With that in mind, Ren Kurogane immediately began trying to cultivate.
Yaya sat beside him with her cheeks resting in her hands, watching him cultivate.
A faint breeze swirled around Ren Kurogane as the spiritual energy between heaven and earth rushed into his body.
"Ah~"
An indescribable feeling of refreshment swept through his entire body. It was like getting an amazing massage after a long day of work—so comfortable that he didn't want it to end.
He cultivated like this, and a week passed.
Ren Kurogane opened his eyes again. Seeing the sun slowly rising, he sighed.
"Sure enough, there are no years in the mountains. A thousand years pass in the blink of an eye~"
Behind him, Yaya said, "Yeah. If I hadn't felt the power inside your body constantly increasing, I would've thought you'd gone into cultivation deviation."
Ren Kurogane slowly turned around and looked at Yaya, who was still sitting there.
"I didn't expect Second-in-Command to still be here. Didn't you go home last night?"
"No."
"Thank you for protecting my cultivation, Second-in-Command! But I have to go to work now! See you tonight!"
Ren Kurogane was about to leave when Rongrong suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Third-in-Command? What brings you here?"
Ren Kurogane glanced at the newly risen sun.
"Work hasn't started yet, has it? I'm not late."
Rongrong smiled faintly.
"Work hasn't started today. But you've been cultivating for a week, which means you've also skipped work for a week. So we've decided to fire you."
BOOM!
Thunder exploded in Ren Kurogane's head.
He stared at Rongrong in disbelief.
"A week? How is that possible?! It clearly didn't feel like that much time had passed!"
He looked at Yaya behind him.
She nodded slightly.
"Yeah. I've been sitting here for a week."
Hearing that, Ren Kurogane felt touched.
But the next moment, he realized something and turned toward Rongrong, crying pitifully.
"Third-in-Command! I really didn't skip work on purpose! This was my first time cultivating. I had no idea an entire week had passed!"
Faced with Ren Kurogane's frantic pleas, Rongrong merely smiled.
"Don't worry. Because your talent is exceptionally good, we've decided to give you a different job."
Ren Kurogane finally relaxed. He looked at Rongrong with gratitude and anticipation.
But her next words nearly made him cry.
"However, the losses Tushan suffered because you skipped work for a week must be repaid tenfold. Based on the time involved, you'll need to work for seventy thousand days before you earn your freedom."
"Thank you for your mercy, Third-in-Command…"
When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
Ren Kurogane could only thank her with a stiff expression.
Working as a laborer in Tushan meant getting squeezed by a heartless boss, but the outside world was even more dangerous.
If he remembered correctly, the demon-human world at this point could be described as the law of the jungle taken to the extreme.
Demons fought demons.
Humans fought humans.
Humans fought demons.
"Now that I think about it, spending seventy thousand days in Tushan doesn't sound so bad."
Seeing Ren Kurogane's expression change from misery to happiness, a question mark appeared above Rongrong's head.
Putting the matter aside, Rongrong now had to take Ren Kurogane to see Honghong.
Her sister had told her to bring him over as soon as he finished cultivating, and they'd already wasted several minutes.
"All right, follow me. I'll take you to see Sis."
"Yes!"
Ren Kurogane followed Rongrong to the Tree of Acknowledgement.
Unexpectedly, Yaya—the ultimate sister-con—didn't follow them.
It seemed that while Ren Kurogane and Rongrong had been talking, that idiot had fallen asleep…
The Tree of Acknowledgement was the foundation of Tushan's existence.
It was also one of the biggest mysteries in Fox Spirit Matchmaker.
Before crossing over, Ren Kurogane had even wondered whether this thing was part of some scheme by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
However, the story later contained far too many tragic twists, and he hadn't read it in a long time. He had no idea what the Tree of Acknowledgement's true nature was.
At that moment, Honghong stood barefoot on the grass beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement, looking up at it.
"You said humans and demons will live together peacefully in the future?"
Her voice was soft, but only Honghong and Rongrong knew how nervous she actually was.
Ren Kurogane said, "Yeah. They've lived peacefully together for hundreds of years. Come to think of it, it was Tushan's leader who first brought humans and demons together."
Hearing Ren Kurogane give her a definite answer once again, a smile appeared on Honghong's face.
So the future me really succeeded!
At that moment, the tension that had been building inside Honghong for who knew how many hundreds of years suddenly disappeared.
The uncertainty she had felt about the future vanished as well, and she seemed much more energetic.
Honghong turned around and smiled at Ren Kurogane.
"Do you know what caused the two races to live together peacefully?"
"What else could it be? Obviously because they got a common enemy~"
"A common enemy?"
Honghong and Rongrong exchanged glances, their expressions becoming serious.
What could possibly have happened to make two races that had always been bitter enemies join forces?
"So the future must be full of danger?" Rongrong cautiously asked.
"Danger? It's not too bad. We have plenty of top-tier fighters on our side. The creatures from beyond the Circle can't make much trouble anyway."
Ren Kurogane had his own thoughts about how much information he should reveal.
Fox Spirit Matchmaker had originally been an entertaining comedy, but later became increasingly serious because certain people kept their discoveries secret and refused to say anything even when they were dying.
Then there were others who had spent a thousand years raising strong fighters, hoping to produce someone on their own level who could join them in destroying the creatures from beyond the Circle.
That had turned the entire story into one tragedy after another.
But changing all of that wasn't as simple as just revealing the plot.
It had to happen gradually.
As for those matters, Ren Kurogane had no idea where to start right now.
He wasn't Superman. How could he possibly think of everything?
For now, he was more concerned about his own life.
Especially after learning from Rongrong that his cultivation talent was quite good, Ren Kurogane was eager to keep improving.
He wanted to become a Demon Emperor as soon as possible so that he'd have some say in the demon-human world.
"There are plenty of top-tier fighters?"
Honghong smiled.
"All right. You can leave now."
With that, she turned around and looked at the towering Tree of Acknowledgement.
But this time, Honghong seemed to sense something different.
Rongrong had the deepest connection with the Tree of Acknowledgement, so she immediately noticed the change in her sister and smiled happily.
"Let's go. I'll arrange your new job."
On the way, Ren Kurogane cautiously asked, "Third-in-Command, what will my new job be? Is it busy?"
Rongrong smiled.
"Don't worry. Your new task is to cultivate. Cultivate as quickly as possible until you've reached your limit, then work as a security guard in Tushan."
"A security guard!"
Ren Kurogane's eyes lit up.
He was suddenly full of hope for the future!
Rongrong brought Ren Kurogane back to the place where he had cultivated before.
Yaya was leaning against a tree, asleep with her knees hugged to her chest.
"Cultivate here. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Sister Yaya. All right, I still have things to do, so I won't stay and chat."
Rongrong smiled and left.
Her sister seemed to have finally let go of the knot in her heart today, which made Rongrong very happy.
The street-sweeping job she had originally planned for Ren Kurogane had also been changed to cultivation first, followed by becoming a security guard.
Ren Kurogane sat down again.
He glanced at Yaya sleeping soundly beneath the tree and figured she shouldn't get cold, then began cultivating once more.
"I wonder what point in the timeline this is. But according to the plot I know, less than ten years pass between Honghong growing up and Dongfang Yuechu arriving in Tushan. I should be able to meet that Golden Pig soon!"
Looking back over the entire manga, the person Ren Kurogane wanted to kill most was that Golden Pig!
Unfortunately, the Golden Pig was very powerful.
Ren Kurogane was still too weak to defeat him.
Soon, Ren Kurogane sank back into the comfortable feeling of cultivation.
This time, with his boss's permission, he completely immersed himself in cultivation.
So that he could one day punch that bastard pig, he cultivated even faster!
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
One day, on the summit of a mountain in Tushan, a blue storm shot straight into the sky and transformed into a white divine tiger that threw its head back and roared.
"Roar~~"
Rumble…
The clouds were blown apart, revealing the blue sky.
"All right! You're just becoming a Demon King! Do you have to make so much noise?! You're so annoying!"
A furious shout rang out.
The white tiger's phantom froze in midair before dispersing with the wind.
Ren Kurogane sat on the grass and smiled at Yaya beside him.
"Sister Yaya, why did you suddenly shout so loudly? You scared my poor little heart half to death!"
Yaya stared at Ren Kurogane with dead-fish eyes.
"Heh. Three years to become a Demon King. You're pretty damn proud of yourself, aren't you?"
"Not at all, not at all! It only took me three years of cultivation to barely break through to the Demon King Realm. Although that already makes me a genius among ordinary demons, in front of you, Sister Yaya, my tiny bit of talent is nothing but a firefly compared to your bright moon!"
After hearing Ren Kurogane's praise, Yaya's mood immediately improved.
A satisfied smile spread across her chubby little face as she lifted her chin.
"You're exaggerating! Hahahaha!"
Ren Kurogane stood to the side, grinning as he watched Yaya.
During these three years, he had spent most of his time cultivating with Yaya.
Honghong seemed to have gone off to deal with something and hadn't been in Tushan recently, while Rongrong had to handle all sorts of matters in Tushan and was busy enough that he rarely saw her.
Fortunately, Yaya did nothing but play all day and didn't have to worry about anything.
Otherwise, whenever Ren Kurogane ran into problems during cultivation, he really wouldn't have anyone to ask.
After laughing for a while, Yaya finally remembered why she'd been curious in the first place.
"Right! I wanted to ask you something. Why did you cultivate so quickly? No matter how talented an ordinary demon is, there's no way they could go from having no cultivation at all to becoming a Demon King in just three years!"
"That's…"
Ren Kurogane was puzzled by it himself.
He was a transmigrator, but before crossing over, he had just been an ordinary person. He had never cultivated before.
Even if this body's talent was truly incredible, could it really be higher than Yaya's?
Yaya, a naturally born Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, had needed many years to become a Demon King.
Ren Kurogane was a White Tiger, but he wasn't the Divine White Tiger.
So why had he cultivated so quickly?
Could this be my transmigrator cheat?
In the end, Ren Kurogane attributed it to his transmigrator's cheat and happily accepted it.
The next day.
After becoming a Demon King, Ren Kurogane had originally planned to continue cultivating, hoping to reach the Demon Emperor Realm before the Golden Pig came looking for trouble.
That way, he'd have a chance to kill the Golden Pig himself!
Just thinking about it made Ren Kurogane a little excited.
Unfortunately, he couldn't cultivate today.
After his breakthrough to the Demon King Realm, Rongrong summoned him.
She was probably planning to have him start working.
When he arrived, Ren Kurogane bowed.
"Third-in-Command! Ren Kurogane has come to pay his respects!"
Rongrong smiled.
"All right. Just call me Rongrong."
Rongrong walked over to Ren Kurogane.
"I really didn't expect you to reach the Demon King Realm in just three years."
Ren Kurogane smiled awkwardly.
"Well, maybe I was just lucky… hehe…"
Rongrong smiled.
"Cultivation is certainly related to luck and talent, but the most important factor is actually something else."
"Oh? I'd like to hear more!"
This was the first time Ren Kurogane had heard such a theory.
In his understanding, wasn't cultivation simply about talent and resources?
What else could it possibly depend on?
Unfortunately, Rongrong couldn't give him the answer.
She hadn't come into contact with that aspect herself.
She smiled.
"The cultivation method of us Tushan Fox Demons revolves around one word: love. As long as we comprehend love, our demonic power can increase. As for other demons, I'm honestly not sure."
"All right…"
Ren Kurogane looked disappointed.
He felt that whatever Rongrong meant by "something else" was probably the key to cultivation in this world.
Perhaps the reason he cultivated so quickly was because he possessed that "something else."
I have something they don't…
For the moment, he really couldn't figure out what it was.
After saying that, Rongrong finally got to the main point.
"You're now a Demon King in your own right. What are you planning to do next?"
Ren Kurogane immediately answered, "I'll leave everything to you, Lady Rongrong!"
He thought that now that his strength had increased, Rongrong might believe he intended to leave Tushan and establish himself somewhere else, which was why she was asking.
But in the current world, Ren Kurogane genuinely couldn't think of anywhere other than Tushan where he could live this comfortably.
Yes.
These past few years in Tushan had been incredibly happy.
Every day, he didn't have to think about anything or worry about anything. He only needed to do his own job.
It was ridiculously comfortable!
Leave?
He'd have to be out of his mind to leave!
Seeing that Ren Kurogane truly had no intention of leaving and establishing himself as a king, Rongrong said, "Originally, we planned to make you a security guard. But you're already a Demon King now, so you'll accompany Sis on her patrols instead."
"Patrol? Sure, sure!"
Ren Kurogane nodded furiously.
Patrolling with the Tushan leader was practically the easiest job imaginable.
Honghong only came out when someone entered Tushan's territory.
Normally, he could do whatever he wanted.
He'd have plenty of freedom.
So he agreed without hesitation.
Rongrong nodded and called toward the outside.
"Sis, I'll leave him to you from now on!"
Honghong was already standing outside the door, though no one knew when she'd arrived.
She nodded at Rongrong, then looked at Ren Kurogane.
"Follow me."
Honghong turned and walked away.
Ren Kurogane didn't dare delay and hurried after her.
Following the beautiful blonde woman, the two arrived beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement.
"As long as I stand here, I can clearly sense every corner of Tushan. The moment any unfamiliar presence appears within Tushan's territory, I'll sense it immediately and rush over."