443: Phoenix's doubts

The imposing Phoenix arrived.

He wrapped his arms around Sophia's slender waist from behind, inhaling the fragrant scent of her white hair, and whispered into her ear.

"Phoenix, don't you think Simback's technique has great artistic value?" Sophia said, pointing to Simback.

Simback became flustered, and his technique inadvertently went awry.

"Continue, don't mind me." Phoenix thought his arrival had put pressure on Simback.

He wanted to see what kind of technique could so impress his beloved Sophia.

He knew that Sophia loved art.

To be precise, the Moon Demons were all ardent lovers of art.

They not only loved art and possessed superb artistic discernment but also displayed extraordinary artistic talent.

Almost all artists in the Demon Realm came from the Moon Demon clan.

Unfortunately, boars couldn't appreciate fine grains; those demons with only fighting on their minds couldn't appreciate art.

Even the Demon God was the same.

Phoenix, however, had some appreciation ability.

Simback forced himself to calm down; he couldn't ruin his master's good deed.

The Butterfly Hand Technique was performed again; his hands, like free butterflies, danced gracefully, landing on each formation node, slowly deciphering the formation.

"It's indeed beautiful." Phoenix acknowledged internally.

Those hands were so Spirituality (spiritual/nimble), no wonder his precious Sophia loved them so much.

The artistic value was very high.

But he was focused on another point.

After all, as a powerful Demon God, he valued its practical worth more.

"The deciphering speed is actually three times faster than soul deciphering! Through the tactile sense of the technique, one can detect subtle details that soul perception cannot reach, and these places are often critical weak nodes."

"By precisely locating and attacking these nodes, one can more effectively decipher formations or restrictions. Furthermore, the multi-point resonance technique can uniformly distribute spiritual power across multiple nodes, forming a resonance effect, thereby enhancing the attack power on the nodes."

"Most importantly, it can use tiny spiritual power clusters to experimentally rule out some impossible weak points, greatly reducing the amount of calculation, brilliant!"

Phoenix felt he had stumbled upon a treasure.

He actually had a subordinate who could create such a unique technique?

It was just that the technique was a bit strange; some movements could be omitted to make it simpler.

"It should be for showing off, or rather, only by adding these few movements does it create such a good visual effect; otherwise, it would be very dull and monotonous. This point is interesting, after all, deciphering formations is too tedious, so self-entertainment and appreciating an artistic technique can better relieve fatigue."

Phoenix mentally explained the superfluous movements in the technique.

He walked towards Simback.

Simback's heart was in his throat.

His technique unconsciously became chaotic.

Phoenix laughed heartily.

"Don't be nervous, you did well, you deserve praise, your innovative technique is very interesting, I appreciate it, are you willing to contribute it?" Phoenix said.

Simback breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately asked Lin Ye.

"Agree to him." Lin Ye didn't hesitate at all.

"I am willing." Simback said.

"Good! I, Phoenix, will not treat you unfairly; just tell me what you want. If you don't want anything, converting it into contribution points is also fine." Phoenix was quite generous.

Perhaps it was that, arrogant as he was, he disdained to covet the achievements of his subordinates, as that would make him feel undignified.

"Exchange for contribution points." Simback did not hesitate.

"Mm."

Phoenix encouraged him for a few moments, then left, and Sophia followed him.

"You scared the hell out of me." Simback breathed a sigh of relief.

This master's technique was really amazing; even Phoenix didn't see through it.

Lin Ye and Hu also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lin Ye, the technique you created is really good; it's a top-tier technique itself, and it also incorporates suggestive techniques." Hu praised.

Lin Ye smiled without speaking.

Just kidding.

This was a technique created with a thousand years of skill points.

But he had also been scared stiff just now.

This Phoenix, his eyesight still needed improvement.

Actually, it was quite normal; although Phoenix himself was quite skilled at deciphering formations, he was not a top expert among them, so it was normal for him not to recognize it.

"A false alarm, Sophia, just wait."

.........

Time flowed by, and there were less than four days until Bafang City opened.

Lin Ye also gradually became nervous.

The suggestion to Sophia had been going on for a long time.

It had even left an imprint in her heart.

As long as Lin Ye made his move, it was basically a sure thing.

However, Lin Ye couldn't be sure that Sophia was the person chosen by Phoenix to refine the core.

"It's too late to find other people; one Sophia has already taken so much effort, and trying to find two more, there's no time."

Lin Ye decided to make his move.

With the suggestion strengthened to this extent, Lin Ye no longer needed to act at close range.

Sophia was still admiring the Butterfly Hand Technique that day, but then Simback suddenly revealed a strange smile.

She was a little puzzled.

She then saw a mysterious book abruptly appear from Simback's chest, from which a pure white light shot out.

"This is..."

Before she could even question it, she had already been branded with a slavery mark.

The light vanished, and Sophia's surprised expression gradually calmed.

"Sophia."

Lin Ye called out through the slave mark.

"Yes, my master."

Lin Ye nodded in satisfaction.

It was done now.

"Who did Phoenix ultimately choose as the candidate for refining the core?" Lin Ye asked.

"Reporting, Master, Phoenix chose me." Sophia's voice came through.

Lin Ye cheered in his heart.

He had gambled correctly.

It really was Sophia.

In fact, during the previous analysis, Sophia was the most likely candidate.

The chief butler had to command everything and was too busy to build the city.

And the other butler, who handled military affairs, was also not the most suitable candidate.

Sophia, as both a butler and a lover, was the best choice.

"Don't show any abnormalities; follow the plan and refine the core, understand?" Lin Ye instructed.

"Yes, Master." Sophia said.

........

"It really happened." Hu was delighted.

Simback sent him back again.

That book was the Book of Prophecy, the reliance for Hu's inhabitation.

Lin Ye was precisely hiding his means through him.

"It's done." Lin Ye nodded.

"Haha, the scheme of 'stealing the heavens and replacing the sun' is half successful; now the core is ours."

Now, they were only half a step away from success.

With the core in hand, Bafang City would secretly be controlled by Lin Ye.

However, Phoenix's family and enterprise were vast, and his power was immense; to be honest, even with Bafang City's core, how to completely seize it was still a problem.

Even if they seized it and drove Phoenix away, how to then defend Bafang City would also be a problem.

In short, 'stealing the heavens and replacing the sun' was not that easy.