Looking at the eight barely defined abs on his stomach, Mo Fan was so thrilled that tears nearly fell.
Over half a year, he finally felt a trace of familiarity, experiencing the strength of being a demon for the first time!
His body brimmed with power, even without demonic energy, he felt he could crack stone with a single punch.
“My cultivation should now match Da Li’s, right?”
“How would I fare against the scorpion demon’s three close followers?”
Mo Fan muttered to himself, aware of his limits, not daring to compare himself to the scorpion demon. Even so, he was confident that soon, he’d have no need to fear it.
After all, the scorpion demon only relied on its high cultivation.
With these dragon loaches boosting his cultivation speed, Mo Fan felt his path ahead was clear, his confidence surging.
The next day.
When Mo Fan, sporting his snow-white toad belly, reached the back mountain, he saw the ox demon Da Li and the rabbit demon Red Eye each holding a spear.
Calling them spears was generous, they were just sharpened tree branches, about ten feet long and arm-thick, hardly intimidating.
“Brothers, what’s this about?” Mo Fan asked curiously.
“Oh, today’s our team’s turn to patrol the mountain, for half a month. As for these spears, the master ordered us to carry weapons to look more imposing, unlike the lazy riffraff of other patrol teams,” Da Li said with a grin, then added to Mo Fan, “After we pay respects to the master, I’ll get you one too!”
Mo Fan’s face twitched, thinking, “No surprise they’re demons, their style is so bizarre, you can’t judge them by human logic.”
He thanked Da Li for the gesture.
Soon, the few demons gathered, but the dog demon Lai Fu was missing.
“Don’t mention that mutt, he sneaked off early this morning, no sense of teamwork. I was counting on him to wake me!” the sparrow demon Zha Zha grumbled.
Da Li, quick-witted, asked in surprise, “Lai Fu slept in his dog den last night?”
“Yeah, don’t know why, he seemed preoccupied,” Zha Zha nodded, then glanced at Mo Fan, “Lai Bao, did you two fall out?”
Before Mo Fan could reply, Zha Zha muttered, “Figures, with that mutt’s character, few demons can stand him!”
Mo Fan just smiled, saying nothing, and the others didn’t press.
Such things were commonplace among Black Wind Mountain’s demons.
The four demons soon reached the scorpion cave, where Lai Fu stood alone, ignored by the three close followers, Old Eight and the others, clearly ostracised.
“Mutt, why’d you sneak off this morning without calling me?” Zha Zha cursed, waving his spear, visibly annoyed.
Lai Fu didn’t respond, glancing at Mo Fan before looking away, standing silently.
Mo Fan didn’t greet him either, instead exchanging pleasantries with the spider demon and the other two followers.
At sunrise, Old Eight, seeing all the demons gathered, called out respects to Hei Zi Yao Ding in the cave.
Soon, Hei Zi emerged, his gaze sweeping over the demons, lingering on Mo Fan before speaking, “Today starts our Ding’s patrol duty, for the next fifteen days. Yesterday, I met with the other Yao Dings, our Ding is assigned the east side of Black Wind Mountain.
“No need for long speeches. The usual rules, stay sharp on patrol. If you face tough decisions, consult Old Eight and the other three first.
“I don’t expect miracles, just don’t bring me trouble, or I won’t mind teaching you the pain of being skinned alive!”
“Understood?”
“Master, we’ll patrol diligently!” Lai Fu quickly pledged.
“Hm.”
Hei Zi nodded, then looked at Da Li, “It’s Lai Bao’s first patrol, look after him. Don’t let him take the mountain foot post, there might be demon hunters.”
“Yes, Master!” Da Li nodded.
“Oh, right, I see Lai Bao doesn’t have a patrol spear yet. Da Li, get him one later!
“Our Ding may not be the strongest, but we’ll be the most intimidating patrol team!”
“Got it!”
“Alright, off you go!”
Seeing he’d said enough, Hei Zi waved them off impatiently.
On the way, Zha Zha suddenly pouted, “Lai Bao, you’re one lucky sod. The master’s looking out for you, sparing you the mountain foot patrol. I’m dead jealous!”
“Exactly, I thought with a new demon, we’d finally dodge the foot patrol, but it’s still us two!” Red Eye grumbled glumly.
Mo Fan sneered inwardly, catching the scorpion demon’s true intent.
This wasn’t care, it was fear he’d escape.
The east side of Black Wind Mountain was where Mo Fan had come from, facing human territory, a perfect chance to flee if he wanted.
“If you brothers are jealous, swap posts with me!” Mo Fan said with a grin.
“Really? That’d be grand!” Red Eye perked up.
“What nonsense, you taking the master’s words lightly?” Lai Fu snorted, voice low, “The master said Lai Bao can’t patrol the foot!”
“Hey, when did you become the master’s lapdog?”
The demons started bickering, Mo Fan just smiled, though inwardly furious.
He hadn’t expected the scorpion to be so wary of him.
Though Lai Fu’s words annoyed the group, they didn’t dare defy the master. Mo Fan was assigned the safest mid-mountain patrol, while Zha Zha and Red Eye took the foot.
The reason? Their escape skills, one could fly, the other could burrow, making them harder to catch by demon hunters.
Though unhappy, the two didn’t dare complain.
Mo Fan’s frustration calmed, as his cave was at mid-mountain. While he couldn’t escape, it made checking on the dragon loaches’ evolution in the pool easier.
The only perk of patrolling was no daily respects to the scorpion, making cultivation more convenient.
The first few days, Mo Fan was diligent, but soon realised mid-mountain needed no real patrolling, no wild demons or hunters came here.
Instead, he met many idle demons from other Dings.
Over those days, he checked the loaches’ progress, but it was slow.
On the sixth night, Mo Fan finally saw all the loaches’ bodies turn golden, awakening from their slumber, thrilling him beyond measure.
This meant his plan worked, the loaches had evolved from the first to the second stage!
