18: Chapter 18 Our Li family has a profound heritage!

[demonic power +16!]

[Evil God Power +113!]

A System notification sounded in his ears.

The horde of rats enveloping the Rat King's flesh and blood had all vanished.

Only a pelt and bones remained.

The Demon Rats had shriveled up, its exposed front teeth and eyes looking quite bizarre.

However, among those who saw this scene, perhaps only Feng Yifan felt this way.

Uncle Li the Second and the others, now skeletons, showed no reaction at all.

Especially Little Leopard.

The kid picked up a Demon Rats by its tail, shook it, and asked, "Uncle Stone, Uncle Second, look how big they are, and their fur is shiny too. Can they be sold for money?"

The fur of ordinary rats was definitely unwanted.

Only some general medicine shops would take a little of that stuff.

But these large Demon Ratss might be different.

So this question stumped Uncle Li the Second and the others.

Several skeletal wraiths busy crushing lice on the Rat King's body paused, unable to resist asking the Mountain God.

...The Mountain God ignored them.

Feng Yifan thought to himself, 'You ask me, who should I ask?'

So the skeletons immediately decided to take the biggest one back and ask the clan leader.

When they returned to the settlement and told the clansmen the news that the Demon Ratss had been exterminated, everyone was overjoyed.

Following tradition, the Old Clan Leader sent up another string of complimentary words, free of charge, towards the mountaintop.

Then, together with Li Feipeng, he examined the large rat pelt brought back by Uncle Li the Second.

The two of them were also somewhat hesitant.

They had never seen such a large rat before.

"It can be sold for money."

Zhang Qianlü poked his head in from outside and said, "It can also be sent to the prefectural yamen. The government buys demon pelts and gives rewards."

This rat demon was a fourth-grade Spirit Demon.

Its pelt had been somewhat tempered.

However, it couldn't be considered a cultivation resource. Proper cultivating Cultivators would look down on it and couldn't be bothered to refine it.

Only some Gangs or the government would buy them and process them together for use as military supplies.

"Some Martial Artists can exchange rewards, which include armor, weapons, talismans, and such made from demon beast pelts."

Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing this; this kid knew quite a lot.

"Young Master Zhang, how do you know all this?" the Old Clan Leader asked.

"I've always wanted to become a Cultivator," Zhang Qianlü sighed. "So I've always paid close attention to these things."

Whether it was cultivating immortality or martial arts, both were forms of cultivation.

He wasn't picky.

But now, it seemed neither was possible.

The people of the Li Clan exchanged glances again.

Some turned and walked away.

If they didn't leave, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to hold back their laughter.

They had already learned from Uncle Li the Second and others that this Young Master Zhang was the one who had drawn the Demon Rats calamity.

However, this person had come to his senses in time, contributed a method to eliminate the rat infestation, and had even been accepted as a Divine Servant by the Mountain God.

Thus, everyone didn't give him too much blame.

Now, since the calamity hadn't materialized, there was naturally no talk of resentment.

But everyone inevitably felt a bit of resentment in their hearts and didn't want this kid to feel too comfortable.

They just wouldn't tell him that becoming the Mountain God's Divine Servant wouldn't affect finding a master!

"Oh, I see," the Old Clan Leader, who had great composure, stroked his beard and nodded. "Then perhaps tomorrow, Young Master Zhang can accompany us into the city. We'll present this Rat King pelt to the County Magistrate, and it will be a good opportunity to send you home."

"...I'm not going," Zhang Qianlü shook his head repeatedly. "I can't go back."

He go back, and with the Li Clan from outside the city, no less?

In a few days, he'd probably be found hanging from a beam with cross-shaped marks on the back of his neck.

Or, he'd accidentally fall into a well or pond and drown.

Or, his throat would be slit by some unknown river pirate or bandit.

In short, he'd meet his end, dying an unclear death.

"Old Master Li is not a good man. He sent me to harm you all. If I succeeded, I'd be silenced upon returning," he said with a mournful face. "Let alone in the current situation."

A few of the Li clansmen felt somewhat sorry for him upon hearing this.

After all, the person before them was a fourteen-year-old youth. While one could arrange marriages at this age, Zhang Qianlü still seemed like a child.

That Li family in the city sounded like a den of thieves.

Luring him here to harm people, success or failure meant death—that was ruthless enough.

"Clan Leader?" Mother Dao Hua couldn't help but speak up. "Are we really going to let him go back to his death?"

"...But if you stay, what can you do?" the Old Clan Leader frowned. "During the day, you followed us to clear the land, and you only caused trouble."

He definitely had to stay.

The Mountain God said he would be useful if he stayed.

But this kid needed to be knocked down a peg.

"I, I'm not used to farm work," Zhang Qianlü scratched his cheek.

Also, farming was too tiring!

But if he wanted to stay, he really couldn't let the Li Clan support him like this.

Staying at the Li Residence was because his mother had done them a favor; he lived there without issue.

But the Li Clan outside the city was different.

He not only had no favors with them but actually had caused them grievance.

What to do?

He couldn't think of anything!

At that moment, his eyes fell on the Rat King pelt in front of the Old Clan Leader.

He suddenly made a sound of surprise.

"What is it?" the Old Clan Leader asked.

Zhang Qianlü didn't answer. Instead, he squeezed through from behind the others and stood before the pelt,

reaching out to touch it.

"The flesh and blood inside this pelt... oh, I see." He was about to say, who skinned this so completely? But before he could finish, he realized it was probably that Evil God's handiwork.

He said no more, instead reaching his hand into the Rat King's mouth.

His other hand, from outside the fur, held onto something and passed it to the hand inside.

He smoothly pulled the object out.

It was a small sphere glowing with red light.

"What is this?" the Old Clan Leader asked in surprise.

"It's a demon beast core!" Zhang Qianlü said. "This is the beast core that a Spirit Demon can Cultivate into an inner elixir later."

At that moment.

Feng Yifan on the mountaintop.

Was looking up, waiting.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Nothing!

"...Trash System!" he cursed.

The Rat King had a demon beast core; it couldn't escape his eyes.

However, by then, the Rat King had already died at the hands of the skeletal wraiths.

In other words, he was one step too late.

The moment he realized it, he had one feeling: damn it, a loss!

This Rat King should have been left for Zhang Qianlü to kill.

Actually, it wasn't Feng Yifan's fault for not thinking of it earlier.

Normally, a Spirit Demon would only condense a beast core at the sixth grade, and then Cultivate a demon elixir.

And this beast core didn't belong to the Rat King.

Based on Feng Yifan's judgment, someone with too much time on their hands had probably sewn it into the Rat King's body.

This rat demon hadn't even opened its Dantian.

So what to do?

It was already dead; he couldn't call Zhang Qianlü to kill it again.

Since things had come to this, Feng Yifan wanted to try and exploit a loophole in the System.

He deliberately left the beast core uncollected.

He planned to have Uncle Li the Second and the others bring the rat pelt back, then use divine sense to tell Zhang Qianlü to take out the beast core and offer it to him.

In the end, he didn't even need to speak.

The Rat King's pelt was brought back to the Li Clan settlement, and Zhang Qianlü found the beast core himself.

However, Feng Yifan's plan to exploit the loophole was unsuccessful.

"Forget it, just a beast core," he muttered.

Then, he transmitted a divine sense message, telling Zhang Qianlü that he could stay if he wished.

From now on, he would be responsible for teaching the Li Clan to read and write, and to practice martial arts and body tempering.

...

"Reading and writing, practicing martial arts and body tempering!" Zhang Qianlü blinked and asked the Old Clan Leader, "Our Li Clan's foundation is so profound that you actually brought books and martial arts techniques with you?"

Old Clan Leader: "...Huh?"