DKIE CH46: Poetry

The acknowledgment lasted for a total of three seconds.

The live broadcast was forcibly cut off in the next second, signaling the end of the hunt.

The demons who were watching the results had mixed feelings.

The nobles still near the blood pool had no time to think too much. The world before them once again became distorted. A white beam of light enveloped them, and when they opened their eyes again, the demons had been teleported back to the palace.

The Demon King sat back on his throne and spoke as if nothing had happened, “The banquet continues.”

No one dared to disobey his words.

Luka raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the Demon King’s attitude towards the demons was not so indifferent after all. At least he had hidden concerns about his winning over the mixed-blood demons, otherwise he would not have ended the live broadcast so quickly.

Everyone had their own ulterior motives.

The flowing music, the dancing figures on the dance floor, and the smiles and pleasantries returned to the faces of all the guests. Under the seemingly harmonious scene, most of the royal relatives’ gazes were somewhat evasive. No one knew what each other was thinking.

Princess Mary came to Alicia, a hint of affection in her stern expression, “Don’t believe the rumors outside.”

“…You are a strong contender for the future position of Demon King. If Grandma really had that intention, the Demon King would have secretly stopped it long ago.”

Otherwise, would it be appropriate for the grandmother to possess the granddaughter to ascend her son’s throne?

Alicia nodded, “I know this is a divisive trick.”

She was originally ninety percent suspicious, but now she was ten percent certain.

This mad demon wanted to possess her.

On the other side, having successfully become the protagonist of the banquet, Luka drank a few more glasses of fruit wine and perfunctorily answered the guests who were inquiring about the inside story of the blood pool.

More and more people came to inquire about the Demon Ancestor. In the end, he became so annoyed that he left early on the grounds of being drunk.

He walked for a long time along the maze-like underground passage. The guards on both sides were motionless, as if they were dead nails in place.

There were no guards at the end. Luka pushed open the door.

A voice that could easily be mistaken for indifference came first, “What took you so long?”

Luka flapped his wings. His cheeks were a little flushed. The fruit wine of the Saint Demon Continent was really strong.

“Fortunately, you didn’t follow. The Demon King really did investigate me.”

Quill Pen’s consciousness had been covering the vicinity all along and was already aware of the matter of the blood pool baptism.

The repercussions of the Demon Ancestor’s appearance were too great. For a while, even the guards couldn’t help but discuss it.

Luka tried to stretch, but it only made him more tired, “To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.”

Quill Pen had at some point turned back into a human. He approached him and gently pressed the protruding part of his spine with his black-gloved fingers.

The wings were a sensitive area, but the warmth that surged from his spine made Luka sigh comfortably.

Quill Pen: “Follow the heat source and cover the wings with the power of faith.”

Luka did as he was told. A golden light flowed along the tips, and the wings, which were full of dark aesthetics and yet retained a touch of absurd sacredness, moved. Soon, his control over the wings deepened.

“Finally tucked in,” Luka said, moving his sore shoulders. “Will long-term use of the wings cause cervical spondylosis or a hunchback?”

Quill Pen said with a straight face, “You can use a depilatory agent to remove the feathers. It will be much lighter.”

“Shut up!” Luka almost jumped up to cover his mouth, the fact of the Demon Ancestor’s baldness constantly appearing in his mind.

Could the wings blessed by the Demon Ancestor also be hereditary with alopecia areata!

“If I go bald, I’ll stick you on my wings,” Luka threatened viciously.

Quill Pen did not struggle and stood still, letting him cover his mouth. The corner of his eye glanced at the corner of the table.

Luka subconsciously looked over and found a box wrapped in green silk on the table.

“What’s this?” he asked, walking over curiously. His palm was slightly cool.

Quill Pen was breathing, but what he exhaled was not hot air, but a thin layer of frost.

Quill Pen’s tone was very casual, “A gift to congratulate you on your victory in the hunt.”

Luka’s throat moved. This was the first formal gift he had received since coming to this other world.

He unwrapped it with some excitement. The box was not big. Inside was a very thick notebook. The faint smell of ink drifted out.

It should have been written not long ago.

A diary?

“There is some garbage among the classics collected here. I have sorted it out and recorded it.”

Quill Pen’s tone was harsh, “I don’t want the student I taught to make theoretical mistakes.”

Luka opened it. Sure enough, there were discrepancies with some of the knowledge points in his memory.

This was too thoughtful.

Even for a great mage with a photographic memory, it would be a matter of patience and effort to sort out the errors in such a huge number of books in a short period of time.

“You can read two or three pages a day at most,” Quill Pen said, seeing Luka’s reluctance to put it down. He should like this gift?

He reminded, “Some key characters are composed of inscriptions. After studying them thoroughly, you can become a master of all laws.”

Quill Pen had calculated in advance that by the time Luka finished reading it, it would be a snowy winter day.

That would be around Luka’s birthday.

At that time, he would also discover the ultimate secret in the notebook.

Staring quietly at the slender side profile, Quill Pen’s thoughts drifted somewhere.

“All things wither, the first snow on the eaves is white…” A clear voice broke the brief silence.

Quill Pen was startled.

“The winter night is warm, I see the stern plum blossoms under the eaves,
Like you.”

Luka finished reading and was stunned.

In the Saint Demon Continent, it had always been popular to use flowers to personify and express love. Why did this sound like a love poem?

Quill Pen was even more surprised than him. Didn’t he say to read two or three pages a day?!

“Oh, I’m used to reading the ending first.”

As long as it was a book, even a blank one, Luka would always flip to the last page first.

This time was no exception.

The exception was that he noticed a flower-like pattern at the bottom, similar to a wax seal, and the small poem next to it.

Quill Pen was silent.

After a long while, he finally said, “It just so happened that there was an empty page. I wrote it casually to fill it up.”

He had heard of filling an order, but never of filling a page.

Luka looked up curiously, his gaze turning to Quill Pen.

The latter did not avoid it and calmly and reluctantly changed the subject, “After the Demon King investigated you, did he make any other moves?”

The Demon King brick was finally moved to a place where it was needed.

Thinking of this, Luka couldn’t help but frown and completely recounted what had happened in the blood pool, “I don’t know what kind of scheme the Demon King is up to.”

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and said to himself, “Actually, we can work backwards.”

Luka quickly pulled a book from the shelf and wrote two lines on a thin page:

1. Unify the continent
   
2. Become a god
   

“These should be the two things the Demon King wants to achieve most.”

The strong pursue power, and the end of power is becoming a god.

Staring at the paper and thinking for a long time, Luka solemnly drew a question mark on the second matter, “Could it be that he sees some kind of opportunity for a breakthrough in me?”

The air was still filled with the faint scent of fruit wine. Quill Pen found it hard to imagine that he could still see through the clouds in a slightly drunk state.

After looking at each other for a long time, Luka went off-topic and asked in confusion, “By the way, why did you want to unify the continent in the first place?”

An unhappy childhood, a broken family, or a descent into darkness after his family was destroyed?

Quill Pen: “My strength had reached that point.”

There weren’t that many reasons.

“…” Was it that uncharacteristic?

Quill Pen asked, “Do you want to test the Demon King?”

Luka: “I already have an idea, but there’s no hurry.”

His world did not revolve around the Demon King. He had his own rhythm.

“An inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time. Now is the golden time,” Luka whispered a few words in his ear, and for a moment, the fruit fragrance became even richer.

After speaking, he smiled smugly, “I want to maximize the benefits of the hunt.”

The hunt was over, and some were happy while others were sad.

The birthday of the winner of the hunt, which was broadcast live throughout the demon domain, didn’t even need newspapers. Almost every demon saw the scene.

The Demon Ancestor.

These two words naturally came with terrifying traffic and discussion.

The scene of Luka communicating with the Demon Ancestor’s consciousness and growing wings, if placed in modern times, would have a gold content no less than that of Qin Shi Huang briefly reviving in front of everyone and bestowing a tiger tally on a child, asking him to guard the human race in the future.

The shock and popularity would definitely paralyze the internet.

Countless demons wanted to know more about the inside story, but Luka, as a marketing expert who used to appear in the newspaper headlines every three to five days, suddenly disappeared at this time!

No acceptance speech, no works.

Everyone was waiting anxiously. What was going on!

Even the usually cunning Prince Nordin was a little unsettled. This kind of person who didn’t play by the rules was the most troublesome.

The other princes also arrived in the capital one after another in recent days and, as usual, first discussed the specific content of the rewards for this hunt.

“Iliad has no army. Even if he is given a fief, he can’t defend it. Why not convert it into gold coins?”

The great demon opposite smiled but did not smile, “The fief still has to be given, but I think the resources need to be reconsidered. He has already absorbed most of the energy of the blood pool.”

“I agree. How about one hundred million gold coins?”

“That’s a bit shabby. Two hundred million gold coins.”

“Why not compromise? One hundred and fifty million gold coins.”

You say a word, I say a word. The demon domain had always been outwardly harmonious but inwardly discordant. In the end, no consensus was reached. The problem was temporarily shelved. Nordin suddenly looked at the Demon King, who had not spoken a word from the upper seat, and asked about Luka’s recent situation.

“The matter of the Demon Ancestor has caused a great stir. Everyone wants to hear what Iliad has to say in person.”

The Demon King was listening absently. “He hasn’t shown up?”

You, his biological father, don’t even know. How dare you ask me?

Prince Nordin respectfully shook his head.

Hearing this, the Demon King not only did not blame Luka’s actions, but seemed to be in a good mood, “He’s probably busy cultivating.”

According to that child’s character, the more he showed that he valued him, the more he would worry that there were other reasons behind his indulgence.

Under the unknown and worry, Iliad would definitely do everything possible to improve his strength.

Now, no one wished for the other party to cultivate with all their might more than he did.

Prince Nordin below saw the dark and deep blood-colored eyes and inexplicably shivered.

The last time the Demon King had shown such an expression was when he had adopted several princes, causing the princes to fight among themselves.

The discussion about the rewards had not been decided and was postponed until tomorrow. In the afternoon, the princes, as usual, went to the Hall of Heroes to pay their respects and, incidentally, to comfort their old subordinates.

The highest-ranking demons in the demon domain were traveling. The procession was of a very high standard, with the Blood Demon Guards personally clearing the way.

Just within ten thousand meters of the palace, the Demon King suddenly raised his hand and frowned.

The beast carriage stopped.

The advertisement billboard below, which had been enchanted with special magic, had a very large screen, large enough to clearly see Luka, with his eyes narrowed and a look of intoxication, hugging a jar.

At a distance of a thousand zhang, the words on the newspaper were smaller than ants.

Iliad’s Sky-High Endorsement Fee Exposed!

[His Highness Iliad has won the favor of the Demon Ancestor with his victory in the hunt. His status in the demon world has been rising recently. It is reported that the Aisiqili family’s dairy industry has invited him to be their endorsement demon, with a nine-digit sky-high publicity fee…]

Coincidentally.

In another magazine’s report, it was mentioned that Shenlu Hair Care Liquid also had a nine-digit endorsement fee for Luka.

Nearby, there was also a barbershop that launched a new package. A one-time recharge of 999 gold coins could unlock the same hairstyle as the Demon Ancestor for free.

The Demon King’s consciousness swept over and found at least a few ridiculous advertisements.

He glanced at the dark corner. The Blood Demon Guard understood and went to inquire about the situation.

Not long after, the Blood Demon Guard came back and reported, “It is indeed His Highness Iliad. He has accepted dozens of product promotions and has been filming promotional videos day and night for the past two days.”

Today just happened to be the day all the advertisements went online.

The Demon King’s gaze darkened.

Filming videos day and night, so he hadn’t cultivated at all?

All the princes also failed to manage their expressions.

Even though they were sitting on mountains of gold and silver, the thought of earning hundreds of millions just by filming an advertisement, and the other party had accepted dozens of product promotions, made them unable to help but say, “What kind of thing can come out and make money now?”

What about them, who had traveled thousands of miles to specially discuss the remaining rewards to be distributed for the hunt?

A few melons and dates?

Unlike the princes’ frantic complaints, Luka never forgot the mass line. A letter had long been sent to the distant Keli Sentry Tower, with only a short sentence on it:
I sell my smiles to support you all!

Luka used the pre-paid endorsement fees to hire a large number of skilled craftsmen. The craftsmen had arrived at Keli Sentry Tower a day ago with their tools and had quickly started working.

According to Luka’s request, they started by building the main gate and the school.

When the city gate had a magnificent prototype, the demons of Keli Sentry, who were used to sand and blood, all stopped what they were doing. Even the old demons who were often drunk and fighting turned their gazes here.

Hope.

The city gate was the biggest face project of a city. When it was reshaped, the demons saw hope.

The captain of the guard on the watchtower was a little dazed, “He really did it.”

Not only did he do it, but he also fulfilled his promise in a very short time.

Returning to his senses, the captain of the guard suddenly shouted, “Iliad!”

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. The city was filled with boiling cheers—
“Iliad!”
…

“Such pure feedback of faith.”

In the capital, Luka, who had finally finished his advertising campaign, suddenly felt a large amount of faith pouring in.

He guessed it was related to the money.

Luka had previously divided the endorsement fees into two parts. One part was for the merchants to directly send to the dragon race to speed up the construction of the tourist city. He did not know that Berlanie and the other dragons were quite pleased with this.

The joy of a child giving their parents pocket money, who understands?

The other part was naturally for Keli Sentry Tower.

Seeing the worthy and thinking of being on par.

Quill Pen said, “So this is how you buy people’s hearts.”

Luka nodded, “That’s right, you have to spend money.”

Without spending money, who would be willing to work for you day in and day out?

Quill Pen couldn’t help but recall his dark past and felt that his failure was excusable.

On a normal day, Luka would not have missed the opportunity to tease him a bit, but his peripheral vision swept over the notes he had put his heart and soul into, and he couldn’t say anything.

“The first draft of the forbidden book must be finalized quickly.”

The hunt was over. When he made his request for a reward, he had specifically emphasized that his future works should be freely circulated in the demon domain. My Demon King Father was pre-sold before that, so the demon domain could rightfully ban it.

Having an officially banned book would greatly help to increase his fame.

That was true fan consolidation.

“But even so, the faith that can be transmitted to me is still not enough.”

It was the same principle as leveling up in a game. After passing the middle stage of cultivation, the experience bar for each subsequent level would require increasingly terrifying numbers.

“Whether it’s faith or the negative emotions you need, it’s a bottomless pit,” Luka said. “We must expand our base.”

Relying solely on newspapers and word of mouth was ultimately too slow.

When he asked a question with a certain tone of certainty, he often already had the answer.

Quill Pen asked, “What do you want to do?”

This time, Luka hardly thought about it and said three words with great solemnity: “Internet.”

In the era of information explosion, the best channel was undoubtedly the internet.

Just thinking of these three words made his heart ripple.

Any modern person who transmigrated would be incomparably nostalgic for the internet age.

It was just that a few months ago, as a magic failure who couldn’t even eat his fill, he had the idea but was not qualified to think deeply about it. Times were different now. Luka had accumulated a certain amount of financial resources and connections and was definitely capable of developing it.

The first generation of internet celebrities was none other than him!

Hearing the fresh and unfamiliar word, Quill Pen gradually became interested, “What net? Why haven’t I seen it in a book?”

Luka briefly explained, “It’s like a virtual platform where everyone can transmit and share resources and data.”

He had majored in a related field in college and knew some basic principles, but it was a fantasy to ask him to invent it.

Fortunately, this was a magical world with substitutes everywhere.

He only needed to introduce a concept, build a basic platform, and then recruit talent to usher in a period of rapid and vigorous development.

Quill Pen thought about it repeatedly and vaguely felt that this was a very macroscopic plan.

“Are you sure you want to build it publicly? Actually, using it secretly for warfare would have miraculous effects.”

Luka: “…”

The internet was indeed originally established for military needs.

He said, “Long live peace.”

After speaking, he sat cross-legged on a stool and thought. Not long after, he began to have difficulties.

The problem of the login device was easy to solve. The difficulty was that he needed to find a computer cluster that could perform similar networked data interaction.

His peripheral vision caught Quill Pen’s faint smile. Luka raised an eyebrow, “You have a way?”

Quill Pen said lightly, “I have an idea, but no way.”

Seeing that he still wanted to put on an act, Luka released his wings and poked him with the tip. He learned the method he had used on Dragon Island, “Brother, teach me.”

Quill Pen was tingling again.

He tried his best to keep his voice steady, “Why don’t you ask an astrologer?”

In terms of divining fate, astrologers were uniquely endowed.

Luka blinked and, returning to his senses, clapped his hands, “That’s right!”

Astrologers were treated with courtesy everywhere in the Saint Demon Continent. They had real skills.

He had heard that the greatest astrologer of the current era was in the Holy City. Luka was not confident that the other party would meet him for no reason. He would go to see the Saint first, and then see if he could visit the astrologer through the Saint.

“Sure enough, you have to find connections wherever you go.”

Before that, he still had a few small troubles.

“I’m in the limelight right now. The other princes are all staring at me. I still have to be on guard against Princess Mary’s second assassination attempt. And I don’t know what the Demon King is planning.”

Luka analyzed in an orderly manner, his brow not even furrowing.

At this juncture, it was difficult to leave the demon domain smoothly.

He resumed his thinker’s posture. A moment later, he let out a powerful “jiejiejie” laugh.

“You go pack your bags. I’ll go prepare a small gift for the Demon King.”

Since he was leaving, he had to leave some trouble behind.

__

Author’s note:

Excerpt from Luka’s diary:
The wing care guide says to massage and relax them often to disperse the multi-elemental force. Where can I find a care professional?
Also, it’s so strange.
Why does a book like Wing Care Guide exist? The handwriting feels quite new.
…
The system will draw 666 small red envelopes to celebrate the change of map. No special message is needed, the prize will be drawn automatically~