Chapter 447 - 231: Half-Dan Demon

Chapter 447: Chapter 231: Half-Dan Demon

It’s said that a spear in the open is easy to dodge, but an arrow from the shadows is hard to prevent. The most dangerous enemies are often the ones lurking unseen.

Therefore, no matter the circumstances, increasing one’s own strength was always the most straightforward and effective way to defend against those ’hidden arrows’.

The three Incarnations—Zheng Shan, Zheng Baimei, and Zheng Er—floated above the Game Table with their eyes closed. Both the Zheng Shan and Zheng Baimei Incarnations had been ’killed’ once by the Crow Fosterer and had now been ’resurrected.’ From this, Zheng Xiu learned that it took about two months for a destroyed Incarnation to revive.

Although the destruction of an Incarnation didn’t prevent Zheng Xiu from using the Painter Deceitful Object, it did affect his overall strength. There seemed to be a kind of ’affinity’ between Deceitful Objects and Incarnations.

The Painter Deceitful Object had excellent affinity with Zheng Shan, making it feel completely natural to use. He had once tried to use the Evil Child to paint with the Deceitful Object, and the difference in the experience was obvious to Zheng Xiu.

This was also why Zheng Xiu wanted to find some way to change the ’Life and Death Struggle’ Restriction of the Heaven and Earth Sword Intent. It was just too taxing to use. Slaying ten thousand enemies at the cost of harming oneself by a hundred was a little hard to bear.

As his Prisoner Path advanced, a new, blank Incarnation appeared on the Game Table as a ball of mist. However, Zheng Xiu still hadn’t decided what kind of character to create next.

Zheng Xiu had vague ideas for the future Path advancements for Zheng Shan, Zheng Er, and Zheng Baimei, each with their own unique specialties. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out what he was missing.

’There’s no need to make another Mighty Man. There’s no need to make another child. And there’s definitely no need to make another Sword Saint.’

"I’ll think about it later."

In the end, Zheng Xiu decided to set aside the blank Incarnation for now and focus on upgrading his existing ones until he had a better idea.

First up was ’Machoman Zheng Shan.’

"Ugh..."

Zheng Xiu immediately moved on to the next one.

’For the foreseeable future, I don’t want anything to do with being a Painter.’

He had spent a full century in Gongsun Mo’s Cannibal Painting, sitting in an underground part of the Imperial Palace, painting without food or drink.

’I’m sick of it.’

’The very sight of a paintbrush makes me want to vomit.’

’I need to stay away from it for a while.’

The second Incarnation was ’Sword Saint Zheng Baimei.’

Without a doubt, the old man would continue down the path of a Sword Saint.

When creating the ’Sword Saint Zheng Baimei’ Incarnation, Zheng Xiu’s Talent, No Merchant Is Honest, had upgraded, allowing him to learn By Any Means Necessary. This caused his Scholarship stat to be exceptionally upgraded into Enlightenment. Now, Zheng Baimei’s Enlightenment was at the level of ’One Smell, Thousand Realizations,’ making him perfectly suited for the path of a Sword Saint.

’One sword to split the heavens.’

’No question about it.’

Finally, there was ’Evil Child Zheng Er.’

Zheng Xiu looked at the youth, who had a lotus mark between his brows.

’If Zheng Shan represents ’Strength’ as the most combat-capable Painter, and Zheng Baimei represents ’Wisdom’ as the most enlightened Sword Saint, then what path should the Evil Child take?’

’An exception to the rules?’

’Can I achieve another ’exceptional’ upgrade through other means, without using By Any Means Necessary?’

Currently, besides Innate Divine Power, the Evil Child’s most outstanding trait among the three Incarnations was his Constitution.

[Constitution: 36 (Righteous Qi Within, Evil Cannot Be Touched, Immune to Hundred Poisons)]

’Maybe I should try to focus on this?’

Zheng Xiu thought for half the night and came up with a preliminary plan for the future advancement paths of his three Incarnations.

Each would have its own specialty.

Just before leaving the Heart Prison, Zheng Xiu happened to notice that his Foreign Language Skill had leveled up.

[Foreign Language (Expert Skill): You spend your days and nights with a non-Human creature, becoming inseparable from it. As time passes, you can now occasionally understand Their ravings.]

’There was a subtle change in the Skill’s description. It went from "hear" to "understand," and the pronoun for the creatures changed from a simple "it" to a capitalized "Their."’

’It didn’t seem like a huge change.’

He could already vaguely understand what Little Feng Miao was saying, anyway.

It was limited to single words.

Positive words like ’handsome,’ ’honest,’ ’dedicated,’ ’friendly,’ or ’prosperous.’

’I must have misheard any insults.’

’Such a cute Orange Cat from the Darkness would never say mean things.’

「The next day.」

Early in the morning, Zheng Xiu saw Feng Bei sitting on the roof, holding the little cat and watching the sunrise.

Zheng Xiu thought for a moment and asked a Brotherhood member who had just finished his night shift to pass a message to Ji Hong’ou.

This unnamed Brotherhood member wore a black, hooded robe, a Sleeve Sword concealed beneath his clothes.

Hearing the Prince’s request, the Assassin couldn’t help but wonder.

’What does the Prince need so much poison for?’ he thought. ’If he really wants to poison someone, wouldn’t it be faster, safer, and more painless to just have Ji Hong’ou do her thing with the powders?’

But that was how the Brotherhood operated. No matter how absurd their lord’s request, they were happy to carry it out. After all, it was a chance to gain experience.

The Assassin readily agreed. He eagerly scrambled up, flipped onto the wall, and vanished after a few quick movements, cheerfully off to work overtime for the Prince.

"You’re going to meet with Gu Qiutang?"

As Zheng Xiu ordered his horse to be prepared, Feng Bei approached, holding the little Orange Cat. She raised her hand resolutely. "I’ll go with you."

Zheng Xiu could see the worry in Feng Bei’s eyes. She was afraid Gu Qiutang would suddenly attack and harm him. Just as he was about to say it was no problem, an idea struck him. A look of theatrical fear crossed his face. "That would be perfect! I’m afraid that guy won’t fight fair and will try to assassinate a prince... This prince is so, so scared."

He said this deliberately shameless line very loudly. Immediately, whistles rose and fell throughout the Red King Mansion, a subtle chorus of praise for the Prince’s ’caution.’

Feng Bei froze, and his words left her completely exasperated.

"You have to teach me the Zheng Clan’s secret signals!"

Listening to the endless, indecipherable whistles, Feng Bei puffed out her cheeks, feigning anger.

"Next time, for sure!" Prince Zheng readily agreed.

The two left side by side, and Zheng Xiu called for Yin Qingqing.

In the Red King Mansion, Yin Qingqing was as loyal as they came, arriving instantly whenever summoned. A moment later, she appeared before Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei, bowing deeply. "This servant, Qingqing, greets the Red King. What are your orders, Your Highness?"