Chapter 346: The Demon Country's National Teacher

"The National Teacher is inviting me?"

What is that sinister, rotten old man with a belly full of bad water trying to do now?

Because of certain matters, Cang Hai has never had a good impression of the National Teacher.

Although he wouldn't deliberately go out of his way to provoke the other party on a daily basis, one shouldn't expect to hear any kind words about him from his mouth.

Besides...

Has His Majesty really already enfeoffed him as the Crown Prince?

Regarding this point, many people were actually not surprised; those who were quick-witted had mostly guessed this development after seeing the Phoenix phantom.

But guessing is one thing; before the Demon Emperor Huang Huang truly indicated her stance, no one dared to jump to conclusions.

The contemporary Demon Emperor had not appointed a Crown Prince for many years after succeeding to the throne; who knew if she truly had no such intention, or if she was deliberately unwilling, wanting to continue holding all power alone.

The Emperor's Heart is hard to fathom, and the Demon Emperor's intentions are the same.

Cang Hai tilted his head to look at the youth who was continuing to calmly gnaw on a melon to the side, and pondered for a moment.

"..."

The matter of the National Teacher's invitation was not too sudden, reasonably or logically.

Reasonably, it was only right for the National Teacher to want to build a good relationship with the Crown Prince.

Logically, as a backup means to keep the Demon Emperor in check, the National Teacher would naturally support the Crown Prince vigorously, striving to enable him to satisfy the corresponding needs.

But even so, Cang Hai felt that this matter made him somewhat unhappy.

It was clearly me who invited him first!

By doing this, aren't you just refusing to give this General face?

"Hmph!"

But unhappy as he was, Cang Hai absolutely could not hide this matter and not report it.

That would be too stupid.

Leaving behind such a handle would be purely handing a knife to the other party.

After thinking for a while, Cang Hai turned his head and smiled at Ren Yidao:

"Little friend, I'm afraid today's banquet can only be delayed until a later date."

"The National Teacher has invited you to his mansion for a chat."

"Congratulations!"

National Teacher's Mansion.

"You've come."

The National Teacher slowly opened his eyes, looked at the person before him, and shook his head:

"You shouldn't have come."

"Heh, I came because I wanted to."

Cang Hai crossed his arms with a defiant look and said with a twisted mouth:

"Can this broken place of yours actually stop me?"

"Or are you saying that your National Teacher's Mansion doesn't welcome this General?"

The National Teacher glanced at this top-two rascal of the Demon Country and said indifferently:

"General Cang, what are you saying? How could the National Teacher's Mansion not welcome you, a pillar of the Demon Country?"

"The General has worked hard and achieved much, guarding the Demon Country for many years; you can go anywhere."

"It's just... the General came so suddenly that this old man was caught off guard. Today, I only prepared a portion for His Highness, not for the General."

The old man stroked the white beard under his jaw, pointed at the basket in front of him, and said with profound meaning:

"You surely must recognize what kind of fruit this is, General?"

"That's right, it is precisely the Demon Fruit essential for every family when raising their descendants."

"It's just that this fruit is somewhat special; I planted it with my own hands three hundred years ago, watering and cultivating it personally every day. It sprouted in one hundred years, blossomed in two hundred, and bore fruit in three hundred."

"Today is the first time it has been picked, and now there is only this much. If the General eats it... then there won't be a portion for His Highness the Crown Prince."

After finishing, the old man just stared smilingly at Cang Hai, whose expression had changed, and pressed on:

"If the General is greedy, then we can only let His Highness the Crown Prince suffer a grievance."

"Moreover, after the fruit is picked, the old branches rot and need to be replanted; we can only let His Highness eat it again in three hundred years."

He stared at Cang Hai like a kind old man, and added as if he were afraid he would worry:

"General, please do not have any burden. This old man will naturally explain it well to His Highness the Crown Prince, and will absolutely ensure he does not blame you."

The old man's tone was long and drawn out, his breath was weak, and his voice carried a hoarseness from the friction of his throat, which made one feel uncomfortable all over just listening to it.

Cang Hai felt truly and deeply what it meant to be restless, and what it meant to be caught in a dilemma.

"Damn it, what bad luck! To actually be passive-aggressively mocked by this old thing!"

"What do I do now?"

Cang Hai's uninvited arrival this time seemed like the impulsive act of a reckless man without regard for consequences, but in reality, he had his own thoughts in it.

On one hand, he wanted to demand an explanation from the National Teacher: by what right do you take away a guest I invited just because you say so?

Does this General have so little face?

On the other hand, his move also had the intention of holding down the fort for Ren Yidao.

Before Cang Lan brought Ren Yidao to meet him, Cang Hai had been silently observing from the shadows.

From various details, he concluded that the relationship between these two was absolutely not as simple as it appeared on the surface!

Hmph!

Two greenhorns, and you still want to deceive this wise and martial Great General?

Not a chance!

There is definitely something going on between the two of you!

There is definitely something fishy!

And after Cang Lan slapped Cang Hai, the old man became even more certain of his guess.

"This must be shyness!"

"She is using a fierce exterior to cover up the shyness in her heart!"

"I know this all too well; she is exactly the same as her mother was back then!"

"Clearly happy in her heart, yet she insists on giving me a hit..."

"When they left, they were secretly exchanging glances in front of me; did they think I couldn't tell?"

It was just that Cang Hai had not considered one crucial point.

When her mother was shy back then, she would give him a slap to cover it up, but why, when it came to his own daughter, did she still give him a slap when covering up her shyness?

Why was he the only one always getting hit?

Great General Cang Hai did not consider this point, and he did not care about these minor details either.

He only knew that his daughter, who had been a blockhead for many years, finally seemed to show signs of blossoming.

This was the most important thing!

And in order to clearly state his position, old classmate Cang decided to step out and properly support his future son-in-law.

The State Preceptor?

Just an old guy with half his body already in the grave.

What is there to fear!?

And then... there was no then.

The aggressive General Cang was not kicked out; instead, he was invited into the room first, only to be given a good lecture by the State Preceptor who had been waiting for a long time.

Finally, after holding back his anger for a long time, Cang Hai eventually gave up resistance and snorted angrily:

"If I don't eat, I don't eat! Who would even want this stuff of yours!"

"Enough! Stop talking so much nonsense."

"I'll just ask you one thing: are you intentionally not giving me face today?"

Although Cang Hai's words sounded imposing, both people present knew that he was already backing down, just unable to let go of his pride.

The State Preceptor shook his head, gave him that face, and smiled apologetically:

"It is because I did not make myself clear to the servant; I only told him to help me invite the Crown Prince, but I did not expect the Crown Prince to already be the General's guest. It is my poor instruction, and I hope the General will not blame me."

The wolf-headed man's mouth twitched, he coughed twice, and nodded:

"Ahem, since it's a misunderstanding, then it's fine."

"Well, this General just remembered he has things to attend to later, so I'll be taking my leave first!"

After speaking, he didn't care about the State Preceptor's reaction, turned his head, and strode outside.

"General, walk slowly."

Watching Cang Hai stride away, the old man shook his head helplessly and sighed silently:

"Sigh..."

"Truly a brute beyond saving."

An idiot.

A pure idiot.

"I previously thought he might be a bit better than General Mo's dog brain, but now it seems... birds of a feather, there's little difference."

The two biggest troublemakers in the Demon Country today are General Cang of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan and General Mo of the Black Moon Dog Clan.

These two dogs are more shameless than the other!

They are simply the shame of the Demon Country!

If it weren't for the fact that the two of them are die-hard members of the Demon Emperor Party and two prominent banners that cannot be easily touched, he would really want to find an opportunity to properly deal with these two guys.

"Alright, finally sent this guy away, it's time to meet the new Crown Prince."

The State Preceptor thought of the fleeting glimpse he saw before General Cang entered the door, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"The Crown Prince..."

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as they think."

"Crown Prince, please take a seat; forgive this old man for not being able to stand up to salute."

"State Preceptor, you flatter this junior."

"Hehe."

"Haha."

Amidst the mutual greetings of the old and the young, the small room was peaceful, filled with a harmonious atmosphere of respecting the old and cherishing the young.

Of course, this harmony was merely superficial.

After a brief clash, both people present clearly realized one point.

"This is not someone easy to fool." ×2

"Not the same as General Cang." ×2

They smelled a similar scent.

Although both were smiling, they both understood that this was merely going through the motions.

But what could be done even if they saw through it?

Before figuring out the other party's intentions, neither of them had any intention of tearing off the mask, so they could only continue this tug-of-war even if it was uncomfortable.

"Your Highness, please accept this Demon Fruit."

"Huh? Cashew?"

Ren Yidao blinked blankly, not knowing how this fruit produced in the tropics had entered the Demon Emperor City fruit market...

Could it be that because it is the corpse of a Phoenix, Demon Emperor City belongs to the tropics?

But, is this cashew of yours authentic?

It doesn't look like it to me.

The State Preceptor took in Ren Yidao's confused expression, knowing that he truly did not know about Demon Fruit, which made him even more certain that he did not come from overseas.

"Your Highness wandered abroad in your youth and does not know the origin of the Demon Fruit, so let this old man introduce it to you."

"This fruit is unique to the Demon Race; it is specially cultivated by a Great Demon for their offspring, irrigated with their own Demon Qi and essence blood, and takes decades to harvest."

"This fruit can cleanse the marrow and cut the bones, effectively improving one's bloodline and aptitude."

"Furthermore, the earlier one consumes it after entering the Earth Realm, the better the effect on improving the bloodline."

"The younger the age, the greater the improvement to the bone structure."

Ren Yidao nodded slowly, feeling quite emotional inside.

This is indeed hard to see in the Human Realm.

In the Human Realm, one cannot even see a few Great Demons, let alone see a Great Demon with the spare energy to waste essence blood to cultivate Spirit Plants to raise offspring.

They certainly exist, but they are all hidden and cannot be found by anyone.

As for Ren Yidao...

Heh!

Huhu is born of Heaven and Earth, with no father or mother.

A common beast who was lonely and helpless from birth, no one prepared this for him at all.

The State Preceptor seemed to see the fleeting sadness in Ren Yidao's eyes and immediately sighed, saying as if feeling heartache:

"Your Highness has lived alone in the Human Realm all these years; you must have suffered a lot and endured many grievances."

Grievances?

Ren Yidao was silent, nodded lightly, then shook his head, and said with a calm face:

"Those things have long since passed and are not worth mentioning."

The State Preceptor was somewhat surprised; he did not expect Ren Yidao's reaction to be so calm, and his vigilance toward him in his heart rose a notch higher.

"This person is not simple; his mind is firm, and he can endure what ordinary people cannot."

But actually, the State Preceptor misunderstood.

It really wasn't that Ren Yidao could endure.

It was that he really didn't have anything to be aggrieved about...

Ren Yidao just recalled it seriously and reflected on the first half of his fox life.

The hardest time he had in this life was the period before his Transformation Demon.

Starting as a little fox, he had nothing.

That life was one of eating raw meat and blood; the main theme was to do as the locals do and be content with whatever comes.

Once he reached the Transformation Demon stage later, life got better.

He started being sent various tributes by mortals, worshipped and offered to, with no worries about food or drink, free and unfettered.

Later on, he was abducted by the female demon to the mountain stronghold and became the little fox of the stronghold.

When he was a pet white fox, he was petted three times a day and ravaged once every three days; the female demon's hand never left his tail.

By the time he could take human form, that life was even more heartbreaking.

To suppress the female demon, he spent his days racking his brains.

Besides, this sentence actually refers to three things...

But other than that, Ren Yidao had no experience of being persecuted by others.

In these memories, most of it was him persecuting others.

Am I a victim?

No.

Huhu is a genuine perpetrator.

Ren Yidao really didn't have the face to say how miserable he had been.

He really couldn't say it.

The State Preceptor did not know Ren Yidao's inner reflection and continued:

"With the density of Your Highness's bloodline, the Demon Fruit probably won't provide much of an improvement, but it can improve your bones and heal the hidden injuries of these years."

Naturally, it is not only fighting that leaves scars; normal cultivation does too.

Cultivation techniques are fixed formulas, but everyone's body has subtle differences, and the techniques of predecessors may not be one hundred percent suitable for their successors.

If there is an error in the method of circulating Dharma Power in the body, it may not be discovered at the beginning, but it will slowly leave behind hidden dangers after accumulating over time.

And another effect of the Demon Fruit is that it allows Demon Qi to circulate in the body in the most suitable way; while repairing, it can also guide the user to understand the flow of meridians in the body.

"In addition, the Demon Fruit this old man prepared for Your Highness has a more special origin; it was irrigated using the blood pool in the special Secret Realm of Demon Emperor City."

Ren Yidao thought of a possibility, and his eyes widened slightly.

Wait, the Xue Chi in Demon Emperor City?

This Demon Emperor City, it seems to be the corpse of the Phoenix Demon God, right?

Could it be that...

The State Preceptor nodded slightly, confirming his conjecture:

"That is correct. Just as Your Highness thought, this fruit was watered with the diluted blood of the Phoenix Demon God."

"I thought that sooner or later I would need to prepare Demon Fruit for the offspring of His Majesty the Demon Emperor, so I have been preparing it in advance all along; who knew it would go unused for all these years."

"It was not until Your Highness appeared that I could finally set my mind at ease, and all these years of hard work were not in vain."

A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of the seemingly kind old man, and he grinned as he said:

"This truly is Heaven blessing my Demon Race."