One scenario is that the soul training has failed, with the soul completely losing its response to external stimuli.

Another scenario is that it has been tamed, contributing faith values automatically even without the need for external stimuli.

For instance, Amu is an example.

Soul Drain has almost become a reward for this guy, Luo Yan sometimes feels too disgusted to even use it on him.

When this theory is integrated into Predecessor Linte Isaac's system, it essentially means temporary benefits are added to the "daily growth" item.

Although the one-time contributions are not significant, the fact they contribute every day means it's ultimately a good thing.

Thinking about how he had caused a lifetime of psychological shadows to these little thieves, Luo Yan was even more satisfied with his inhuman actions.

Once the training is completely successful, he can release these "missionaries" to spread the terror of Lord Demon King in human towns.

After completing the routine work, Luo Yan opened the attribute panel to take a glance, only to find a pleasant surprise.

[Daily Faith Value: 2500 (+211)]

Huh?

Why has the daily growth value increased again?

And this time, following the increase, the faith value growth seems to have finally stabilized. It was no longer a range value like before, nor did it fluctuate wildly.

Of course, it's also possible that the fluctuating data is now hidden.

Although unsure why it increased this time, Luo Yan could roughly guess the reason.

It's either that the Brotherhood of Leiming City had developed new followers or the church in Silver Pine Town had started to mix in some of Lord Demon King's "private goods" into their prayers.

In any case, everything was moving in a favorable direction.

Luo Yan suddenly felt that gathering the 100,000 faith values needed to upgrade silver no longer seemed so difficult.

Even with the current increments, idling for a hundred days or so would be enough.

...

Late at night.

Sarah yawned and went to sleep, and the players were logging off one after another, leaving only some hardcore gamers and nocturnal creatures still online.

Luo Yan went down to the dungeon to grind Earth Cave Spiders for a while to level up, and near dawn, he rode on Alakdo to check on his future palace.

After consuming three hundred civil engineering spiders, Weaving Shadow Nest created an engineering miracle by advancing a full hundred meters in just one day deep within the massive mountain with no tunnel boring machine!

Honestly.

With such an ability, still not being deployed to tunnel through the walls of Leiming City, Luo Yan thought the previous Demon King was really incompetent.

Of course.

It's also possible that the humans had their own countermeasures.

Moreover, at that time, the Earth Cave Spiders didn't seem to have formed tribes of various sizes, creatures like Jiaqi and Alachinos, with surprisingly strong skeletons, seemed to have only emerged after the Demon King's death.

"It really is the times that make the heroes."

The ancients indeed did not deceive me!

Filled with admiration, Luo Yan inadvertently spoke in his mother tongue.

Being ridden by Lord Demon King, Alakdo naturally did not understand and carefully asked.

"Sorry, Lord Demon King, what did you just say?"

Luo Yan said with a smile.

"Nothing much, I was saying your Weaving Shadow Clan is very capable, even by the standards of Hell and Demon City, you're the most hardworking!"

These words were true.

The bunch of slackers in Demon City are most energized only when it's time to eat, even goblins have been spoiled into complacency.

Hearing this praise, Alakdo's pride swelled, and with energy to spare, he hurried back to the construction site to shout a few commands.

Those little ones carrying the soil worked even more diligently, their eight legs moving like blazing wheels.

Just as Luo Yan was about to sleep and end this fulfilling day, another unexpected event came knocking at his door.

The little demon that he had sent away earlier came back this time with the "attitude" of the Land of Nightmare...

...

At the entrance of the first floor of the maze, in the grand hall where the "Blood Ritual" was laid out, Luo Yan received the messenger from the Land of Nightmare in the same old fashion, standing in the shadows and following the previous protocol and etiquette.

Fifty little demons quietly waited outside the grand hall, each holding white egg sacs.

These items looked like ostrich eggs, yet they lacked a hard shell, replaced instead by a membrane full of tenacity.

Representing the delegation, a tiny demon named Mi Xi walked into the grand hall with its wings tucked in, trembling with trepidation.

Perhaps because there were more people this time, this timid little creature wasn't scared stiff, but shrank its shoulders in average fear, cowering under the formidable presence of a Lizardman Zombie.

"Res-res-res-respected Lord Demon King..."

Fighting back his weariness, Luo Yan patiently listened to the stuttered opening words that were twice the length due to the stutter.

At last, they got to the crucial part.

Representing the Queen Qianqian of the Land of Nightmare, Mi Xi accepted the vassal agreement proposed by the Great Graveyard, whitewashing the rebels' status into vassals of the Demon King in exchange for a monthly tribute of a certain number of Little Demon Eggs.

For this group of Little Demons, this was the friendliest outcome, a smooth landing.

And for Luo Yan, he too had effortlessly obtained what he wanted.

The only thing that surprised him was one detail.

"Why fifty?"

Stiffening, Mi Xi's face was once again covered in sweat; she nervously glanced back.

Seeing no other Little Demons following her, she started to stammer, while her little head was spinning quickly.

"This is... this is a little gesture from Her Majesty Qianqian!"

That's right!

A gesture!

Rolling the word around in her mind, Mi Xi couldn't help but let out a shout, giving herself a mental thumbs up for the quick thinking.

This time, she hadn't fumbled her words; best to gloss over the matter quickly!

However, the Demon King standing in the shadows still furrowed his brows slightly.

A gesture?

What kind of gesture?

Rather than such an ambiguous term, he would have preferred to hear "loyalty," a lesson he thought he had taught them. Yet, whether intentionally or not, they had chosen to sidestep it in their diplomatic language.

If this were normal social interaction, he wouldn't have dwelled on it; he could even skip it without caring.

But this was, after all, a diplomatic occasion, especially since they had proposed marriage to him not long ago. These words deserved some pondering.

The more Luo Yan thought about it, the more significant it seemed.

The words were offensive when pushed and defensive when retracted.

If he didn't accept, they had room to maneuver. But if he accepted, it seemed like loyalty was an added bonus to the gesture.

Since when had Little Demons become so adept at beating around the bush?

Or was he overthinking it?

After mulling it over for a moment, Luo Yan decided to trust his instincts and give the response he deemed most appropriate.

"Since it's a gesture from your queen, I'll accept it then." He paused before continuing,

"Additionally, tribute is tribute, and a gesture is a gesture. Since thirty of the Little Demon Eggs are gifts, I can't just accept them without giving something in return. It so happens that I have some spoils of war here, taken from the humans. Take some back with you, and say it's a reciprocal gift from the Great Graveyard."

What he gave them could hardly count as real spoils of war; the main items were pine nut oil, wine, bread, cheese, and sausages, all sent over from Silver Pine Town.

Silver Pine Town's harvest festival was just around the corner, and that Sheriff Adela was quite the savvy man, knowing to send gifts for the holidays.

Luo Yan, of course, would not shortchange him.

Come spring planting, he intended to produce nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, giving the residents of Silver Pine Town a little Demon King shock as a reciprocal gesture from the Demon King to his surface vassals.

That stuff was far more useful than magic for accelerating growth.

According to Luo Yan's observations, although natural spells could speed up plant growth, they were limited by soil fertility, leading to the significant issue of "growing tall without bearing fruit."

But that was a matter for later.

To what extent Sheriff Adela could control Silver Pine Town would also determine whether his strategic approach to the area would be focused more on "spreading fear" or "promoting development."

He had yet to observe further.

Upon hearing there was a reciprocal gift, Mi Xi's face instantly showed a look of surprise.

"Human spoils of war?! Lord Demon King, if I may be so bold to ask, are they edible?"

Luo Yan nodded with an air of dignity,

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Mi Xi was so thrilled she almost leapt into the sky, her little fists clenched tight.

"That's wonderful!!!"

Wonderful?

Observing the Little Demon weeping with joy, Luo Yan was left speechless.

Could it be that these creatures, who would eat just about anything, were starved to this extent?

Luo Yan had thought he was hard enough on them.

He hadn't expected that in the contest of inhumanity, he was still outdone by the previous Demon King...

-

(I was harassed by a mosquito last night and didn't sleep well. I am pretty much in a daze now. I've checked twice but if there's still a typo, please brothers, help me catch it. Thanks!)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.