With that settled, Zhuo Fan had Li Jingtian release the four and restore their cultivation.
The first thing the four did with their newfound freedom was to band together and assume that dumb pose again, “Humph, you got some nerve tying us up and feeding us worms. This shame has to be paid back! Even if you surrender, we will not spare your miserable lives!”
“Yeah, we won’t spare your miserable lives, for sure!” The other three demons mimicked Violent Demon. Yet Li Jingtian and Zhuo Fan shared a look and sneered.
The four demons were puzzled.
[What’s going on? Why aren’t they cowering?]
Before they could make sense of anything, a blood mark appeared on their heads and threatened to burst their skulls like a balloon.
The four forwent their haughty attitude in favor of rolling on the ground and holding their heads, all while their eyes threatened to explode from how bloodshot they were.
Zhuo Fan sauntered over and sneered. Then, explained the deal with the Bloodworms. This seemed to get through to them, that they were at the mercy of a kid.
“If you want to live, listen closely…”
“Of course we will, so stop it already! My head’s about to pop!”
“Yeah, you’re our boss now. Screw that rotten old Violent Demon!”
“You bastard, no sense of loyalty! Haven’t we got the same mother? Daddy, please get rid of these treacherous bastards. I’m more than enough to look after you. They are not worth shit…”
Zhuo Fan’s face twitched and Li Jingtian’s mood sank.
[These little shits have no shame at all!] They were the most immoral Radiant Stage expert the two ever saw! Zhuo Fan was still having second thoughts if taking this immoral four under him would only come back to haunt him.
[Even calling me a damn daddy!? Sigh, god I hope this won’t come back to bite me!]
Zhuo Fan lamented inside and his hand sign changed, relieving the four of their pain. The four demons went on their knees on the spot and hugged Zhuo Fan’s legs, “Daddy, I’m yours forever and always. Oh please don’t let that bug give your child a tummy ache!”
Zhuo Fan’s brows were shuddering and kicked the fool, “Not one damn bone in your back!”
“What? Daddy wants to see us show off our backbone?”
With a shine in their eyes, the four joined together in their retarded pose and shouted, “We are the demonic heroes, the Abominable Four! Our daddy is… uh, daddy, what was your name again?”
Zhuo Fan felt like spitting blood. Li Jingtian was laughing his heart out.
Who’d ever believe these four weirdos, the Four Scheming Demons, who had him on the ropes before now had no morals whatsoever!
Zhuo Fan glared at the four, “You are forbidden from calling me that, or I’ll have the worms wreck your body so bad you’d be begging for the sweet release of death!”
“Yes, mommy!” The four imps puffed their chests, totally guessing Zhuo Fan’s meaning.
Zhuo Fan reeled, almost collapsing. He glared at them, [That’s goddamn worse! You’re even changing my gender!]
“Call me Steward Zhuo!” Zhuo Fan emphasized each word as he spat through gnashed teeth.
The four stood at attention and shouted, “Yes, Steward Zhuo!”
Zhuo Fan finally breathed easier. [No wonder they’re called the Abominable Four Scheming Demons. It’s like fighting with the demons of the Underworld!]
He finally figured out why Demon Scheming Sect ignored these dunces for sixty years. Spending but a moment around these fools would cut one’s life short from anger.
Though they had one redeeming quality, they were strong.
With the Luo clan on the rise, it needed strong experts. Once the clan’s situation stabilized, [The first ones I’ll put down for good will be these four weirdos!]
Zhuo Fan said, “You are now one of us now, so explain to me this unity tactic.”
“Uh…” Violent Demon looked at his brothers and spoke with difficulty, “It is a secret art of Demon Scheming Sect. We can’t reveal it.”
Zhuo Fan nodded, [That’s how a human should act. At least they aren’t complete wastes, knowing when to be loyal.] Even if the Demon Scheming Sect threw them away for sixty years, they were still protecting their secrets.
But what he heard next filled Zhuo Fan with a sudden and most compelling urge to choke the life out of them.
“Uh, the thing is, only we four can train it. It’s our secret. If we let it slip, we’ll easily be defeated in the future. That’s too dangerous! How about we tell you of Demon Scheming Sect’s guarding array instead, or where they keep their scriptures, or where Sect Leader’s room is perhaps…”
Zhuo Fan waved him off, clenching his fists hard. One could even hear the grinding of teeth.
“You sure like spilling the beans on everything about the Demon Scheming Sect…” Zhuo Fan laughed from anger, already regretting his decision, “The day might come where you’d even sell me out!”
The four looked at each other but remained silent. Then they each looked elsewhere and started whistling.
This only worked to fuel Zhuo Fan’s rage as he barked, “Hurry up and fork out that unity tactic or I’ll end you right here, right now!”
The four nodded in panic.
That was fine, since their lives were in Zhuo Fan’s hands. Not even the unity tactic could save them from this. So they started to string up all the details pertaining to the secret art.
Li Jingtian listened from the side, now understanding what made the four’s attacks so strange and hard to counter.
The unity tactic only worked when four people were intrinsically connected on the biological and spiritual level.
This unity tactic was called Four Hearts Formation, pointing at the four human emotions, happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy.
Violent Demon trained anger to the point of being berserk. Once he struck, nothing could stand up to him. Scrooge Demon trained sorrow to the point of a grudge. He shifted from real to illusory, throwing the enemy off guard. He was swift like a ghost and impossible to throw off, giving his opponent a very hard time. Sly Demon trained happiness to the point of ecstasy. Swift like the wind, leaving behind only afterimages. Wimp Demon trained joy to the point of being whimsical. And since he was also cowardly by nature, he reached the peak of defensive arts.
In short, the eldest brother was in charge of power, third bro in charge of speed, second bro and fourth bro in charge of movement arts. But even they were different, with second bro in charge of attacking movements while fourth bro with defensive ones.
If any four people trained like this, they’d end up as waste.
With only the eldest bro having enough power to do some damage, the other three couldn’t do anything to their enemy. Yet, in this lay the crux of the Four Hearts Formation. It allowed the four to combine their advantages and become one, effectively multiplying their power.
This was why the four charged all together at Li Jingtian and gave him a hard time. The four of them turned into the eldest brother, Violent Demon!
Then the four surrounded Li Jingtian but turned into third brother, Sly Demon!
And why Li Jingtian could never harm Sly Demon once despite having him in his grip was all thanks to Wimp Demon’s ability. Li Jingtian then ended up half naked because Scrooge Demon bestowed his ability on his brothers.
This way, one man’s ability was transferred to the four. And since they were of four, their power would multiply. The enemy would be left flabbergast, unable to cope with the situation before meeting his ultimate demise.
But if this secret was leaked, there was no more reason to fear them. As long as they stopped the four’s change into Violent Demon, they’d be finished.
Because the other three’s power came nowhere near the first!
“So this strange formation had me on the ropes!” Li Jingtian caressed his bead, “But it does have a weakness. The four of you can’t use all of your abilities at the same time. Otherwise, it would truly be insane!”
“Really? Then I’ll help them reach that point!”
With a sly grin, Zhuo Fan showed a jade slip, “Abominable Four Scheming Demons, since you are now with me, I will make it worth your while. This is also a unity tactic, Four Division Formation. The users would move to the four cardinal points, with the five elements endearing one another, making each one of you use all the other’s abilities. Furthermore, it will also work to boost your personal ability by three layers!”
“What?!” The four demons cried out and Li Jingtian smacked his lips, “It’s insane enough they can use all the others’ abilities but it can even increase their power by three layers? Ain’t that the same as facing the Four Scheming Demons at the 6th layer of Radiant Stage?”
Zhuo Fan smiled, “Correct. With the four divisions amplifying each other, everyone can use anyone’s ability. They will have speed, power, movements, defense, thus becoming true monsters. Not to mention, it complements the Four Hearts Formation. As for raising them three layers, ha-ha-ha, that’s only in the beginning stage of the Four Division Formation. Once they reached the mid stage, the amplification would raise their power by six layers.
“And if trained to peak, by a whole stage! In other words, the four of them will become as strong as a peak Radiant Stage expert!”
Li Jingtian was slackjawed, watching Zhuo Fan incredulous, “Steward Zhuo, are you perhaps someone who fled a super sect or something? The Four Division Formation is insanely more outrageous than the Four Hearts Formation. Where the hell did you come up with this treasure?”
“Secret!” Zhuo Fan smiled mysteriously…