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

“It is expected that the battle will officially commence tonight. Everyone, remember not to act recklessly. Although we are allies with the lord’s manor, if we are found in important strongholds without reason, we will be treated as spies,” warned Bai Cui, the flower demon maid beside Ye Qingwu, advising Ye Yong and the others not to wander around.

“Being allies, what can we actually do?” Liang Xiaorou, a natural-born celestial body, despite being besieged by demons in the Black Water Secret Realm, had developed a slight aversion to the demon race. However, after spending more than a month in Shilin City, her prejudice against the demons had lessened somewhat.

“Our strength is limited, but we are not subordinate to Shilin City. As long as the demons outside are smart, they will turn a blind eye to us. The problem lies with the less intelligent ones. War can make people bloodthirsty, and demons are no exception. The agreement between the young lady and Lord Jin is to defend this area, protecting some residents and soldiers who cannot retreat in time. So what we need to do is simple: repel those who are blind to the situation.”

Upon hearing this, Liang Xiaorou nodded. The intelligence of the demon race varied greatly; theoretically, the transformation demon kings had higher realms, yet there were still those who acted solely on instinct. Night Qingwu’s side could easily handle demons below the Void Realm, and even those in the early stages of the Void Realm were not impossible to confront.

As for the demon lords above the Void Realm, even the most foolish among them would understand the need for analysis. They must have long known that Shilin City was under the influence of a force from the Kunlun Realm. Currently, the Northern Cold Continent was in a phase of internal strife and reshuffling; the infighting had not yet concluded, making it unlikely for them to provoke new forces to intervene.

Liang Xiaorou even believed that those attacking the city had already marked their targets, intending to deliberately avoid their location. However, nothing is absolute; as Bai Cui said, there would always be those who were blind to the situation.

“What do you think the extent of this war will reach?” Liang Xiaorou, unable to sit still, had previously been indifferent to the impending battle, focusing instead on her cultivation. Now that the conflict was about to erupt, she found it hard to concentrate. After all, this was her first experience of a siege, especially one with a high-ranking demon emperor overseeing it; it was bound to be spectacular.

“I’ve heard that the city’s defenses are now divided into three circles: the outer, middle, and inner. The inner circle is inhabited by residents with low cultivation, their combat power negligible. The middle circle is where the powerful gather…” Ye Yong pondered for a moment. “I think they can at most breach the outer circle and make a slight incursion into the middle circle before the battle ends.”

“Can Deputy City Lord Dan really crush everyone?”

“Anyway, it’s no problem to wipe the floor with the demon emperor outside.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Ye Yong merely smiled, but there was something he didn’t say, fearing that things might change.

———— Inside the prison of Lion Forest City

“Our accounts aren’t settled yet, and you want to run?” Kuang Biao glared at the restrained human before him, his eyes filled with ferocity.

A young man with an unremarkable appearance was bound by spirit ropes, his face marked with scars, his clothes torn, clearly having endured a fierce battle before ultimately being captured.

“What about my companions? This has nothing to do with them.”

“Even at death’s door, you still have the mind to worry about others?” Kuang Biao punched the young man in the stomach. “Long Tian, oh Long Tian, how about this: if you kneel and beg me, I’ll let them go.”

Long Tian spat out a mouthful of blood, a cold smile on his face.

Seeing that his eyes still held onto their pride, Kuang Biao’s anger was completely ignited. “I want to see just how arrogant you can be!”

Mad Biao unleashed a frenzied assault on Long Tian, not daring to use his cultivation, fearing that he might accidentally kill Long Tian. He would not allow Long Tian to perish easily before he had thoroughly tormented him.

Long Tian seemed to have never learned the meaning of surrender, his gaze unwavering, his eyes occasionally drifting towards the two jailers at the cell door.

The Spirit Binding Rope was indeed effective against cultivators below the Infant stage, but it could not restrain Long Tian. If it weren’t for the fear of implicating Qiu Li Gao and the younger siblings of Chi Shi, he would have fled long ago at the city gate; being captured was purely a matter of circumstance.

After a while of relentless striking, Mad Biao felt his fists beginning to ache, so he called for the jailers to bring in the torture instruments: “Hurry, bring me something! I want to pry this undercover’s mouth open!”

Indeed, the reason for capturing Long Tian was the spies planted outside to gather information on the city’s defenses, and Long Tian just happened to have a generous reward from the barbarian clan, making it a case of ‘catching both the person and the goods.’

Soon, all sorts of torture devices were brought in. Mad Biao felt that he couldn’t fully enjoy himself with the jailers watching, so he ordered them all to leave.

“But Young Master Biao…”

“What are you afraid of? With a scum like him, can he even break free from the Spirit Binding Rope? Don’t ruin my mood here.” Mad Biao was busy selecting the instruments he would use.

“Understood.” The jailer thought for a moment and agreed; after all, Mad Biao was a demon of the early Golden Core stage, while Long Tian was merely a Crystal Stage cultivator, incapable of stirring up any trouble. Thus, he left.

This was the prison of Shilin City, holding numerous prisoners, and the jailers’ cultivation levels were naturally not low—at least mid-Golden Core. With them around, Long Tian couldn’t act recklessly. But the moment he saw the torture devices, he immediately felt the urge to break free from the Spirit Binding Rope and seize Mad Biao as a means to escape. Now, Mad Biao was foolishly letting them leave; it was time for revenge to begin.

The cell where the undercover criminal was held was airtight, and once the cell door was shut, it was as if heaven had turned a blind eye and earth had lost its voice. Mad Biao picked up a sharp, curved dagger, preparing to toy with it slowly, when suddenly everything went dark. When he came to his senses, he had swapped roles with Long Tian, finding himself bound instead.

“How is this possible!?” Mad Biao could hardly believe it.

“Idiot, didn’t your family ever tell you that the only thing you can truly rely on is your own strength? External things are bound to be unreliable at times.” Long Tian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, holding a small curved blade, his gaze filled with coldness.

“Wait, what do you want to do? I’ll have you know, I’m the young master of the Kuang family! If you dare to disrespect me… ah!!!”

Minutes later, Kuang Biao’s voice had turned hoarse. Long Tian had already extracted the necessary information and was now putting the essential skills for the protagonist’s journey to the utmost use.

Disguise technique.

He donned Kuang Biao’s clothes, and under the guidance of the old Immortal, used Kuang Biao’s blood to write talismans, simulating demonic energy. Before long, he swaggered out of the cell.

Kuang Biao had become Long Tian; he wasn’t dead, but he was certainly not in a good state.

As Long Tian left the cell, he calmly dusted off his hands and approached the guards who were drinking and waiting, saying to the demon agents, “I can confirm that the ones who ambushed us in the dark those days were him. Now that the city lord is absent and he has lost his support, we can play however we want. I’ve had my fun; now it’s your turn.”

The demon agents had no doubts about him and eagerly rolled up their sleeves, rushing into the cell.

What a clever ploy to kill demons.

Long Tian could easily deceive the demon agents into going in and wipe them all out, but he chose not to; it would take too much time. Killing Kuang Biao himself? It held little significance. It was better to leave him alive to draw the attention of the demon agents.

Long Tian already knew the whereabouts of Qiu Li Gao and Chi Shi’s junior sister. The immediate priority was to get them out of here.