Chapter 15: The Saintess’s Peculiar Thoughts and the Demon King’s Hidden Progress

Several days later, at the Apprentice Saintess’s home.

Lulu sat deep in thought, a magic book cradled in her arms.

Having spent a few days simply coexisting with the Little Demon King, Lulu found herself harboring some rather unique feelings.

How best to describe them? Perhaps a perplexing blend of warmth and anxiety?

Regarding the warmth, it naturally stemmed from the Little Demon King’s sheer usefulness.

‘Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry — he’s skilled at everything. The Little Demon King is such a diligent, good child~’

‘This child would make quite the suitable spouse, haha. What a pity they aren’t a girl.’

‘Ah, but come to think of it, if the Little Demon King truly were a girl, then I probably wouldn’t have to worry about them straying down the wrong path at all. I’d just find a suitable husband and marry them off early~’

Alas, this world doesn’t seem to possess Sacred Light magic capable of gender transformation. Otherwise, I would have already changed back myself.

Never mind. In any case, having him around certainly saves me a great deal of trouble~

Alexius: ???

Up on the rooftop terrace, Alexius listened in utter bewilderment to the peculiar thoughts emanating from the Saintess below.

‘Has she truly become this perverse? She’s even plotting to scheme against my very gender now.’

A chill ran down Alexius’s spine, prompting him to immediately redouble his efforts in cultivation. If he didn’t, he feared he might be utterly powerless to even settle accounts with Lulu later on.

Black mist coiled around the Little Demon King. Alexius diligently absorbed the magical essence permeating the world, all while dedicating a portion of his focus to Lulu’s thoughts. This was to prevent his teacher from ascending to the roof and discovering his unique cultivation method.

‘Why does this feel exactly like sneaking a treat and constantly fearing getting caught by one’s parents?’

Alexius’s apprehension was, in fact, entirely justified. If Lulu were to glimpse his current cultivation array, she would instantly deduce that he had been reborn with his past memories intact. The reason for this was simple…

In this world, with the exception of a few truly unique methods, anyone seeking to advance their magical rank fundamentally relied upon cultivation arrays.

Utilizing a universal cultivation array, practitioners absorbed and converted the ubiquitous magical energy from the air, imprinting it into their magical meridians. Typically, both the speed and upper limit of mana absorption were directly tied to the quality of these meridians. Bloodlines from established mage families often possessed superior magical meridians, which was precisely why individuals like Josen placed such immense importance on lineage.

However, the cultivation array employed by the Demon King diverged significantly from those used by common individuals. The Sacred Light magic typically cultivated by ordinary people was, at its core, an inefficient form of transcription mirror magic. Consequently, cultivating with standard arrays was incredibly slow and remarkably inefficient. Superior magical meridians, in this context, were often filled more with ‘transcription factors’ than raw magical energy. The benefit of this method was the absence of concern regarding corruption by magic’s inherent power. The drawback, however…

Alexius’s efficiency, utilizing the Demon King’s array, likely surpassed that of an ordinary person by more than tenfold. Only a prodigious talent like Lulu could even hope to remotely keep pace. Furthermore, the Demon King’s array, unlike standard ones, incurred no ‘fatigue value’; its mana absorption rate remained constant, never diminishing with the duration of its activation.

‘Hoo~’

With a sharp exhale, Alexius rotated his neck. Finally, he had successfully broken through to the rank of a First-Tier Mage.

While the progress wasn’t as swift as he’d initially hoped—largely due to the significant mental energy diverted towards avoiding Lulu’s detection—his current advancement was still astounding. Compared to his noble peers, who had cultivated since childhood and typically only reached 0.7 or a full First-Tier at his age, Alexius’s progress was akin to riding a rocket.

Mage ranks were primarily categorized from one to ten tiers. Advancement became progressively more arduous with each successive tier; for most ordinary individuals, reaching the second or third tier represented the absolute pinnacle of their lifelong efforts.

Naturally, merely elevating one’s magical rank was insufficient. The profound importance of magical tiers lay in the fact that each major advancement unlocked access to more potent spells, available exclusively to those who had reached that specific level. Most individuals still needed to diligently learn these new abilities and practice extensively to hone their combat techniques.

For Alexius, however, such extensive learning was largely unnecessary. With a mere wave of his hand, he could already sense that several ‘fodder’ skills from his past memories were now accessible.

‘Heh, how ironic. These trivial parlor tricks, which I wouldn’t have deigned to use in my previous life, now feel incredibly precious. I must accelerate my advancement.’

****

Back downstairs, Lulu remained engrossed in thought, still staring at the overturned magic book. A sigh involuntarily escaped her lips as her contemplation deepened.

‘Sigh, while there are certainly aspects that bring comfort, the Little Demon King actually brings more anxiety to me, his teacher.’

‘The entrance exam is just a few days away, and I have no idea how prepared he is. I’ve only taught him about this cultivation array these past few days. Starting from absolute zero, with such limited time, how can he possibly compete with children from noble families?!’

‘I finally understand what ‘educational anxiety’ truly means. Damn, is this the agony of raising a child? Ah… I can only pray the Little Demon King possesses some innate talent. He was a Demon King in his previous life, but it’s still so puzzling. How did he become invincible in just two or three years, then spend the remainder of his life ferociously conquering the world?’

‘Well… never mind. I’ll go ask him about his cultivation progress.’

Lulu stretched languidly, then called up to the second floor. “Xiu’er, come down for a moment. Your teacher has something to discuss with you.”

“Oh, alright, Teacher!”

Upon hearing the young lady’s summons, Alexius quickly composed himself before hurrying downstairs to Lulu’s side. The white-haired mage sat gracefully on the sofa, her eyes subtly narrowed, one slender leg, encased in black stockings, crossed elegantly over the other. She seemed intent on projecting an aura of dignified authority. As the Little Demon King approached, the young lady let out a soft chuckle before inquiring:

“Xiu’er, how has your cultivation progressed?”

“Hmm… your disciple is certainly striving, but I’ve encountered certain bottlenecks. Without further guidance from my esteemed teacher, I fear success may prove elusive.”

So spoke the Little Demon King, who had, in fact, just broken through to the First Tier in a mere matter of days.

“Is that so… Don’t be too hasty. Everyone must first establish a solid foundation in cultivation, prioritizing the enhancement of their mana level before focusing on techniques. Furthermore, the tier assessment is a crucial component of the entrance examination. What is your current rank? Have you reached 0.5-tier yet?” Lulu inquired softly.

“This… no, your disciple has only reached… 0.2-tier.”

Lulu: T_T

‘Oh, come on, isn’t this just the level of an ordinary person? With such meager potential, how can he ever achieve anything substantial?!’

‘How on earth did this fellow manage to become a Tenth-Tier War God in his previous life? Huh?! Did the reincarnated Demon King simply recall his identity and spontaneously leap to the Tenth Tier?’

‘Ask me, I’m at a loss. Who knew my talent was so formidable~ I, for one, reached First-Tier Mage in just half a year back then~ The Little Demon King simply can’t compare! Pfft, I truly don’t understand the world of you ordinary folk~’

Alexius: …

“Teacher, I apologize; I spoke too boastfully. My inability to enroll is a trivial matter, but the crucial point is… I cannot allow you to lose face, Teacher. Besides the cultivation array, are there any other techniques to rapidly enhance mana?”

The Little Demon King suddenly leaned in close to Lulu, grasping her delicate, pale hand as he pleaded. The young lady paused, momentarily stunned. She gazed at the Little Demon King’s youthful, yet resolute face, falling silent for a few moments.

‘There… there actually is a method. Mana… mana replenishment.’