Chapter 66: The Rat Clan’s Monarch

On the first day of entering the Windy Gorge, Su Che engaged in battles with five groups of people. Three of these encounters were initiated by him, while two were attempts by the others to rob him.

Whether it was the other side provoking him or him provoking them, Su Che’s goal was merely to gain combat experience—not to fight to the death. Thus, in all five battles, he relied solely on his own abilities without seeking help from Lao Hei.

Since each opposing group consisted of at least four people, it was almost impossible to win against such a superior number. Every time, Su Che ended up retreating after a tough fight.

Thanks to his abundant vitality, as well as his magical weapons, talismans, and pills, even if he sustained minor injuries, he could recover with just a couple of hours of rest. By the end of the first day, Su Che felt he had gained a lot, understanding many things that could only be grasped intuitively…

That night, in a cave within the gorge, Su Che silently reflected on his day’s experiences. Lao Hei could sense the various thoughts in his mind and would offer his own insights and suggestions…

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from deep within the cave, as if something was digging through soil and rocks. Su Che instinctively looked inside. It was completely dark, and nothing could be seen. He asked, “Lao Hei, didn’t you say there were no monsters in this cave? Why is there such a sound?”

Lao Hei laughed and said, “It’s nothing. A few Windy Rats are digging around. Coincidentally, they’ve dug through the soil layers and made their way into this cave… I’ll scare them away right now.”

“Oh.” Hearing this, Su Che felt relieved. By now, a few Windy Rats posed no threat to him at all.

After a short while, he heard Lao Hei’s strange cackling. “Interesting, interesting! Master, I’ve discovered that I can send mental signals to control these Windy Rats. Tell them to go, and they go; tell them to return, and they obediently come back!”

“What’s so special about that? You already have a third Windy Rat bloodline, so of course you know how to communicate with them,” Su Che said with a smirk. “Your rat tail is thicker and longer than theirs, and your spiritual power is many times greater. Maybe they already consider you their rat king…”

At that moment, Su Che had an idea. “Lao Hei, what if they really do consider you their rat king? Could you lead all the Windy Rats in the Windy Gorge?”

“I don’t know,” Lao Hei scratched his head thoughtfully before saying cheerfully, “That’s a challenging idea. It’s worth giving it a try.”

Su Che thought that the most common beast in the Windy Gorge was the Windy Rat, and to some extent, they were the true masters of this great gorge. It was said that the rat king of each Windy Rat clan only possessed the strength of the third level of Qi cultivation, while Lao He already had the spiritual power of the fourth level. Perhaps he could truly pose as the supreme ruler of all Windy Rats, the king of kings… In that case, it would mean he controlled the entire Windy Gorge, with spies in every corner, and all secrets within the gorge would no longer be secrets to him. It was truly exciting! Su Che didn’t disturb Lao He and quietly waited for his “Rat King” to fully utilize his genetic advantages… After a while, Lao He said, “Master, I’ve already ordered those Windy Rats to return to their lair and bring their rat king here. Whether our plan can succeed depends on the reaction of this rat king.” “It doesn’t matter. Do as you see fit; there’s no need for too much pressure,” Su Che said gently. “If it works, great. If not, at most, I’ll sentence you to death.” “Huh?” In the Immortal Prison, Lao He was speechless and sat down on the ground. “Heaven, how is this not much pressure?” The master and servant chatted and laughed. After about fifteen minutes, Lao He said solemnly, “It’s coming! What a huge rat…” Shortly after, Su Che heard rustling noises coming from the cave, and then a giant rat rushed forward. Excluding its tail, the rat was over five feet long, plump and huge like a black-haired wild boar, with pair of mung bean-sized eyes staring at Su Che warily. Perhaps it was thinking, “Why is it a human? Weren’t they supposed to be the supreme king of my clan?” Su Che didn’t show any reaction, sitting motionless like a puppet. In this matter, he couldn’t help at all; it all depended on Lao He’s performance. With a whoosh, Lao He appeared—a giant rat over seven feet long, its fur dark golden, its thick tail gleaming like a steel whip. Its physique also appeared much more well-proportioned, unlike the obese rat king across from it. It was unclear what tactics Lao He had used, perhaps the dominance of a king or some invisible power from its noble bloodline. The black-haired rat king nearby seemed to be struck by a mountain, collapsing to the ground with a thud. Was that it?

Su Che guessed that things couldn’t be that simple. These two giant rats would surely engage in a confrontation—either a physical fight or a battle on a spiritual level. After waiting for a while, Su Che saw the black-furred rat across from him start trembling violently, as if suffering immense pain… Finally, when its trembling stopped, Old Black’s mental voice reached him: “Got it! It wasn’t too difficult.” Su Che thought, “Besides using your superior strength, you also employed the temptation powers of the Outer Demons, right?” “Yes, master,” Old Black replied. “The Outer Demons are enemies of all things, which means their temptation tactics work just as well on the Wind Rat tribe. It has already recognized me as their emperor.” “Good. Continue,” Su Che thought with hidden joy. Next, the first rat king subdued by Old Black acted as a messenger, sending many of his subordinates to all the Wind Rat tribes in the Wind Valley to inform their kings: “Our tribe has finally produced an emperor! Come and pay your respects at once!” While waiting, Old Black explained the characteristics of the Wind Rats to Su Che: “In the Wind Valley, past rat kings have never been able to overcome the racial barriers of lower-tier monsters and become mid-tier monsters. In other words, the spiritual power I possess at the fourth level of Qi cultivation makes me the undisputed king among them. As the lowest-tier monster race, they have limited intelligence and are easily tempted…” Time passed slowly. In this cave, Old Black met dozens of black-furred rat kings one after another. Subduing the first few took some effort, but as more rat kings came under his control, he quickly established the authority befitting an emperor, making it much easier to subdue the rest. Rats, like humans, tend to follow the crowd. Seeing other rat kings acknowledge this ‘Rat Emperor,’ the later rat kings dared not question him. Each rat king led nearly ten thousand ordinary Wind Rats, meaning Su Che and Old Black could indirectly command hundreds of thousands of Wind Rats to work for them. After all, these rat monsters were not ordinary rats from the mortal world. No matter how strong their reproductive capacity, they couldn’t reach hundreds of millions in number. Old Black estimated that in the Wind Valley, which stretched over two thousand miles, the total number of Wind Rats couldn’t exceed one million. Could Su Che become arrogant just by being able to control hundreds of thousands of Wind Rats? No! Absolutely not!

Su Che thought it through clearly: if he used these Wind Rats to cause trouble, any Jin Dan cultivator from the Tianxuan Sect could simply fly in the sky and easily wipe them out all. After all, even the strongest Rat King was only at the third level of Qi Cultivation, unable to fly, could only crawl, and could only sigh helplessly—destined to be slaughtered. So, what benefits could these Wind Rats bring to Su Che? Su Che identified three aspects: finding people, searching for items, and exploring secrets! For finding people, it could start right away. Lao He would transmit the appearance, aura, and other characteristics of the “Han Zuo Jing” directly to the minds of the Rat Kings through mental communication, who would then distribute the task. Hundreds of thousands of Wind Rats would search the canyon for traces of the Han Zuo Jing. Humans have their ways, and rats have theirs. As for how the rats would identify the Han Zuo Jing, Su Che didn’t bother to figure it out—such things were beyond a human’s understanding. As for “searching for items,” it naturally relied on their numerical advantage and the fact that they were the native inhabitants of the Wind Canyon to help gather various spiritual herbs and minerals. In short, the specialties of the Wind Canyon would also become his own property. On this aspect, Su Che also instructed Lao He to maintain a proper balance and not go too far at once. If the Wind Canyon were emptied, preventing the Tianxuan Sect’s apprentices and external cultivators from collecting herbs or mining minerals any longer, it would surely draw investigation from the sect’s higher-ups—equivalent to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. It was wiser to pursue a sustainable approach rather than a one-time deal.