King of Creation

Chapter 1924: Chapter 1909: Favor

The current policy followed by the Demon Race, especially regarding personal disputes, is still learned from the Human Clan, where officials don’t investigate unless there’s a formal complaint.

Since Hur Kaiqi had already left, the commander of the Tiger King Divine Guard, Hur Huan, took his leave after a brief exchange with Yun Ben.

As a second-generation official of the Demon Race with significant personal power, Yun Ben owned more than a dozen luxurious residences in the White Tiger Mountain Range, where the natural Qi was exceedingly abundant.

Demon Race residences are mostly large and grand.

The estate that Yun Ben brought Ye Zhen and others to was somewhat exquisite, but the courtyard was incredibly large—a ten-mile long and five-mile wide yard in the cultivation-effective White Tiger Mountain Range is not something an average person could obtain.

The reason for such a large courtyard is mainly that the Demon Race usually exists in human form, but occasionally they reveal their true bodies to stretch or relax.

As for why Yun Ben was so domineering among the Tiger Clan, it was, according to Yun Ben, for a good reason.

The Tiger Clan, as one of the overlords in the Taimeng Demon Realm, had many subordinate and vassal races.

Among them, the Leopard Clan was a subordinate race to the Tiger Clan.

Originally, the Leopard Clan was independent in the Ancient Times, but during the Great Ancient War, the Demon Emperor who sheltered them perished thoroughly.

After that, until the Ancient Times, no Demon Emperor emerged from the Leopard Clan.

In the Taimeng Demon Realm, many demon races survived without a demon race protector, but the Leopard Clan couldn’t.

The Leopard Clan, known for its comparable combat power to the Tiger Clan, lost its own Demon Emperor’s protection and became a target for several other demon races with Demon Emperors.

Everyone wanted to annex the battle-strong Leopard Clan, but no one wanted the Leopard Clan to fall into the hands of other overlord demon races.

At that time, the leader of the Leopard Clan was an extremely wise Great Saint who clearly understood the Leopard Clan’s current state.

The Leopard Clan’s path was to choose a demon Emperor as quickly as possible to affiliate with.

If the Leopard Clan wanted to navigate diplomatically and buy time for a Demon Emperor to emerge, the eventual result would be their total annihilation by other overlord clans with Demon Emperors.

Ultimately, the Leopard Clan chose to ally with the Tiger Clan, closely affiliating themselves with the White Tiger Demon Emperor.

Originally, within the Tiger Clan, the status of the Leopard Clan’s Great Saint and Demon Commander was inferior to that of the Tiger Clan’s Great Saint and Demon Commander.

However, the trust of the White Tiger Demon Emperor elevated the Leopard Clan Great Saint’s status to nearly equal that of the Tiger Clan’s Great Saints.

It was even slightly higher, and those Tiger Clan Demon Kings and Great Saints dared not easily offend the Leopard Clan’s Demon Kings and Great Saints.

The underlying reason was the internal power struggles within the Tiger Clan.

Currently, the Tiger Clan had only one Demon Emperor but several Demon Kings.

Those Demon Kings had the potential to advance to Demon Emperor, or rather, advance to Creation.

Should any Demon King advance to Creation, they would immediately divide the rule of the current White Tiger Demon Emperor, inevitably resulting in a bloody conflict.

The Leopard Clan, by contrast, was different.

The likelihood of a Leopard Clan Demon King or Great Saint advancing to Creation was very low, subtly controlled by the White Tiger Demon Emperor.

As a result, the White Tiger Demon Emperor trusted the Leopard Clan more decât sions in the Tiger Clan.

Even if a Demon Emperor did emerge from the Leopard Clan, they would never be able to contest the White Tiger Demon Emperor for dominion.

Conversely, if a Demon Emperor from the Leopard Clan did emerge, there would only be two possibilities: rebellion or continued affiliation with the White Tiger Demon Emperor to accumulate strength.

Therefore, in every respect, the Leopard Clan was more trustworthy than the same species’ Demon Kings and Great Saints.

Thus, the three strongest clans within the Leopard Clan became the White Tiger Demon Emperor’s Personal Army.

Yun Ben’s clan, the Gold-Cracking Cloud Leopard, was also part of the White Tiger Demon Emperor’s Personal Army.

Due to this connection, those Tiger Clan Demon Kings and Great Saints seldom broke ties with the Leopard Clan’s Demon Kings and Great Saints.

If matters escalated to the White Tiger Demon Emperor, both parties would surely receive reprimands, but ultimately the Tiger Clan’s Great Saints would face more substantial penalties, especially concerning the White Tiger Demon Emperor’s Personal Army.

Yun Ben’s father was a Great Saint of the Gold-Cracking Cloud Leopard Clan and could be considered a commander of a branch of the White Tiger Demon Emperor’s Personal Army, with Yun Ben himself now becoming a Demon Commander of this army.

Moreover, the Leopard Clan also spoke through strength.

Under such circumstances, it’s no wonder that Yun Ben could behave domineeringly within the Tiger Clan.

Having heard Yun Ben explain these complicated relationships, Ye Zhen smirked, "Had I known you could swagger around in the Tiger Clan, we would have come straight to you for information. There would have been no need for all this trouble."

"Brother Ye, you’re mistaken."

"How so?"

"Within the Tiger Clan, I can indeed strut around with my Personal Army Demon Commander status and my Great Saint father, but when it comes to intelligence gathering, you really can’t rely on me. You still need someone like Hur Kaiqi who knows the lay of the land."

"Why?" Ye Zhen had already vaguely guessed the answer.

"Because, as per the Demon Emperor’s stance on the Leopard Clan, we and the Tiger Clan are actually set against each other. We can only gather trivial information, but anything slightly internal to the Tiger Clan is completely inaccessible to us."

"I see!"

As Ye Zhen nodded, Yun Ben edged closer with a sly grin, "I say, Brother Ye, since I stepped in to solve today’s trouble for you, don’t you owe me a favor? Doesn’t that repay the favor I owed you?" Yun Ben hesitated, fingers intertwined, "Owing someone is not a great feeling."

Years ago, on the Five Immortals Arena, Ye Zhen battled fiercely with Yun Ben. Facing Ye Zhen’s deadly move, Yun Ben thought he was doomed but didn’t expect Ye Zhen to pull back at his own risk, sparing Yun Ben’s life.

Right on the Five Immortals Arena, Yun Ben declared he owed Ye Zhen his life.

"What do you think?" Ye Zhen chuckled.

Yun Ben’s face turned pained, "I was just saying, it’s not...."

"Actually, you don’t owe me a favor." Ye Zhen interrupted Yun Ben, "That favor from years ago, I’ve already used it up. As it stands, I owe you a favor now."

Back on the Five Immortals Island, Ye Zhen had already used that favor to ask Yun Ben to help him search for Caiyi.

Hearing this, Yun Ben’s expression grew even more troubled, "But the thing is, after all this time, I’ve basically found no clues related to the Caiyi you’re looking for."

"Well, just keep searching then. Remember, I owe you a favor today!" Ye Zhen said.

"I...." Yun Ben looked even more distressed.

"Come on, drink up! Try some of the Imperial Wine I brought from the Great Zhou Dynasty!" Ye Zhen casually opened the clay seal of a wine jar, and the fragrance of the wine immediately made Yun Ben’s nostrils twitch.

Although the Demon Race does appreciate good wine, when it comes to brewing, they can’t match the Human Clan, even if they chase with eight horses.

Despite trade between the two realms, not even the Imperial Wine of the Great Zhou, but any fine liquor from there costs a fortune when transported here.

For the Demon Race, who consume in massive quantities, it’s no issue for a second-generation official to splurge on drinks imported from the Great Zhou as a form of indulgence.

With a few bowls of the fine wine downed, Yun Ben became animated and talkative.

"Brother Ye, you’re too cunning. You owe me a favor, but I still owe you one, and unless I find Caiyi, I can’t repay it."

Ye Zhen smiled and said nothing, just raised his wine bowl, "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

In just two hours, more than twenty wine jars gathered behind Yun Ben, and eight behind Ye Zhen.

Even with Yun Ben’s adept cultivation, the reckless drinking without using spiritual power left him bleary-eyed.

In a daze, Yun Ben thought he saw Ye Zhen’s figure overlap and waver for a moment, but as he watched Ye Zhen raise his bowl again, he paid no mind and drank heartily, "Cheers!"

Amidst the sound of liquor flowing, Ye Zhen’s True Body silently slipped away from Yun Ben’s mansion!