Chapter 32: Chop Him Down!

On the rockery platform beside the bathing pool, Zheng Fan lay facedown while Feng Siniang massaged him.

“That damned zombie. He really doesn’t know how to go easy.”

Looking at the patches of bruising covering Zheng Fan’s back, Feng Siniang would have been lying if she said she did not feel distressed.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Zheng Fan did not mind.

Instead, he comforted her.

“Other people train by standing under waterfalls getting hammered by the current, or carrying giant turtle shells on forced marches.

“Compared with that, I’ve got it pretty comfortable.”

Zheng Fan had never imagined that one day he would actually practice martial arts.

In his previous life, he had believed that “martial arts” were real.

He also believed there were genuine martial artists in the world.

They probably just were not as fantastical as wuxia novels made them sound.

As for all those “masters” and “grandmasters” online, he treated them as entertainment.

True skill required years of bitter training from childhood onward.

Zheng Fan knew perfectly well that he could never have endured that kind of hardship.

But circumstances were stronger than men.

Even he had never expected that a manga-loving shut-in like himself would die and somehow end up in another world.

Whether for his own sake or for the sake of these subordinates, he had no choice but to train himself.

“Master, can’t we change the way you train?” Feng Siniang suggested.

Cultivating as a warrior was a little too slow.

And it was far too easy to cripple yourself doing it.

“Mm? What do you mean?”

“This world doesn’t only have warriors.

“Master could cultivate something else.

“As long as it makes you stronger, isn’t that enough?”

“Something else?”

“I’ve heard that if a mage has good talent, their cultivation can advance by leaps and bounds.”

“Uh...”

“And mages generally have nice, delicate skin too.”

“We’ll talk about that later.

“For now I should temper my body and learn some basic killing techniques.

“There’s no harm in that.”

Zheng Fan understood the principle that one should not abandon something halfway through.

He was not about to look for a shortcut merely because he had suffered for a few days.

“Then... you could have A’Ming bite you once.

“You should be able to obtain the constitution of a low-level vampire.”

“Become a vampire?”

This suggestion genuinely tempted Zheng Fan.

A vampire’s recovery ability far surpassed that of an ordinary human.

That directly meant a dramatic increase in his chances of survival.

Even though he had already started training, Zheng Fan did not believe there would ever come a day when he could charge into battle ahead of these Demon Kings under him.

He was only a mascot.

As long as he kept sitting safely in the rear and did not die, that alone was the greatest support he could give his subordinates.

If conditions allowed, he could even pick up a few buffs for himself.

Maybe restore mana to the whole party, or heal everyone at once.

“Mm-hm.

“I’ll bring it up with A’Ming later.

“His strength hasn’t recovered much yet, so the number of First Embraces he can perform should be limited.

“But no matter what, we’re family.

“Rather than letting an outsider benefit, better to keep the fertile water in our own field.

“Wouldn’t you agree, Master?”

“Mm...”

At first, Zheng Fan was still awake enough to chat with Feng Siniang.

Gradually, however, he could not hold out any longer.

He drifted into a hazy sleep.

Seeing this, Feng Siniang picked up a blanket nearby and covered Zheng Fan with it.

Then she quietly left.

After stepping outside and closing the door, she had only just turned around when her gaze instantly sharpened.

All around her, fine threads like spider silk suddenly drew taut.

“Cough... it’s me.”

The figure that had silently appeared in the shadows spoke.

It was the Blind Man Bei.

Feng Siniang let out a long breath.

The threads around her withdrew.

She complained, “It’s the middle of the night. If you’re going to wander around, can’t you carry a lantern?

“Standing there out of nowhere like that—what if you scare someone to death?”

“Me?

“Carry a lantern?”

“Yes.

“Even if it doesn’t help you, at least it helps everyone else.

“It’s not as though you don’t know what you’re like.

“You can use mental power to block other people’s perception of you.”

“Fine. From now on, I’ll carry a lantern when I go out at night.”

“Something happen?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.

“But don’t talk here.

“Master has already fallen asleep.

“Don’t disturb him.”

“All right.

“To the pavilion.”

...

Feng Siniang was somewhat surprised to discover that quite a few people were already sitting inside the pavilion.

Liang Cheng, A’Ming, Xue San, and Fan Li were all there.

Several simple dishes had even been prepared on the stone table.

“Oh?

“Are we having a meeting?”

Feng Siniang sat down in the empty seat beside Liang Cheng.

Then she sniffed curiously.

“What smells so nice?”

Liang Cheng’s expression tightened slightly.

“Oh-ho-ho...”

Feng Siniang covered her mouth and laughed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she even glanced at A’Ming sitting opposite.

“Looks like you two really are close.

“You only just made the stuff.

“Master and I haven’t even used it yet, and you already gave him some.”

“Cough, cough...”

The Blind Man Bei cleared his throat.

“Let’s discuss serious business.”

“Serious business?

“Oh, right.

“A’Ming, bite Master sometime.”

A’Ming shook his head.

“I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s impossible right now.

“I’ve recovered too little of my power.

“If I turn Master into my First Embrace now, Master would gain some recovery ability beyond that of an ordinary human.

“But in about half a year, he would degenerate into a beast that only knows how to drink human blood.

“He would even lose his reason.”

Feng Siniang calculated for a moment.

“Honestly... that doesn’t sound too bad.

“Would his lifespan increase?”

“As long as he had enough fresh human blood, theoretically he could live past a hundred.”

“Heh.

“That isn’t completely out of the question.

“Ah, but there’s one problem.

“If Master loses his mind, and we go lick his boots, would he still be able to feel it?”

A’Ming considered this seriously.

“When humans keep feeding dogs, after long enough the dogs still wag their tails at them.”

“Let’s discuss serious business.”

The Blind Man Bei could no longer resist interrupting.

Fuck.

This was gross disrespect toward their lord!

Everyone in the pavilion subconsciously straightened their backs.

The Blind Man Bei nodded in satisfaction, as though he could actually see them.

“The topic of tonight’s group meeting is...”

The Blind Man Bei poured the wine from his cup onto the table.

The liquid was drawn upward by an invisible force.

It floated in the air and formed two words:

Cultivation.

“Liang Cheng.

“Tell us about Master’s training over the past few days.”

Liang Cheng had been responsible for Zheng Fan’s training lately.

Naturally, he would be the first to report.

“Master had absolutely no combat experience before.

“He knew no forms.

“He didn’t know how to use his body.

“And his reactions weren’t sharp enough.”

Because Master was not here, no one objected.

“However...”

That turn in Liang Cheng’s sentence made everyone present prick up their ears.

Obviously, none of them truly wanted their boss to be useless.

Of course, whether Master was useless or talented, everyone would continue respecting him, protecting him, cherishing him, and licking his boots exactly as before.

“Master is very strong.”

“How strong?” A’Ming asked.

“Master has been awake for less than a month.

“Logically speaking, after lying unconscious for half a year, even with the best possible care, all aspects of his physical condition should have deteriorated greatly.

“Without at least half a year of recovery afterward, it should have been difficult for him to return to normal.

“But Master’s strength is already comparable to that of an adult man who trains in martial arts regularly.”

Xue San pursed his lips.

The image immediately appeared in his mind of the man on the battlefield whose head Master had taken off with a single stroke.

“Mm.

“The problem probably lies here.”

The Blind Man Bei flicked a finger.

The two floating words, “Cultivation,” dissolved into liquid and streamed into his mouth.

He swallowed them.

Then he continued, “I’ve always had one question.

“What exactly is the concrete relationship between the recovery of our power and Master?

“One thing can already be confirmed.

“We need Master’s recognition.

“So the principle of licking Master’s boots unconditionally must never waver.”

Everyone nodded together.

If not for power, who would willingly be a bootlicker?

But if a little bootlicking could restore their strength, was there any better bargain in the world?

They were all adults.

There was nothing to be coy or embarrassed about.

“The problem is that although every one of us has indeed recovered a little strength, after reaching that point, I’ve tried every method I can think of and haven’t been able to improve even the slightest bit further.”

“Mm.”

“Mm.”

Everyone present nodded.

Their desire for power went far beyond anything a normal person could imagine.

They did not care about money.

They did not care about fame.

The only thing they truly cared about was being able to live freely.

And without power, freedom was impossible.

“Blind Man, what exactly did you discover?

“Just say it.”

Feng Siniang spoke to the Blind Man Bei.

“My guess is that the degree to which our strength can recover is very likely connected to Master’s own strength.”

“What does that mean?” Xue San asked, seemingly confused.

Feng Siniang frowned slightly, already thinking.

Liang Cheng remained as calm as still water.

The corner of A’Ming’s mouth lifted faintly.

In truth, none of those present were stupid.

Just because someone had voiced a question did not mean they had never considered the possibility themselves.

Even Xue San, who had asked the question who knew whether he was simply habitually setting the stage for the Blind Man Bei to explain?

“When Master was unconscious...

“Mm.

“To use an online-game analogy, Master was effectively offline.

“As Master’s subordinates, we were basically like Master’s mounts—”

“Cough, cough...”

Feng Siniang coughed.

“Fine.

“Like pets.

“Perhaps because Master was offline, our own levels were grayed out as well.

“We could still move around, but the levels on our status panels were gray.

“Then Master woke up.

“Master’s level may have become Level 1.

“So our own levels became less than or equal to Level 1.

“The prerequisite, of course, was first obtaining Master’s recognition.

“It’s a little like talking to the old man standing at the entrance of the beginner village.”

Everyone pondered the Blind Man Bei’s words.

A’Ming was the first to speak.

“So because Master is still at Level 1...

“No.

“To put it another way, so long as Master’s own strength doesn’t increase, we’ll always be suppressed by Master’s level cap?”

“That’s what I mean.”

The Blind Man Bei nodded.

And at that moment, Fan Li the honest fellow who normally said little at group meals and meetings and only kept his head down eating spoke one sentence.

That single sentence instantly froze the atmosphere in the pavilion.

First, Fan Li gave an honest, simple smile.

Then, somewhat shyly, he scratched his head.

And said, “Then if we chop Master down, wouldn’t the restriction disappear?”

The entire pavilion... fell dead silent.

---

(End of Chapter)