Chapter 642: The Demigod Appears

As his voice fell, the man opened the door to the driver's cab and stepped outside.

Tang Chi clenched his fists, frustration etched across his face. Ever since he had made a name for himself, the man had never spoken to him so harshly.

But he remained silent. He knew that the moment the man stood up, he had actually already left the train car.

That was only a time frame the man had left behind. By now, he was likely already on his way to Old Sin City.

"..."

Tang Chi's fingertips dug into his palms.

He refused to accept it. He wasn't about to admit defeat like this.

The man's final words echoed in his mind.

"The truth is, it's absolutely impossible for you to become the strongest."

Blood dripped from Tang Chi's palms.

A few seconds later, he turned and walked out of the train car.

He needed to grow stronger. When Advent Day arrived, he would prove the man wrong.

He was the strongest!

...

...

"Yi Ji, eat this."

Mantou placed a piece of bread in front of Yan Jing.

"And this. You eat this, too."

She brought over an apple.

"And this."

Yan Jing looked at the growing pile of food in front of him, his scarlet eyes narrowing slightly as amusement danced in his gaze.

Ever since Mantou cured her stutter, she had become...

Extremely chatty.

It was as if she wanted to make up for all the words she hadn't been able to say before.

He was naturally happy about her change.

But... it seemed that wasn't the only thing that had changed.

"Mantou."

He looked down at Mantou, who had somehow ended up sitting in his lap.

"Hmm?"

Mantou was nestled completely against his chest, an apple cradled in her hands. Hearing Yan Jing call her, she looked up, the juice at the corner of her mouth still unwiped.

It made him want to wipe it away for her.

"I think you're sitting in the wrong spot,"

Yan Jing said softly.

"Spot?"

Mantou turned her head, staring blankly at where she was sitting.

It did seem a bit wrong.

But...

Not completely wrong either.

She shifted her bottom to wedge herself perfectly between Yan Jing's legs, then nodded happily.

She decided it was just right now.

"...Phew."

Yan Jing let out a long breath.

Her utter obliviousness was an incredibly powerful temptation, making it hard for him to suppress the restless heat rising in his chest.

"Mantou, I'm going to take a shower."

Yan Jing said softly.

"Okay."

Mantou nodded obediently.

Yan Jing conjured up a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom.

It wasn't until the cold water cascaded over his head that he finally calmed down a bit.

But just as he started to lather up, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

A slender silhouette appeared behind the frosted glass.

"Yi Ji, Mantou... Can Mantou wash with you?"

Mantou's crisp, slightly timid voice made the heat Yan Jing had just suppressed flare right back up.

"Just wait a little bit, Mantou. I'll be done soon, okay?"

Yan Jing's voice remained gentle.

"Mantou... can wash herself now. I won't cause trouble for Yi Ji. Mantou brought... c-clothes. Really, Mantou will be good."

The silhouette outside suddenly started stuttering again.

At those final words, the man showering inside could no longer hold back.

The bathroom door swung open.

Yan Jing looked down at Mantou, whose little face was flushed red above her thin bathrobe, and said softly, "Then come in."

"I'll wash you today, Mantou. Don't worry, I'll be very gentle... It won't hurt."

"...Bam."

The bathroom door was shut again.

The showerhead's flow seemed to be turned up higher.

The water splashed loudly.

This shower lasted a full two hours.

...

...

"Spit it out. When are you getting married?"

Papa Rat stood on Mao Si's shoulder. His expression was calm, but his tone was sharp.

The two of them had just finished resolving the issues of "where Mao Si got the confidence to attack a Demigod" and "why he hadn't initiated contact with Papa Rat even once in the past half-year."

Now, facing Yan Jing, who had perfectly defused the previous two topics, Papa Rat threw out his real trump card.

"..."

Yan Jing blinked.

"About that... we'll talk about it later."

"Your son is still young. Are you worried I won't be able to find a wife?"

Papa Rat's expression remained unchanged.

"I used to think so too."

"But now, I suspect that with the way you're throwing your life around, you probably won't live for many more years."

"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!!!"

Not only did Yan Jing spit to ward off the bad luck, he also reached out to swat Papa Rat's mouth.

"Stop saying such unlucky things."

Papa Rat shot Yan Jing a sideways glare.

"Don't try to change the subject. Answer the question!!"

Seeing his trick exposed, Yan Jing simply surrendered.

"There's nothing I can do. Nobody likes me anyway. It's not that I don't want to find someone."

"..."

Hearing this, a subtle smile crept onto the corners of Papa Rat's mouth.

Yan Jing's heart jolted. An ominous premonition swelled in his chest.

"What do you mean by that? I'm telling you, don't try anything crazy."

"Zeng Qing has been coming to see me a lot lately," Papa Rat said. Yan Jing's eyes widened.

Just what he was afraid of.

"Zeng Qing is in charge now. It's perfectly normal for her to look for you."

"Every time she comes, she asks about you."

"Zeng Qing and I are business partners! It's perfectly normal for her to ask about my situation too!"

"She cries whenever she talks about you."

"The girl is just sentimental."

"She handles matters both big and small flawlessly."

"The girl is rational."

"You know exactly what I mean, kid."

"No, that won't work. It's not like you don't know how wild she used to play around," Yan Jing blurted out. The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had misspoken.

Sure enough, Papa Rat raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"She had a medical examination when she joined. The report showed she's never engaged in that kind of act. As for her past kinks... who the hell cares about those?"

Right, who the hell cared? This was the Heavenly Kingdom, after all.

Yan Jing let out a long sigh, realizing he had made a wrong move.

What kind of bottom line or principles could people from that place have?

"I just remembered I have something to do. I'm leaving!"

With that, Yan Jing plucked Papa Rat off his shoulder, set him down, and fled in panic.

...

...

"Young Master, give this old man a straight answer."

Old Master Liu's eyes were glazed over; it was obvious he had drank his fill.

Yan Jing smiled.

"Go ahead, Master Liu."

He knew exactly what the old man was going to ask. It was nothing more than the issue of Eldest Young Master Luo's orientation.

He already had a countermeasure in mind.

"Tell me, do you have feelings for Xiao Yu or not?!"

The old man waved his large hand.

???

Yan Jing felt his chest suddenly grow hot.

Not out of shyness.

But because Xiao Yu was staying right there inside his chest.

"Speak! Tell me!"

The old man looked up at Yan Jing in dead earnest.

"That girl Xiao Yu definitely has ideas about you, Young Master. This old man can see it clearly. The real issue is you!"

"Do you have feelings for her or not?!"

Yan Jing felt his chest grow even hotter, the temperature skyrocketing. If there had been an egg there at that moment, it might not have hatched, but it definitely would have been fried.

Seeing that Yan Jing still wasn't speaking, the old man leaned forward.

"Don't be afraid! It's just the two of us here!"

'Not necessarily.'

Yan Jing replied in his heart.

"Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know. In any case, Xiao Yu definitely doesn't know."

'Hard to say.'

Yan Jing silently quipped.

"Even if you say no, that you don't like Xiao Yu, we'll just drop it! It's completely normal, after all. Don't be fooled by how beautiful and slender that girl has grown up to be—she doesn't have a good temper! When she gets riled up, she's incredibly stubborn. Don't I know it?! If I were you, I wouldn't like her either!"

'Stop talking!'

Yan Jing wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and clamp a hand over the old man's mouth.

But finally, he seemed to remember something. He let out a breath, looking both relieved and amused.

"It's not as exaggerated as you make it sound. I do like Xiao Yu. I'm very sure of that."

As his words fell, Yan Jing felt like his scorching chest was about to explode.

The temperature soared far past anything that could be measured in mere degrees.

"I just need to find the right opportunity."

Yan Jing touched his chest with a seemingly casual gesture. "An opportunity to talk."

"Don't worry. I won't let that girl down."

After he said that, Yan Jing felt the temperature in his chest gradually drop, replaced by a gentle, soothing warmth.

"Then I can rest easy."

The old man slumped heavily onto the table with a loud thud, seemingly passed out completely.

Yan Jing looked at the old man and suddenly chuckled.

This old man really did have more schemes up his sleeve than a youngster like himself.

Indeed.

Back then, Fei Yu had left with him. Even if the old man couldn't see things clearly at the time, now that he was in the Ninth Tier, he could definitely see through it.

Ever since they reunited, Yan Jing hadn't mentioned Fei Yu once, which made her current whereabouts glaringly obvious.

"But what I said is true."

He murmured softly, turning his head to look at the moonlight outside the window.

...

...

"My little brother isn't bad, is he?"

Xue Shi was drunk. She threw an arm around Chen Nian's shoulder and slurred, "If you ask me, I know you and my younger sister were close back then, but all things must come to an end. Now, I declare a happy ending for everyone!"

"..."

Chen Nian turned his head aside, trying his best not to breathe in the heavy reek of alcohol from Xue Shi's mouth.

But Xue Shi didn't care in the slightest, waving her hands in the air.

"Let's party! Let's party!!!"

At the height of her excitement, she slapped Chen Nian on the butt and burst into boisterous laughter.

Sitting across from them, Yan Jing watched all this impassively. Weird Energy surged in his palms, keeping his guard up just in case Chen Nian suddenly lashed out and slapped Xue Shi to death.

Finally, he reached out and pulled Xue Shi behind him.

"Second Sister, what exactly are you here for?"

Xue Shi had clearly rushed over from Pure Blood City with something important to say. But who knew what had possessed her? As soon as she arrived in Old Sin City, she had joined the residents in their celebrations, dancing and singing merrily right along with everyone else.

She had downed crates of alcohol until her face was flushed red, acting as if she had completely lost her mind.

Hearing Xue Mo's words, Xue Shi froze for a moment before speaking.

"Oh, right. I did have something to say."

Only then did she explain the matter from beginning to end.

"According to our estimates, those Domains won't just let this go. It's highly likely they will deploy a Demigod."

"But don't worry. I've already had Dad call upon our ancestors to intervene. At the very least, they can get you out of here safely."

With that, Xue Shi patted her chest proudly, waiting for Xue Mo's praise.

"Good job, Second Sister,"

Xue Mo said.

Opposite them, Chen Nian frowned upon hearing their conversation.

"We have to tell Yi Ji and the others about this. Under the current circumstances, just one Demigod from the Xue Family isn't enough."

"One isn't enough?!"

Xue Shi widened her eyes in an exaggerated expression. Then, she walked right up to Chen Nian and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Then how many do you want, handsome?"

Saying this, she reached out to stroke Chen Nian's face.

Fortunately, before her fingertips could make contact, Yan Jing quickly pulled her back, preventing a funeral from taking place on this day of celebration.

"It's fine."

He looked at Chen Nian opposite him.

"Mr. Yan has already gone."

Chen Nian was stunned.

"By himself?"

Yan Jing nodded.

"Mr. Yan said he alone is enough."

"Yi Ji and the others should know too."

Hearing this, Chen Nian nodded dubiously. He immediately took out a Walkie-talkie.

"I still need to double-check."

Yan Jing shrugged, raising no objections.

Soon, Chen Nian confirmed the messages from all parties. Indeed, Yan Jing was preparing to defend Old Sin City entirely on his own.

"There might be more than one Demigod on the other side!"

he said, still feeling somewhat uneasy.

"We can go together to hold the line, but I think this is exactly what Mr. Yan intended,"

Yan Jing said.

Hearing that Xue Mo was willing to go with him to back up Yan Jing, Chen Nian gave him a somewhat surprised look.

[Favorability +5]

Chen Nian nodded.

Yan Jing grabbed the collar of the dead-drunk Xue Shi, and the two men headed toward the exit of Old Sin City together.

...

...

"Maybe I can play with it like this."

Yan Jing fiddled with his newly acquired item—

Folly's Divine Position.

He found the abilities of this Pathway to be very interesting.

Combined with many of his other abilities, it should produce unexpected effects.

"No wonder everyone wants to become a god..."

After familiarizing himself with all the abilities he could currently wield, Yan Jing couldn't help but sigh in realization.

At the same time, he felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, just to be on the safe side, he hadn't allowed the infant to use a single ability back then. Otherwise, that battle definitely wouldn't have ended so easily.

"Alright, let's start the setup."

Yan Jing said softly.

...

...

The uniformed man strolled leisurely through the air.

He seemed to possess a cloning ability. With every step he took, a new figure appeared behind him, and then...

There were more and more of them.

It was as if they were going to crowd the sky until it could hold no more.

In reality, however, this wasn't a cloning ability, but an application of time.

Every step he took was equivalent to stepping into the next node of time.

And his ability allowed the 'him' from the previous time node to exist simultaneously with the 'him' from the current time node.

It was very much like a replica of Tang Chi's ability to summon his future self.

Less powerful, but far greater in quantity.

The main point was...

It was effortless for the man.

Before long, he turned his head and looked to his left.

A violent explosion seemed to have erupted on the distant horizon.

He could clearly feel his 'clones' being rapidly wiped out in that moment.

He frowned. His consciousness manifested in the furthest clone, making it his new true body.

He then looked at the bizarre object opposite him that looked like a black box.

At this moment, beams of laser fire were erupting from the side of the Black Box. Every clone that was hit vanished instantly.

"What are you doing?"

He spoke, and only then did the Black Box cease its 'shooting.'

A second later, the Black Box actually spoke:

"I knew this would be the easiest way to see you. Geh-geh-geh."

"..."

The man frowned.

"Why are you here? Where's Thor?"

"He's injured. Someone chopped off one of his hands, and it seems it hasn't been healing well. So, I had to be the one to come."

As it spoke, the Black Box let out another string of geh-geh-geh laughter.

His name had long been forgotten in this world.

But a thousand years ago, there wasn't a single person in the Inner World who wouldn't have recognized him.

Demigod: Box of Destruction