I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Another day has passed, and Kuang Polou has returned to Shilin City. He entered the city quietly, much like Jin Honglian, concealing his identity. As for why he didn’t use a communication stone to contact his people, it’s because blocking communications during a siege is standard practice. Even without a blockade, the battlefield changes in an instant; a moment’s distraction could lead to death. For the sake of his people, he preferred to return on his own to gather information.

However, Kuang Polou’s connections have always been more extensive than Jin Honglian’s. Upon entering the city, he found it thriving, completely devoid of the shadows of defeat, and immediately reached out to his son.

Yet, he couldn’t get in touch with either of his sons, including his loyal confidants, which left Kuang Polou bewildered. Fortunately, he encountered a patrol captain he had met a few times, so he pulled the man aside, revealed his identity, and inquired about the current state of Shilin City.

It was a good thing he asked; the moment he did, Kuang Polou’s blood pressure skyrocketed, nearly sending him into a rage.

His younger son had met a tragic end in prison, while his elder son had incited a rebellion among his confidants. Di Yu had concealed his cultivation and forcefully suppressed the allied forces, completely reversing a situation that seemed destined for defeat.

He had only been gone a few days—how could everything have changed so drastically?

Kuang Polou had thought that with the secret realm’s opportunities, he would return in strength, and if Shilin City could weather this storm, he could rise to become the lord of the city. Now, however, with one son dead and the other imprisoned, and his confidants also caught in jail, his position as deputy city lord was rendered meaningless.

All of this was due to that damned fellow, Long Tian.

If he hadn’t underestimated him from the start, if he had just taken action to kill him when he was bullying his younger son, things would surely not have turned out this way.

Hatred! A hatred that penetrates to the marrow of the soul!

“Crazy Deputy City Lord, since you’ve returned, you should go and speak with Lord Di Yu,” the captain of the patrol said cautiously. “It’s best not to stir up any other troubles for now.”

Although the captain of the patrol was not part of the Crazy Breaking Tower faction, he did not harbor any dislike for it. Given the upheaval in the Crazy family, it was wise to confront the situation head-on and prioritize resolution, rather than inciting further conflict and inviting controversy.

“I don’t need your reminders!” Crazy Breaking Tower’s eyes were bloodshot, his gaze fierce and wild. After all, he was a Great Ascension Demon Emperor; he took a moment to adjust his breathing and managed to calm down somewhat.

With Long Tian under the protection of the Golden Red Lotus, the turmoil in the Crazy family would surely sway Di Yu further toward the Golden Red Lotus side. First, he would plead for Crazy Quanbing and his trusted allies, and then they would unite to pressure Di Yu, forcing her to compel the Golden Red Lotus to hand over Long Tian—that was the best strategy.

In just a few seconds, having determined the course of action for revenge, Crazy Breaking Tower began to make his way toward the City Lord’s mansion.

On the way, he did not remove his disguise. Although the matter did not directly concern him, the Crazy family had been branded with the label of traitors. The common folk were foolish and would not rationally analyze right from wrong; if they discovered him, he would undoubtedly be met with curses. Crazy Breaking Tower could not guarantee that he would be able to restrain himself from killing a few unruly citizens in his fury, so he chose to endure.

As he neared the City Lord’s mansion, a wisp of black smoke suddenly drifted out from his storage ring.

Crazy Breaking Tower felt a surge of confusion and quickly hid in a corner. He probed with his spiritual sense and discovered that the source of the black smoke was a treasure he had brought with him.

The legendary sword used by the Moon-Eating Demon Wolf.

“What are you?!” Crazy Breaking Tower stared at the black smoke, sensing that it was not demonic energy, but rather a strange and domineering force. Even in its current weakened state, it was still not to be underestimated.

The black smoke returned to the sword, and immediately, an ethereal voice echoed in his ear: “There are many names for me…”

After waiting a full quarter of an hour, Kuang Polou finally sheathed his treasured sword. Naturally, he couldn’t immediately trust that black smoke; the urgent matter at hand was to rescue his son and confidant from the prison.

————

When Diyi and Jin Honglian received the news of Kuang Polou’s return, they soon arrived at the city lord’s council hall.

“Lord Diyi! First of all, congratulations on breaking through to the sixth level of the Demon Emperor! With you here, Lion Forest City will surely be able to take control of the entire Northern Cold Continent! Perhaps even the Southern Xuan Continent!” Kuang Polou, without even seeing Diyi’s face clearly, clasped his hands in salute and spoke his congratulations with a resonant voice.

“Did you gain anything from this secret realm expedition?” Diyi had heard similar words countless times during this period; she had no intention of controlling the Northern Cold Continent, so she did not respond to the congratulations, instead heading straight to the matter at hand.

“Yes! I found the inheritance of the Moon-Eating Demon Wolf senior, the Moon-Eating Heart Method, and the holy sword he wielded!” Kuang Polou raised his head, only then noticing Diyi’s vitality was exceptionally vigorous, her appearance even younger than when they first met, exuding an unparalleled elegance, which involuntarily stirred a hint of curiosity within him.

Noticing Kuang Polou’s gaze, Diyi said nothing, for all the demon lords and demon emperors who saw her had the same reaction. She merely lifted her eyelids slightly, her tone carrying a hint of negotiation that was practically impossible to refuse: “Could you show it to me for a moment?”

Kuang Polou hesitated for a moment; he couldn’t quite grasp Diyi’s intentions. After all, the Moon-Eating Demon Wolf, as its name suggested, was a sacred being of the wolf clan, and the heart method was only suitable for them. As for that semi-holy sword, it wasn’t necessarily limited to the wolf clan…

Could it be that Diyi wanted to take away his opportunity, not wishing for him to develop further?

With a myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind, Kuang Polou ultimately took out the heart method and the treasured sword. There was no other choice; after all, his son and confidant were still locked in the prison. With a request of this nature towards Diyi, even if it meant severing his own future, he could only comply.

Diyi waved her hand, and the heart method and the sword floated before her, suspended in mid-air. She then took out a delicate small vial from her sleeve and sprinkled a bit of golden powder onto both the heart method and the sword.

Just as the golden powder touched the sword, a wisp of black smoke suddenly erupted from within. Fortunately, Diyi was well-prepared; with a single thought, the surrounding winds coalesced into a solid, transparent wall, firmly binding the black smoke and trapping it within.

“Ye Yongdi is truly a divine being! He actually spoke without missing a single detail!” Jin Honglian exclaimed, her beautiful eyes sparkling with light.

In fact, to be on the safe side, Jin Honglian had tested the opportunity she brought out last night, and there had been no abnormalities. She had also learned from Ye Yong that the black smoke was actually a malevolent creature from an outer realm, having narrowly escaped a fatal attack and hidden among the artifacts of those fallen predecessors from tens of thousands of years ago, waiting to be discovered in the secret realm of the Demon Forest.

For thousands of years, the Xuan Yang clan had been assassinating the Holy Word bearers, all under the influence of the outer realm’s malevolent species.

If such a wicked entity were to secretly manipulate Kuang Polou, the city of Shilin would inevitably face a crisis of destruction once again.

“Lord Diyi, what exactly is this?” Kuang Polou had actually heard the black smoke introduce itself long ago, claiming to be some sort of extermination envoy, yet now he could only feign ignorance, as if he had never encountered it.

“Just a rat that enjoys causing destruction in the shadows,” Diyi replied without elaborating, waving his hand again, and two opportunities returned to Kuang Polou.

“Let me go! Ignorant demon race! Do you know who I am?!” The black smoke struggled wildly, trying to break free from the wind prison.

“Heh.” Diyi wasted no words, his slender fingers pointed at the air, and flames entwined, forming a blazing fireball that struck the black smoke directly.

Under the scorching heat of the crimson flames, the black smoke emitted a wretched cry, and soon fell silent.