Chapitre 5: 005 Heavenly Demon in a Time of Chaos_1
Conference Hall.
The Family Head, Feng Shiren, along with many important members of the Feng Family gathered together, watching Feng Jiu eat like spectators at a monkey show, occasionally checking his pulse to monitor the changes in his injuries.
Duge pinched Feng Jiu's cheeks, forcefully stuffing food into his mouth, domineering and unrefusable.
Feng Jiu's cheeks were bulging, like a squirrel with its mouth stuffed full of food. His eyes rimmed red, glaring at Duge who was feeding him, teeth grinding noisily as if he were chewing on Duge's flesh, the bastard, too bullying, just wait until I grow up, I'll bite you to death one bite at a time...
"Brother Jiu, right, keep chewing like that, swallow hard. You'll recover faster when you're well fed, and once you're recovered, you'll have the strength to hit me!" Duge was completely unconcerned by Feng Jiu's man-eating gaze and kept stuffing pastries into his mouth as if consoling a naive child, stubbornly maintaining their friendship while simultaneously enjoying the pleasant sensation of his enhanced physical condition.
At this moment, Duge couldn't tell if what he was doing amounted to upholding their bond or backstabbing, but the rapidly enhancing bodily strength wouldn't lie to anyone.
Duge mused that he was indeed a born actor; with this talent, if he had known earlier, he would have applied to film school back on Earth.
...
Witnessing that ordinary food actually had wondrous effects on Feng Jiu, everyone clicked their tongues in amazement, dispelling any lingering doubts about the body possession.
Listening to the whispers around him, Duge stopped feeding and made a serious suggestion, "Family Head, if you are still not at ease, you can severely injure Feng Jiu again to verify the effects."
At those words, the always strained expression on Feng Jiu's face completely collapsed. He struggled and hysterically screamed, "Feng Qi, you dog, why don't you experiment on yourself?"
"Don't be angry, Brother Jiu, it's just because the keywords work faster on you than they do on me." Duge flicked off the crumbs from his clothing, unruffled, "For the benefit of the team, what's wrong with making some minor sacrifices? Just bear with it, after a few more bites you'll recover anyway..."
"Bear my ass, I'll kill you..." Veins bulged on Feng Jiu's forehead, his face turning beet red. If it weren't for his pressure points being sealed, he would have pounced and bitten Duge's neck by now.
"Mr. Jiu, stay calm. Mr. Seven was merely joking with you." Family Head Feng Shiren coughed once, naturally changing the way he addressed them both, "Since both gentlemen chose to possess bodies and enter our Feng Family, that makes you part of the Feng Family, and as such, you should help each other..."
With that, he approached Feng Jiu and personally unsealed his pressure points, also signalling a servant to bring him hot tea.
Feng Jiu picked up the teacup and gulped it down, giving Duge a cold look. Now that he had regained his freedom, he oddly lacked his earlier impulsiveness.
Duge didn't turn around, but his rear eye was always observing Feng Jiu.
At this moment, he felt Feng Jiu's behavior was like a dog tethered by reins and then suddenly released, unaccountably amusing to him.
It must be said, the fellow's performance was a bit overdone, with all acting relying on glowering and roaring. If there really were a school for performing arts in the real world, he'd probably be ranked among the worst students!
Of course, it was also possible he was deliberately exhibiting such an exaggerated demeanor to lull himself into complacency.
Feng Jiu was trained in the craft, certainly knowing much more about simulated environments than he did. His current impulsiveness was distinctly different from his own state upon awakening.
In the current situation, an impulsive and irritable personality clearly was more likely to win the Feng Family's favor.
Everyone knows that a person whose thoughts are straightforward and impulsive is easier to control.
One mustn't underestimate anybody.
But no matter the situation, Duge wasn't too worried. Although Feng Jiu retained his original memories and martial skills, he hadn't eaten much, and his injuries had not fully healed. And since Duge himself had developed skills like Sacrifice Oneself for Justice and the Rear Eye, with skyrocketing physical condition, he didn't need to worry about a sudden violent outburst from him.
Duge also discovered that when he emphatically protected the interests of the Feng Family, the enhancement to himself wasn't limited to injury recovery, but also bolstered his attributes such as strength and sensory perception.
Only then did Duge unravel his confusion.
If the keywords only helped one to recover and provided some unreliable skills, one would be utterly unable to navigate the gaming world.
Take, for example, the current world, where only half a year remained until the Martial Worlds competition.
Even a genius could not hope to stand against lifelong martial artists within a mere half a year, unless they possessed the body of a martial world expert.
However, combining the examples of him and Feng Jiu, Duge guessed that the probability of directly possessing a martial world expert was likely very low.
Whereas keywords that enhance physique and senses, in addition to skills, could level that gap...
Feng Shiren looked towards Duge again and smile-asked, "Would Mr. Seven care to elaborate on the matter of body possession?"
"Yesterday, a spatial rift opened between this world and the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm is barren, and three thousand Heavenly Demons seized the opportunity to enter the Mortal Realm, wishing to enjoy its prosperity," Duge grinned, glancing around at everyone, and laid out the backstory he had thought up beforehand, "Heavenly Demons lack form, and to establish themselves in this world, their first step is to possess bodies and be reborn..."
...
"A spatial rift?"
"The Demon Realm?"
"Heavenly Demons from beyond?"
...
The members of the Feng Family all changed color, shocked beyond belief.
Some of the more timid looked at Duge and Feng Jiu, subconsciously stepping back. It must be said, the transformation on both of their persons indeed seemed demonic.
If it were only the possession of some wandering ghost, then it would have been nothing...
But Heavenly Demons!
In the Martial Worlds, those nicknamed as demons, which one of them hasn't stained their hands with fresh blood?
Listening to the reasons that Duge was fabricating out of thin air, Feng Jiu silently drank his tea without uttering a word. He wasn't troubling Duge, not because he had a change of heart, but because he had discovered a terrifying truth.
This fact even made him temporarily forget his hatred towards Feng Qi.
His stomach was a bit sore.
A stomachache wasn't a big deal, likely a side effect of gnawing on the grass mat.
What was key though, was that he was full!
Before.
When Feng Jiu had been munching on the grass mat, he hadn't felt that there was too much of a problem with it.
But the Feng Family, in order to test his ability, had kept forcing him to eat, to the point where he was now so stuffed he could hardly drink his tea.
Gluttony had given him a simple way to improve, but had not granted him the corresponding stomach capacity…
Damn it!
How did this happen?
If he couldn't keep eating, how could he surpass Duge?
As he watched Duge talk eloquently in front of everyone, a sour taste filled Feng Jiu's heart. Why had such an advantageous keyword been given to such a morally bankrupt scoundrel?
"Are all the demons outside the Three Thousand Realms like the two gentlemen?" Feng Shiren lifted his eyelids slightly, not showing too much concern for Duge's words.
He was the Family Head, not one to believe everything he was told. Even if what Duge said was true, he would need to verify it before taking action.
"More or less," Duge said.
"Do Heavenly Demons harm the Mortal Realm?" Feng Yunjie, young and curious about supernatural forces, couldn't help but ask.
"Some do, some don't. How should I put it? Heavenly Demons pay more attention to enjoyment and self-improvement," Duge said with a smile. "Heavenly Demons sound fearsome, but they aren't as complicated as humans. Each Heavenly Demon possesses its own attribute, that's the keyword Feng Jiu mentioned earlier. We must resonate with our own attributes to grow.
For example, my attribute is protection. Everything I do must consider others, maintaining and protecting the interests of others. If my actions deviate from protection, my abilities will be severely weakened. Hence, my attribute is supportive and harmless; Feng Jiu's attribute is much simpler - eating allows him rapid growth, so it's neither good nor bad.
If it's an evil star with malicious attributes like cruelty or deceit, they indeed might harm the Mortal Realm…"
MMP!
Hearing Duge continue to expose his flaws, Feng Jiu glared at him, secretly clenching his teeth in resentment. Gluttony was such a good keyword. If it weren't for this bastard, how could he have fallen to this point?
Right.
It wasn't that his keyword was no good.
Gluttony was a keyword that unleashed its power later on. If he just hid away and gorged himself, someday he would rise to prominence. Now that his weaknesses had been revealed by Feng Qi, he was at others' mercy, and it was all his fault.
He had to find a way to turn the tables...
After pondering for a moment, Feng Jiu didn't expose the lies that Duge had spun, but instead interrupted him, saying, "Family Head, I have figured it out. I will truly cooperate with the Feng Family. You all have seen it, Feng Qi is duplicitous. Today he supports the Feng Family, but tomorrow for greater interests, he might support others. With me here to check him, it is more advantageous for the Feng Family..."
Feng Shiren looked at Feng Jiu in surprise, silently shaking his head. Demons and such were things he didn't understand, with too many uncontrollable factors.
The simplest method would actually be to kill them, to set everything at rest, but if they tore at each other, that would be easy to handle. He could use them to check each other and then profit from the situation.
Duge chuckled, shaking his head, "Family Head, don't listen to his instigations. Protection is my instinct. If I betray my protection target, my divine skills will be greatly weakened, and I won't do such foolish things. Besides, I belong to the Feng Family; rushing out to protect others wouldn't work unless they trust me. Protecting the Feng Family, achieve more with less effort; protecting others, achieve less with more effort."
"Feng Qi, ask yourself, have you not betrayed me? You sold me out for the support of the Feng Family, and in the future, you might sell out the Feng Family for greater benefits. As long as the person or power guaranteed to be protected is stronger than before, your weakness won't show," Feng Jiu countered sharply.
Gluttony had too many early restrictions, and Duge was cunning. He had to ensure his survival first, then consider other things.
Moreover, since he didn't have the ability to keep eating, ensuring the quality of food became the prerequisite for his growth. Drinking Feng Qi's blood had a much better effect than gnawing on a grass mat. In this case, staying with the Feng Family was a good choice.
After all, the Feng Family was large and influential, safer than venturing out alone. Imagine the pity if he should eat something recklessly outside, get gastroenteritis, and die.
"Brother Jiu, are you feeling guilty? I chose a much broader path than the one you set for running away from the Feng Family, which is countless times higher in starting point. This is to protect our mutual interests. How can this be called betrayal?" Duge said, "Anyone judging would deem the path I chose better than yours. Running away from the Feng Family would indeed be betrayal, which could trigger the Feng Family's pursuit, and put my life at risk every day. One day of protection, lifelong protection. If one gets used to betrayal, repeatedly going back and forth, how can one grow?"
"..." Feng Jiu scoffed coldly, "Smooth talker."
Duge just smiled, "Brother Jiu, what you understand by protection is a narrow concept, whereas my understanding is a broad concept of protection…"
Feng Shiren twirled his beard as he watched the two argue, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Argue!
The fiercer, the better.
The fiercer your arguments, the more information you reveal.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone