Silver Rank Village

Ark village

A light rain fell quietly on the tallest mountain within the magical beast forest. This late at night, the other mountains were completely dark, but this particular mountain had dozens of tiny lights along its side, like a multitude of stars. These lights shone from a number of small residential courtyards in the newly established village of Ark, and they gave the vast, lonely magical beast forest a rich touch of human civilization.

On the highest peak of this mountain rested a magnificent mansion different from the other residential courtyards. The lights shone the brightest from this mansion, radiating with glory. Inside, a grand feast was in full swing. Longwei sat in front of a large table laden with food and drink, surrounded by his guests. The others in attendance were Qin Shi, also known as the Ice Queen, Ji Feng, the three demon commanders: Anastasia, Valga, and Polock, Little Red, Su Ling, Scarlet, Sylvia, and Longwei's childhood friend Shi Lihua, as well as her family.

Longwei and his guests were celebrating the first two months of life for the village, as well as the accomplishments of Qin Shi during her first two months as the village general manager. Compared to when it was first founded, Ark was nearly unrecognizable. It looked as if the village had already undergone a decade of development. With the manpower and money available to her, Qin Shi had founded an inn for travelers and adventurers, a transportation system for goods and people using the Kougala demon beast as a courier, and a school for the children of the village, among many other accomplishments. With its recent development, Ark had upgraded to a Silver ranked village and was only a step away from becoming a Gold ranked village. Furthermore, it was quickly becoming a gold mine for adventurers, mages, and warriors because it was at the center of the magical beast forest and the world energy was extremely concentrated.

With all the cultivators settling here, many people expected crime to become a problem, but this was not the case. Between the dragons that guarded the village and the regular patrols of demons that watched for crime, no one was strong enough to break the laws. Within two months, one of the most dangerous areas in the magical beast forest had quickly become the safest place within the Archaic continent.

Qin Shi finally learned the true identity of Longwei during these two months as well. About a month ago, he revealed everything to her, including the first time they'd met when he was still a child. She was very surprised to learn that the little boy she gave the beast core to had become terrifying enough to stand on top of the Archaic continent.

"Qin Shi, I am very pleased with the results of your hard work. Thanks to you, Ark has drastically changed during the past two months. I am afraid if I had to list all of your achievements during this time, we'd be here all night, so let me just congratulate you on a job well done," said Longwei.

"Anastasia, Valga, Polock you have all done an excellent job protecting the village from magical beasts and bandits. I told you all before, but I will always reward a job well done, regardless of your race or origin. I will treat you all equally and bestow rewards based on your contribution." These short speeches were followed by the rest of the guests congratulating the four on their accomplishments.

After the celebration ended, Longwei, Qin Shi, and the three demon commanders retired to a private room within the Lord's mansion. Longwei sat in a huge chair while Qin Shi and the demon commanders knelt in front of him.

"As of now, you four have truly become subordinates," said Longwei. He took out four crystals from within his spatial ring and gave one to each of them.

"Bind these crystals with a drop of your blood," he instructed.

They gave the strange crystals a questioning look before doing as he instructed. As soon as the drop of blood landed on each crystal, it was immediately swallowed by the crystal. The crystal briefly shone brighter before it disappeared and went inside their body.

Suddenly, an indescribable wave of pain flowed through each of their bodies, but they did not relax their posture. As they forcefully endured the extremely painful burning sensation within their bodies, Qin Shi's face began to twist a little, and even the three demon commanders showed some signs of pain. Soon, an icy transparent glow began to slowly spread across the body of Qin Shi. At the same time, a black glow with small bursts of lightning began to spread across the bodies of the three demon commanders. They were both beautiful, but they gave off an oppressive and frightful aura.

The cells inside their bodies were being reborn as they greedily swallowed the new energy. Every cell, every bone, and every organ inside their bodies were brimming with power. As they sensed these changes within their bodies, they couldn't help but be both delighted and bewildered. They could clearly sense how much their bodies were being strengthened, both internally and externally.

Once the icy aura and the black aura disappeared, the four of them looked at Longwei with shock and awe written across their faces.

"As for the blue screens appearing in front of you, don't worry about it for now. Wait for Ji Feng to give you an explanation once I'm done with you before you do anything," said Longwei.

"Qin Shi, you are now permanently appointed as the general manager of the Ark village and my second in command in the village. Anastasia, you are appointed as the Third Legion Commander of Ark Village. Valga, you will be Fourth Legion Commander, and Polock, you will be the Fifth Legion Commander."

As Longwei relayed these instructions, changes were taking place in the administration management panel of the village. Originally, Longwei's name was the only name listed, with the title Lord next to it, but now the four in front of him had their names added as well. Qin Shi's name was second on the list, with the title general manager next to it, followed by Ji Feng and Feng Ping, who were the first and second legion commanders. Finally, Anastasia, Polock, and Valga were listed as the final three legion commanders.

"Long live the Lord!" the four shouted simultaneously. Originally, the three demon commanders followed Longwei because he was strong enough to kill them and didn't give them an option, but now they worship him as a god because they knew how much their life was changed by those crystals.

Compared to humans, demons start out much stronger, but their potential is very limited. The difference in power levels between demons after birth is fairly obvious, with most demons having an upper limit on their potential. Breaking through this limit is extremely difficult.

The three demon commanders were all mid-level demons, but their growth potential was extremely limited. However, the crystals Longwei gave them had changed that. Right now, they felt as if they had been upgraded to high-level demons with an unlimited potential. In time, they could even catch up to the Grand Dukes! It was easy to see why they were so thrilled with this development.

After Longwei relayed his commands and explained some things to them about their newfound power, he sent them away with instructions to ask Ji Feng his first subordinate if they had any more questions. Finally, Longwei was able to go about his own business. He needed to prepare to visit the Demon continent. It had been two months since they lost their scouting force, and the demons still had not made a move. He needed to go there himself to get a better grip on the situation.