Rise of The Demon General

Amon didn't return to his residence. He went to the infirmary instead. Arriving there, he asked the nurse for the whereabouts of Tuang Yin and his underling who had his leg cut. After getting their location, Amon headed there.

The two were put in the same room. When Amon entered, he saw eight beds, but six were vacant. Only two were occupied, by Tuang Yin and his underling.

"Yo, my boyfriend! What takes you so long to pay a visit?" Tuang Yin immediately called once she saw Amon enter.

Amon didn't spare her a glance. He went directly to the bed that had his underling. Tuang Yin continued to call after him but Amon treated it as if he didn't hear her. After a while, she stopped and pouted on her bed.

"Bo… Boss…," his underling greeted when Amon approached.

"Ah Bin, how are you feeling?" Amon asked. His wounded underling was Ah Bin, the first student he and Xin Wuming had recruited.

"I am fine… The nurse has given me recovery pills. But for my amputated leg, they said they will need to wait for Yan Dose to deliver the regrowth pill within three months. Unfortunately, during that time, I won't be able to attend many of the classes. The nurse will help bring me to the theory classes, but I won't be able to practice any art with my condition. I can only cultivate, but here, not in the pagoda… And they said even after getting the regrowth pill, I will still need some time before my leg grows back."

Amon could hear the sadness and helplessness in Ah Bin's voice. This situation would cause him to lag behind the other students.

"I know. That's why I come." Amon took out one of the four regrowth pills from his space ring. "This is a regrowth pill. Consume it," Amon said.

"Wha… What…?" Ah Bin couldn't believe his ears. As someone from a poor clan, he never laid his eyes on a regrowth pill before, so he couldn't confirm Amon's claim. But he could feel the aether exuded by the pill and knew that it was not any common pill. Also, he believed Amon's word.

"I… I can't… This is too precious… It's yours… I can wait for the one Yan Dose bring…," Ah Bin stammered.

"And waste three months?" Amon asked. "You will fall behind the other students by then."

"I… I…"

"Take it! I am giving it to you," Amon demanded.

"I… Thank you, boss! I won't forget this!" Ah Bin no longer hesitated. He accepted the pill and put it into his mouth immediately.

Amon waited until Ah Bin swallowed the pill before saying, "Good, that is one of the two regrowth pills I have in my possession. Now rest and focus your aether circulation to help the pill regrows your leg."

Hearing Amon's words, Ah Bin felt even more grateful. He knew how precious the pill was. For Amon to give away one of the two remaining ones in his possession showed how highly Amon regarded him. For someone who had always been seen as unworthy except by his own family, this treatment made him truly appreciate Amon's generosity.

In fact, Amon never cared for any of his predicament, but he needed to show that he could take care of his underling. He had learned in his past life. If you took care of your subordinates, they would take care of you. He could commit atrocities to the world, but he still needed to be good to those closest to him. Otherwise, he would be vulnerable when he was alone.

It was as Lao Zen said, humans needed one another to do great things. This was true in his past world where powers came with numbers. The more support you have, the more powerful you are. All the game of politics was about securing allies and gaining as much support as possible. If you have one million people standing behind you, people would think twice before crossing you.

He might have unsurpassed combat ability in the past life, but his position as the world's most feared military general didn't come from this combat skill. It was from the army he built. An army that sowed terror on all the countries in his past world.

This cultivation world might make someone into a being as if God who could look down on all others. Even then, he believed the same principles applied. After all, if he could amass an army of one million with God-like power. What can one arrogant God who thought he could solo everything does against his God army?

"I will give you back when they give me the regrowth pill from Yan Dose," Ah Bin said.

Amon chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Get some rest," he said and left. If the academy found out that Ah Bin's leg was already growing, he didn't believe they would still give the regrowth pill to Ah Bin. They would just keep it for themselves.

Amon believed the act of giving this regrowth pill to Ah Bin was necessary. Once Ah Bin recovered, this act would be known to his other underlings. People would see him as a leader who took care of them. This would let him earn their loyalties even more.

Amon had lied to Ah Bin that he had only two regrowth pills. The purpose was so that when somebody had the same incident again later, he only needed to show compassion without the need to fork out any more regrowth pills, by using the reason that he no longer had any of the pills. The image of him as a caring leader was already planted, he didn't need to continue to reinforce it unless necessary.

The reason that he said he had two regrowth pills instead of just one was that he planned to give the second one away as well.

"Here," Amon offered it to Tuang Yin.

Tuang Yin had already heard their conversation so she already knew what pill was in Amon's hand. But she was still pouting because Amon had continued to ignore her. Not to mention, Amon came to Ah Bin first instead of her. She sacrificed an arm for him, for heaven's sake! And he came to her second! She felt like yelling at him.

Since Tuang Yin was acting sulky, Amon simply put the regrowth pill beside her bed and then walked away.

"Hey, Hey! Wait! Aren't you going to say anything to cheer me up?" Tuang Yin hurriedly called when she saw her pouting tactic didn't work. "I don't need this regrowth pill, take it back!"

Amon stopped after hearing. "You don't need it? Are you saying you are fine waiting three months for the one from Yan Dose?"

"My clan is delivering one as we speak. They should arrive in two weeks," Tuang Yin replied.

'So, she was from a wealthy clan,' Amon thought. Which shouldn't come as a surprise considering her prowess to be able to get to the top ten.

"Two weeks is still a waste if it hinders you from joining the practice class," Amon said. "You are the constant seven during the entrance exams. If you take it easy, you won't be able to stay in the top ten. Take mine. If you don't want it, just throw it away then."

Amon then resumed leaving again.

"Hey, hey! Wait! Come back here!" Tuang Yin continued to call, but Amon ignored her.

Although Amon had no problem making use of anyone around him, he still preferred to repay a favor when he could. Furthermore, if this news were spread. People would see Amon as someone who did right to those who did right by him. It could help to influence more allies to his side.

If Tuang Yin had been one of his subordinates, then it would have been different. Amon considered it his underlings' duty to sacrifice themselves for him.

Since Amon had left, Tuang Yin couldn't do anything. She looked at the regrowth pill in her hand. She actually very much wanted to consume this pill right now. Waiting two weeks for his clan would be as Amon said, a waste of time that might cause her to fall behind the others. She couldn't afford that. Not if she was determined to stay in the top ten, just like what Amon reminded just now.

She had refused Amon's regrowth pill simply because she wanted Amon to feel indebted to her, but it seemed that Amon didn't let her. She never thought that her scheme to gain Amon's gratitude fell short of Amon's scheme to spread his influence.

"Damn him! Playing hard to get," Tuang Yin popped Amon's regrowth pill into her mouth and swallowed it.

Ah Bin was looking at her from the other bed.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" Tuang Yin scolded. Ah Bin quickly turned away.

Amon returned home afterward. He had to prepare everything. Things were changing now after his last act. His new faction could be said as formally established now. No one was going to think the Vicious was just temporary anymore. Now, what he needed to do was paving a way for its growth and made sure that it survived.