Chapter 37: May the Li Family’s Martial Fortune Flourish!

Li Xiang understood.

In truth, resolving this matter was not as complicated as it seemed. One could view the situation as an unfair brawl, with the Pig Demon King as the isolated party being ganged up on. But what if the Pig Demon King ignored the others and focused solely on beating the leaders—the Wu family of Lantian—into a pulp?

A beating might not be enough, but what if it resulted in fatalities? Unless those great families were truly bound by a pact of life and death—and after the events at Tailin Town, Li Xiang did not believe they were people of honor or righteousness!

Li Xiang hurriedly clicked on the avatar of the Purple Thunder Sun Python to relay the next course of action to the members of the Li family. In an instant, the descendants of the Li family began to move.

Time in the game continued to flow.

[The 42nd year of the Li family.]
[The spiritual fields have expanded to 40 acres; this year is another bountiful harvest.]
[The children of Zhien Village, having consumed spiritual rice since childhood, have begun studying culture, learning martial arts, and training their bodies at the school established by the Li family.]

In the scene, a school had been built in Zhien Village, from which the clear, rhythmic sound of children reading aloud could be heard. In the distance, there was a training ground where seasoned cultivators were teaching the children combat experience. Zhien Village, once a gathering place for refugees, was now brimming with vitality.

Li Xiang could feel that in twenty or thirty years, these children would become the strongest pillar of Zhien Village’s development. However, the powerful cultivators of Zhien Village were not training on the grounds as they usually did, and even the Li family compound was devoid of the family's experts.

In the delivery room, Bai Rourou, who was nearing her time, lay on the bed. She was surrounded by the village midwife, who was very familiar with the process, having delivered Bai Rourou’s children four times already.

"The Third Young Master is truly something, not to be seen when the Third Mistress is about to give birth," the midwife grumbled.

Bai Rourou only offered a faint smile. If not for the fine beads of sweat on her brow and the conspicuous bulge beneath the quilt, one would hardly guess this was a woman about to give birth. Her eyes flickered with a hint of worry as she gazed out the window.

"Old Pig, I’m counting on all of you. You must all return safely!"

...

[Your descendants have entered Silver Iron Forest!]

"They've arrived?" Watching the information in the event log, Li Xiang clicked on Li Dalong’s avatar to switch the perspective.

Outside the Silver Iron Forest, seven great families from the three surrounding towns had gathered. They were resting in the woods on the outskirts, setting up camps to discuss their specific strategies.

"The Demon King of Silver Iron Forest has lived for nearly a thousand years; we must be careful!"
"It is equivalent to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. We have invited Master Shancai from Qingsong Temple this time; he can contend with the Demon King. With our eight pseudo-Core experts, the Demon King is doomed."
"Once the Silver Iron Forest is cleared, we shall split the resources seven ways. Our families will surely flourish!"

In a battle between such powerful figures, each family had sent experts above the Foundation Establishment stage, totaling over a hundred people. Li Dalong and his wife, along with Li Yaozu and Li Yaoție, accompanied by several Foundation Establishment experts borrowed from the Su and Chen families, stood prominently atop the massive body of the Purple Thunder Sun Python.

Even with the Li family bringing such a formation, the great families were still critical. Having heard that the Li family had defeated two great families in Tailin Town, they had assumed the Li family possessed extraordinary strength. Now, it seemed only the Purple Thunder Sun Python was worth noting. Most assumed the Li family was hiding their true strength, and with the great battle imminent, it was not the time to challenge them.

Li Xiang observed their movements one by one. What he found interesting was that he could eavesdrop on the conversations of these factions; small text appeared above their animated characters.

Particularly with the Lantian Wu family. Inside their tent, the ancestor of the Wu family, celebrating his 200th birthday, appeared as a mere youth. It was rumored that this man, at the pseudo-Core stage, had spent ten years of his lifespan to alter his appearance to remain dashing. The Wu family was the hegemon of Lantian, and it was thanks to this old man, Wu Mengqiu, that for years, no one in Lantian dared to say no to the Wu family.

At this moment, Wu Mengqiu had secretly gathered the heads or elders of the other three great families for a private discussion.

"Once the Silver Iron Forest is breached, I have an agreement with Master Shancai of Qingsong Temple. The corpse of the Silver Iron Forest Demon King shall belong to him."

The others had no objections to this and nodded repeatedly. Wu Mengqiu then continued:

"We seven families have come together, but once the Demon King is dead, what are your thoughts on the distribution of spoils?"

The others looked at each other. Wu Mengqiu said, "I will speak plainly. I called you here to discuss this. We seven families agreed to develop the Silver Iron Forest together and to split it equally. But there is more than one way to interpret 'equal distribution,' wouldn't you agree?"

At these words, the other three families were overjoyed.

"Senior Mengqiu is correct. Even if we work together, we must account for how much effort each side contributes."
"Exactly! Our four families sent the most experts; why should we split it equally with them? I say, once the Demon King is dead, we take the most valuable parts!"
"Especially the Li family. All the experts they sent are in the early Foundation Establishment stage, and some just broke through recently. I think they are just here to make up the numbers. I can't afford to have such friends!"

Li Xiang lost interest in this "secret" meeting after a while. He had looked so closely only to gauge the experts of these factions. Soon, his gaze fixed upon a monk.

The monk sat under a giant tree, looking fat and round-eared. If not for his shaved head and the ring scars on his scalp, one would never guess he was a monk; he looked more like an old kitchen hand who spent his days stealing food, greasy and bloated. He wore large, plum-sized prayer beads around his neck, a beige monk’s robe trimmed with gold, and carried a golden Zen staff. One look told you that the incense money at Qingsong Temple was substantial.

[Master Shancai]
[Abbot of Qingsong Temple, a renowned expert in Taiqing County.]

Li Xiang frowned. The Pig Demon King in the Silver Iron Forest had a thousand years of cultivation, but if it truly had to face this Abbot, the chances of victory were slim. After all, no matter how much he loved wealth or wore gold and silver, he practiced Buddhist dharma, which was the greatest restraint against demonic energy.

...

Soon, the seven families gathered to discuss the siege of the Pig Demon King. The discussion lasted half a day, as all seven families had already sent experts to thoroughly scout the Silver Iron Forest inside and out.

Li Yaowen, sitting in her wheelchair, suddenly spoke up.

"Seniors, I believe that with our current strength, why do we need a plan? It would be better to march straight into the center of the Silver Iron Forest and take the Demon King's head!"

At these words, everyone glanced at Li Yaowen. Seeing a young girl in a wheelchair, known as the Li family’s beloved fourth daughter and the manager of their internal and external affairs, they felt dissatisfied but did not dare to reprimand her.

Seeing this, Li Dalong coldly snorted, "Yaozu, take this babbling thing away!"

As Li Yaozu pushed Li Yaowen out of the command tent, Li Dalong smiled bitterly at the others: "My deepest apologies. My daughter is young and inexperienced; she manages family affairs and is prone to being arrogant. Please do not take her nonsense to heart."

Seeing Li Dalong’s sincerity, the others said no more. This made Wu Mengqiu of the Lantian Wu family frown. He had intended to suggest a direct assault earlier, but since Li Yaowen had already said it and been dismissed by Li Dalong as arrogant, he couldn't bring it up again and looked displeased.

At this moment, an elder from the Qingping Gu family laughed: "We know the situation inside the Silver Iron Forest."

"The Demon King resides in the center, with its subordinate demon beasts guarding all directions. As such, we should attack from four sides to pin down the guardian beasts."

"Master Shancai’s Buddhist dharma is boundless; he surely has the means to defeat the Demon King."

"When the time comes, whether the Master helps us or we help the Master, we shall succeed!"

After speaking, the Gu family elder looked toward Master Shancai, who was meditating in the distance. "Master, what do you think?"

"Excellent." Master Shancai smiled, not holding the Demon King in high regard.

The strategy was set. In an instant, the seven families acted; a single signal arrow would be the sign for the seven-sided encirclement of the Demon King!

Two more days passed. The seven families parted ways, riding toward their respective positions. The Li family did the same, but they were closer; after arriving at their designated spot, they did not wait, but instead headed deeper into the Silver Iron Forest!

It was everyone’s first time seeing the Pig Demon King, and they were momentarily stunned. After all, demon king or not, the Pig Demon King’s appearance was a bit frightening...

Finally, Li Dalong let out a hearty laugh and stepped forward. "Hahaha, so this is our in-law! How... how majestic! I am Li Dalong, Yaotie’s father!"

"Fa... Father-in-law???"

The usually boisterous Li Yaotie appeared very restrained and baffled.

The Pig Demon King stood up, its massive body shaking dust into the air. It spoke in a gentle, soft voice, "I never expected to have a day where I would marry into a human family. I have heard of you all. The Li family’s help in dealing with the Silver Iron Forest crisis is a debt this forest will never forget."

"Think nothing of it! Since you are family to the Li clan, how could we let outsiders bully you?" Li Dalong grinned.

Watching the Pig Demon King and the Li family conversing amicably, Li Xiang pursed his lips. To be honest, when he first discovered that the Li family’s in-law was a pig—and a demon king at that—his shock was no less than that of the still-dumbfounded Li Yaotie.

He looked at Li Yaozu, who was scratching his head and blinking repeatedly, looking left and right as if questioning his own reality.

His brother’s father-in-law... is a pig?

Just as they were talking, in the scene:

"Whoosh!"

A signal arrow shot straight into the clouds! Everyone looked up at the arrow in the sky. In the Silver Iron Forest, the wind stirred the grass; the storm had arrived!

"In-law, it is time for us to get to work." Li Dalong’s eyes sharpened.

The Pig Demon King nodded slightly.

"I wish the Li family great martial fortune!"