Mo Fan’s words immediately sparked great interest among the demon kings.
Of course, their so-called interest was limited only to the “great gift” Mo Fan mentioned, namely the human race holy land cultivation techniques!
Although these great demons had occasionally sent their subordinate little demons to the Southern Frontier to capture “blood food”, in truth they harboured an innate fear of the human race.
This fear stemmed precisely from the legends of those powerful human cultivators.
The reason was simple. They had heard that human cultivators all possessed the ability to move mountains, sever rivers, and fill seas. Moreover, every one of them harboured deep hatred for the demon race and took special pride in slaying demons.
Over the past thousand years, although demons had occasionally raided the Southern Frontier lands to plunder humans, far more demons had been hunted down and killed by humans.
The human race had a clear hierarchy. There were village guardians who protected settlements, demon hunters who raised the righteous banner of “subduing demons and exterminating evil” to target minor demons, and even great human powers who showed no mercy and specially targeted great demons!
One could say the demon race was suffocated under the human race’s pressure precisely because of those lofty human cultivators and great powers.
Although many little demons remained unclear about the situation, these demon kings understood it all too well.
Yet while fearing human cultivators in their hearts, they naturally also envied the cultivation techniques of the human race.
Why were humans so prosperous?
Apart from their strict and orderly laws, the greatest reason was the dazzling array of cultivation techniques and the immensely powerful spells.
Although almost all those invited by Mo Fan were demon kings, in reality they did not have a particularly deep understanding of human cultivators.
These demon kings, at most three to five hundred years old since their birth, had already seen the pattern of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains take shape. They had never ventured deep into the Southern Frontier, and human cultivators, fearing the might of the Fire Phoenix Sacred King, also dared not penetrate deeply into the Fengming Mountain demon domain.
So these demon kings rarely encountered human cultivators face to face, but they had heard plenty!
In recent years, they would occasionally hear that this or that demon king had been slain by a human great power, or that another demon king had been collared and turned into a mount…
Who could hear such things and not feel afraid?
Now Mo Fan was saying he could gift them human cultivation techniques and spells. Naturally, this sent a huge shock through the hearts of these King Realm great demons.
On the other hand, the matter of learning unfamiliar characters was not taken seriously by the demon kings at all.
As lofty demon kings, they could not be bothered to waste time learning useless writing. In many demon kings’ eyes, rather than spending time studying characters, it was better to embrace a soft-waisted demon concubine and sleep soundly.
Between tedious study and the warmth of a gentle embrace, everyone knew which to choose.
Although that was the thought in their hearts, no one dared to openly refuse in front of Mo Fan. They all put on warm smiles and readily agreed.
To leave a good impression on Mo Fan, a large group of demon kings even began showering him with flattery nonstop.
Some praised him as a young talent, others called him a model for the demon kings of Fengming Mountain, some hailed him as a demon race hero who feared no authority and dared to fight demon ancestors, and there were even those who said he had leapt through the dragon gate with the body of a toad…
In short, they spouted endless extravagant praise. While Mo Fan kept a smile on his face, he also involuntarily darkened inside…
If you can speak, then say more. If you cannot speak, then shut your mouth for this king. No one thinks you are mute!
Mo Fan grumbled inwardly. Still, overall this first meeting went fairly smoothly. Though a bit rough, it could be considered a success.
Soon, Mo Fan took out a large sheet of beast hide. Written densely upon it were rows of symbols, all in the demon race script he had created himself.
“Come, come, brothers. Before we officially begin the sermon and transmission of the law, please first leave your great names on this hide, and also drop a drop of your vital blood!”
Mo Fan spoke with a beaming smile. This immediately made the demon kings grow wary. They did not understand what he meant.
“Black Wind King, what… what is the meaning of this? It is just a sermon and transmission of the law. Why do we need to sign and leave vital blood?” one demon king asked warily.
“Exactly. This beast hide would not happen to be some treasure for controlling demons, would it? If we sign and drop blood, are you not going to refine us into puppets?”
“Right! Black Wind Demon King, you had better explain properly. Otherwise, who would dare to sign?”
“Signing is secondary. The main issue is that we cannot even write! What exactly are all these characters written on it?”
“…”
For a moment, the demon kings began discussing animatedly. They all harboured doubts about Mo Fan’s action.
Some cleverer demon kings immediately ordered the literate little demons they had brought to step forward. They wanted to see what exactly was written on the beast hide and whether it posed any harm to them.
Among them was Tuli King.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and quietly took a step back. Then he barked at a gaunt demon general beside him. “Little Baopi, go forward and see what exactly is written on that beast hide!”
“Right away, Great King!”
Little Baopi immediately obeyed. He leaned in for a close look, then returned with a bitter face.
“How was it?” Tuli King looked at Little Baopi expectantly and asked. “What is written on it?”
He had high hopes for Little Baopi. The fellow might lack other talents, but he was exceptionally good at reading. He had even boldly borrowed “blood food” from him once just to learn writing, because that blood food was a human schoolteacher.
So Little Baopi could truly be considered the foremost talent in his Tuli Temple!
“Great King, I… I do not know either…”
Little Baopi spoke helplessly.
“What?!” Tuli King glared, quite angered. But he quickly calmed himself and asked. “Truly not a single character recognised?”
“Great King, truly not a single one.” Little Baopi nodded. Then he added with a puzzled look. “However, I noticed that some of the characters on it greatly resemble those on the jade slip you received last time.”
Tuli King immediately looked enlightened and nodded. “This king understands.”
Not only had Little Baopi failed, but so had all the so-called “talents” under the other demon kings. None of them could make sense of the writing on the beast hide.
Mo Fan was not in a hurry. He let them inspect it freely. Only after all the demon cultivators had retreated did he smile and say. “Brothers, there is no need to worry. This beast hide is not some treasure. If you do not believe me, feel free to verify it yourselves!”
“The reason for asking you to sign and drop blood is merely for a sense of ceremony. Er… you can understand it as a formal etiquette. This king calls this etiquette ‘signing in’!”
Etiquette?
The demon kings exchanged glances. Some doubters immediately went over to test it personally. They found that the beast hide was indeed not a treasure. There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy or demonic energy at all. It really was just an ordinary piece of beast hide.
“We demons have always been free and unfettered. We have never needed any etiquette. Black Wind King, there is absolutely no need for you to make this fuss!”
Some demon king sneered coldly, showing great disdain for this so-called “signing in” etiquette.
Hearing this, Mo Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. At the same time, he released the powerful aura unique to the peak of the King Realm. He grinned and said. “No. This king thinks it is very necessary!”
“Brothers, do not forget. This is Black Wind Mountain. This is this king’s territory!
Since all of you came upon this king’s invitation, you should follow the rules this king has set!”
“In other words, on this mountain, this king’s rules are the rules!”
