Chapter Thirty: Rewards

With a single blaze, Yuan Wujie ensured that the Bear King vanished completely from this world. Yuan Wujie stepped onto the Golden Light of Earth Traversal and in an instant arrived before Sheep Vanguard, who was leading his troops.

“Sheep Vanguard, I’ll wait for you at the Five Camphor Caverns,” Yuan Wujie said, and with that, he disappeared as if swallowed by thin air.

“Brother Sheep, what kind of supernatural power did our lord just use?” the cat demon following Sheep Vanguard asked curiously.

“How could I possibly know the extent of His Majesty’s abilities?” Sheep Vanguard replied with a wry smile. Yuan Wujie hadn’t been able to use the Golden Light of Earth Traversal for traveling before, but after absorbing the ancient water ape’s bloodline, he could now employ it effortlessly for short journeys, not just in battle as before.

“I’ve seen our lord use this power before!” piped up the little demon who had previously been carried by Yuan Wujie—the cat demon’s younger brother—running up behind them.

“Little Jin, don’t talk nonsense,” the cat demon chided, thinking her brother was boasting again.

“Oh? Little Jin, when did you see it?” Sheep Vanguard looked at him with a hint of interest.

“It happened when you were all being chased. Our lord brought me this way—whoosh—and suddenly I saw you all,” Little Jin explained, gesturing excitedly as if he had performed the feat himself.

“Now that you mention it, I do recall you arrived together with our lord. It seems, Little Jin, you’re the only demon in the Five Camphor Caverns besides the lord himself who’s experienced this supernatural power,” Sheep Vanguard teased, making Little Jin a bit embarrassed.

While organizing the troops and chatting, the three demons spent a full day and night leading over a hundred demon soldiers to the Five Camphor Caverns.

“Sheep Vanguard, you’ve finally arrived. I heard the lord is about to reward you, Dog Vanguard, Wolf Vanguard, and Eagle Vanguard. Hurry inside to meet him—you're the last one,” said a demon soldier standing guard at the entrance.

“Brother Sheep, you should go in quickly. Leave things here to me and my brother,” the cat demon said, momentarily wearing an expression as if she herself were being rewarded, though she quickly hid her feelings.

“Thank you, Cat Sister,” Sheep Vanguard replied, not bothering to delay. He was eager for Yuan Wujie’s reward. Their ambiguous relationship was known throughout the Five Camphor Caverns; Sheep Vanguard harbored feelings for the cat demon, but neither had spoken, and so their relationship remained unresolved.

“Don’t stare so much, Sister; Sheep Vanguard’s already gone inside,” Little Jin whispered mischievously into the cat demon’s ear.

“Mind your own business,” she retorted.

The guard demons chuckled as they watched the siblings.

Sheep Vanguard hurried to the central hall of the Five Camphor Caverns. From the soldiers’ words, he sensed that Yuan Wujie’s reward this time would be different from before.

“Wolf Vanguard, weren’t you sent to the human kingdoms? How did you end up so badly wounded?” Sheep Vanguard exclaimed as soon as he entered, the scent of blood from Wolf Vanguard drawing his attention. On the road, he had feared something might happen to Dog Vanguard and Eagle Vanguard, but they were fine; instead, Wolf Vanguard, whom he thought safest, was gravely injured.

“Don’t mention it. Those humans are two-faced—smiling as they saw Wolf Vanguard off, then immediately ordering an assassination after he left,” Eagle Vanguard said, his face twisted with anger.

Yuan Wujie could guess most of what had happened to Wolf Vanguard, but what the rulers of the human lands hadn’t expected was Wolf Vanguard’s successful escape; otherwise, he would have died without explanation.

“Whatever happened, discuss it among yourselves,” Yuan Wujie said. “Now I’m here to give you your rewards for completing the mission.”

As he finished speaking, four Blood Cloud Pills floated before him. Yuan Wujie had originally intended to choose treasures from the Five Camphor Caverns’ vault, but now, with the pills, there was no need. Still, he couldn’t help but complain inwardly about how poor the vault was.

“What kind of pill is this?” Dog Vanguard, closest to Yuan Wujie, was the first to sense the aura emanating from the Blood Cloud Pills, and the other three were quickly drawn to them.

“All four of you have cultivation at the early stage of demon pill formation. The Blood Cloud Pill will help you break through,” Yuan Wujie saw the desire in their eyes and didn’t keep them waiting, handing out the pills with a flick of his wrist.

“Thank you, my lord!” The four demons felt the profound benefits of the Blood Cloud Pill as soon as they touched it.

“Wolf Vanguard, you’re heavily wounded. It’s best to recuperate before refining the pill,” Yuan Wujie advised. He knew the side effects of the pills he himself had crafted, and felt obliged to remind Wolf Vanguard, his subordinate.

“My lord, you needn’t worry. I’ll help Wolf Vanguard refine it,” said Black Moon, stepping forward. Black Moon was Wolf Vanguard’s uncle; when Yuan Wujie first assigned the four vanguards to their tasks, Black Moon had advocated for his nephew to be sent to the human territories. Yuan Wujie had obliged, only for Wolf Vanguard to end up in the most dangerous place and sustain such severe injuries. Black Moon felt deeply responsible.

Now, with Wolf Vanguard receiving the Blood Cloud Pill, the longing in his eyes was impossible to hide. Hearing Yuan Wujie’s warning, Black Moon naturally wanted to help his nephew, and spoke up to reassure both Yuan Wujie and Wolf Vanguard.

“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Yuan Wujie replied, a trace of mockery in his gaze.

Did they really think the Blood Cloud Pill would be easy to refine?

The four vanguards’ attention was completely absorbed by the pills, so Yuan Wujie dismissed them, knowing any discussion would be half-hearted.

Given permission to withdraw, the four demons eagerly wanted to return and begin refining the Blood Cloud Pill, but still knelt respectfully before Yuan Wujie before leaving.

After leaving the central hall, Sheep Vanguard didn’t head to his own cave but went straight to the demon training grounds.

“Brother Sheep, what did the lord give you to make you come looking for me so soon?” The training grounds were now busy distributing the Bear King’s troops, and since Cat Demon was in charge, she stayed on to help. When the rewards were given, she would have contributed greatly.

“Our lord rewarded each of us with a pill,” Sheep Vanguard said, keeping her in suspense, though his expression betrayed the pill’s value.

“What kind of pill could make you so happy?” Cat Demon wondered. It must be something extremely rare; Sheep Vanguard seldom kept secrets from her, but she would never spoil his mood.