Bloodless Sovereign Staff.
And what this required sacrificing was Sima Ting's foundation.
His army, and the entire capital of Southern Qian.
Sima Ting wanted to object, but facing the two mightiest powers in this world, he could only bow his head.
Right now, his very life was in the hands of others.
Hearing the benefits promised by the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect's powerhouse, he had no choice but to swallow them.
"Everything shall be done according to your instructions, my lords. All the armies are already marching into the city."
Previously, Sima Ting had deployed the troops outside the imperial capital.
Now, bringing them inside would be very swift.
"Sima Ting, very good. You have ambition and know when to yield. The Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect will not treat you poorly." The thin Sovereign patted Sima Ting's shoulder, well pleased. "Once this matter is concluded, there will be a Palace Elder plaque for you. Within the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect, your status will be no lower than mine."
Hearing this, Sima Ting felt a surge of joy.
That was what he truly craved.
With the plaque of a Palace Elder, he would become a player overlooking more than a dozen nations.
Rather than what he was now: even with great power, still merely a pawn with no control over his own fate.
"Thank you, my lord!"
The demon Sovereign grinned broadly. "I hear your empress of Southern Qian is a stunning beauty of heavenly grace. I've always liked collecting drinking vessels. When the capital falls, save that empress's head for me. A beauty's skull—and an empress at that—used to hold wine, the flavor is bound to be exquisite. Nothing could be more fitting."
Sima Ting felt a chill run down his spine at the words, but he still nodded in agreement. "Understood!"
Chapter 47