Hei Lan chuckled lightly and said, "What I meant by misunderstanding is not that I only gave to one of you, but that I gave to everyone in Wumeng City, including Luo Bo Gan, all the Demon Kings."
"You... how dare you call the City Lord by his nickname." Those seven Demon Kings seemed unaware that Wumeng City had a new City Lord. It appeared they had been in seclusion, cultivating the Ba Bu Fu Tu, and were oblivious to the outside world.
"Heh heh, you really are dedicated to your cultivation. Such a big event happened in Wumeng City, and you still don't know. Luo Bo Gan is no longer the City Lord of Wumeng City."
"What?" The seven Demon Kings were startled. They had only recently emerged from their seclusion and hadn't paid attention to Wumeng City's affairs.
"Now, the new City Lord is him, Zhou Hong."
Following Hei Lan's words, Zhou Hong stepped forward.
"Seven Demon Kings, greetings." Zhou Hong greeted them with a smile.
"You? A second-grade Demon Master? The new City Lord?" The seven Demon Kings naturally didn't believe it. Seeing Zhou Hong, they felt as though he were toying with them and immediately wanted to beat him up.
"Yes, I am now the new City Lord of Wumeng City."
"Who do you think you are? You're fit to be a City Lord?" The seven men looked down on him and cursed in unison.
"Well, you can ask Luo Bo Gan about that." Zhou Hong released Luo Bo Gan's puppet.
The seven Demon Kings were startled to see their City Lord suddenly appear.
"City Lord? City Lord?" The seven hurriedly called out to Luo Bo Gan, but Luo Bo Gan's eyes were vacant, and he showed no response.
"Stop calling him. To be precise, he is no longer a person, but a puppet." Su Dan Fiction Network.
"What? A puppet?" The faces of the seven Demon Kings changed.
"Alright, next, you all will become puppets." Zhou Hong chuckled, and his gaze turned slightly cold.
Hei Lan looked at Zhou Hong with some confusion, not understanding why Zhou Hong wanted to turn them into puppets as well.
"You...!" The seven Demon Kings were filled with rage and wanted to rush forward to kill Zhou Hong, but they suddenly couldn't muster any strength. They instantly became extremely panicked. Although they didn't know Zhou Hong's origins, seeing the City Lord's current tragic state, they no longer needed to know Zhou Hong's background.
"Zhou Hong, why are you turning them into puppets?" Hei Lan immediately transmitted his thoughts to Zhou Hong.
"Because they have cultivated the Ba Bu Fu Tu. After turning them into puppets, I can form a powerful immortal formation called the Eight Immortals Sword Formation."
"Eight Immortals Sword Formation?"
"Yes."
Hei Lan suddenly felt a sense of dread. It turned out that the Ba Bu Fu Tu cultivation method was intended to ultimately form a sword formation.
"Is this Eight Immortals Sword Formation very powerful?"
"Heh heh, what do you think? At that time, Luo Bo Gan will be the core of the sword formation, and these seven Demon Kings will be the pillars supporting the core. With this, the Eight Immortals Sword Formation can greatly enhance Luo Bo Gan's strength by several levels. If my guess is correct, with Luo Bo Gan currently at the core of a third-grade Demon King, the Eight Immortals Sword Formation can at least kill a fifth-grade Demon King."
Hei Lan couldn't help but tremble slightly. A single Luo Bo Gan, who was only capable of reaching third-grade at best, combined with seven first and second-grade Demon Kings, could actually form a sword formation capable of killing a fifth-grade Demon King.
"Alright." Hei Lan nodded. For some reason, he didn't feel very happy. There was even a hint of melancholy, because he, like these seven Demon Kings, was once one of Wu Meng Chen's Ten Great Demon Kings. Now, they were all going to become puppets. As one of their former comrades, his heart felt a certain sadness.
Even Hei Lan felt a sense of fear towards Zhou Hong, feeling that being Zhou Hong's enemy was too terrifying. Luo Bo Gan, who had been on the verge of victory, could still be overturned. Now that Zhou Hong had mastered the Eight Immortals Sword Formation, his combat power could reach that of a fifth-grade Demon King. This was even more powerful than when he had the Demon Subduing Pestle before.
He had originally thought that Zhou Hong, without the Demon Subduing Pestle, would surely fall drastically and have to rely solely on Luo Bo Gan as a puppet. But now... he had risen again.
"Father-in-law, what are you thinking about?" Zhou Hong seemed to have noticed something in his father-in-law's eyes and asked with a smile. Zhou Hong felt that his father-in-law seemed a little afraid of him.
"I'm thinking, will I one day become your puppet too?" Hei Lan said directly.
"Don't worry, you are my father-in-law. I would turn anyone else into a puppet before turning you. Besides, if I need puppets, there are plenty of places to find them. There's no need to target my own relatives, is there?"
"Thank you." Hei Lan felt a warmth in his heart when Zhou Hong called him his relative.
"Father-in-law, based on how you were willing to sacrifice yourself in the heavens to buy me time to escape, I will never treat you badly."
"Heh heh, I'm sorry. I judged a gentleman with the heart of a villain."
"It's alright. Now, help me control these seven people."
Hei Lan nodded.
The seven Demon Kings exchanged glances, intending to escape.
However, before they could take two steps, Hei Lan had already captured two of them. The remaining five were instantly subdued by Luo Bo Gan, as ordered by Zhou Hong.
"Let's take them to the underground secret chamber and refine them into puppets first. Then, with the Eight Immortals Sword Formation, I will have more confidence in consolidating my position."
Zhou Hong knew very well that he would have many enemies in the future. He could only continuously increase his strength. It was a pity that he himself was only a second-grade Demon Master, so he could only rely on external magical treasures to improve his power.
"Hei Lan, may you all have terrible deaths!" After being captured and unable to escape, the seven Demon Kings could only curse furiously.
"I'm sorry, old friends. I can only say, it's all fate...!" Hei Lan sighed. Facing these seven Demon Kings, he felt a sense of guilt, which is why he called them old friends.
"Hei Lan, we were once one of the Ten Great Demon Kings together in Wumeng City. We occasionally drank together and discussed cultivation. Please spare us." The seven Demon Kings could only resort to pleading in a softer tone.
"I'm sorry, old friends. I'm not the one in charge here. It's my son-in-law, Zhou Hong. He is now the man of my daughter, Hei Xiao Lu. He is an extraordinary demon cultivator, and even the City Lord has fallen into his hands."
"Aaargh!" The seven Demon Kings roared in anger.
"Alright, stop roaring. You're making me sound like a cruel person." Zhou Hong felt a bit depressed. He didn't blame himself for being ruthless. The Demon Realm is a place where the strong prey on the weak, and the powerful are respected. It is not a place that values kindness. If Zhou Hong's strength were to falter in the future, he would likely be at the mercy of others. At that time, would anyone show him mercy?
And so, they arrived at the underground secret chamber, and Zhou Hong began the second round of refining.
Refining one puppet took an average of three days. For a total of seven, Zhou Hong spent 21 days.
After 21 days, the seven puppets were successfully refined. Including Luo Bo Gan from before, they stood in a line before Zhou Hong. Each of them had determined gazes, devoid of emotion or pain, as if they had transformed into divine weapons that only executed commands.