The moment that Di Sha Demon opened his mouth, the others all showed the same terrified look.
"Patriarch," Laura said in a low voice, "a year ago, Frost Island failed its quota. The Island Guard stepped in, then wiped out ten percent of the Frost Demons at random. With fewer people, their workload only got heavier. If they still can't finish the quota this year, the Island Guard will strike again. With this kind of vicious cycle, Frost Demons will probably be wiped out in a few years. The Island Guard does a small check every month and a big one every year. The big check is coming up. We've worked really hard before. Even though we wasted three days this month, if we work overtime, we should still manage to submit our weapon quota. But if we can't... then the random ten percent that'll be exterminated will be us."
Laura's voice trembled as she spoke, and even her body started shaking.
Life used to be rough for low tier demons, but it wasn't this brutal. Ever since the Acceleration Plan started, the higher ups demanded more and more resources. Those demands piled up layer by layer until they crushed demons like them.
The Eight Demon Gods didn't care if low tier demons died. As long as the Acceleration Plan succeeded, it didn't matter if every last one of them perished.
Yun Jin looked completely calm. "Have you ever thought about why the Frost Demons ended up like this?"
The Di Sha Demons all froze.
Laura answered carefully. "Because they weren't hardworking enough. They failed their tasks."
Yun Jin glanced at her. "Because they weren't strong enough."
Laura froze.
Everyone stared at Yun Jin blankly.
Not hardworking enough? No. Not strong enough.
Yun Jin's voice was indifferent. "You've lived long enough. How do you still have fantasies you shouldn't have? As long as you're strong enough, you can resist the rules. If you're not, you'll only wait helplessly for someone to judge you. Do you think that if you work day and night, never slacking off, you'll simply get to survive?
In the past few years, the missions from above have only gotten heavier. Say we finish our tasks this year and survive. What about next year? The year after? How many more years can we endure this workload?
Keep enduring and death will only be a matter of time."
Yun Jin was simply stating a fact.
Laura felt her heart pounding. Despair filled her expression. "But Patriarch, what else can we even do?"
They were too weak, stuck at the bottom of the Polar Night Demon World. With their power, what could they resist?
Even a random Island Guard soldier had at least Tianmo level strength. If they dared resist, the Island Guard could slaughter their entire race effortlessly.
They knew submission was slow death, but at least they'd live a bit longer, right?
Yun Jin said quietly, "The answer is to get stronger. You only need to cultivate. Everything else isn't your concern."
When some demons still hesitated, Yun Jin released her overwhelming aura. Her voice cut cold through the air. "If you're so eager to stay slaves, then as your Patriarch, I'll personally end you right now."
The demons all jolted in fear and immediately resumed cultivating.
"Laura, you'll supervise them here. In a few days, pass down that secret technique. I'll set a barrier on this slope. Until they finish cultivating, no one's allowed to leave." Yun Jin handed her a secret technique.
Since Yun Jin had already used spirit control on Laura, even if she felt uneasy, she still obeyed without question.
Yun Jin nodded and flew away.
She set up an array that covered the entire small mountain.
Then she left Di Sha Island altogether.
This region had twenty islands, each inhabited by low tier demon races.
Each island had Island Guards stationed there, a total of fifty guards. Every one of them possessed Tianmo strength. They operated in squads of ten, each squad led by a late Tianmo powerhouse.
The commander of the entire Island Guard force was Zou Yang, a Zhenmo Realm powerhouse.
Just these fifty guards were enough to crush every low tier demon here and destroy any thought of rebellion.
But Yun Jin wanted to give them the strength to rebel. She slipped quietly onto Frost Island, the one Laura mentioned. Since the Frost Demons had fewer people now and heavier tasks, they were destined to fail the quota this time.
The island felt dead silent. The Frost Demons could only wait helplessly for their coming doom.
Yun Jin chose the peak of an icy mountain and buried her improved manual and technique there.
At the same time, a group of Frost Demons suddenly felt drawn, almost dazed, as they walked toward the mountaintop. When they snapped out of it, they had already dug up two pitch black jade slips.
After a quick look through the contents, every Frost Demon there was stunned. Soon, the entire tribe gathered.
Yun Jin hid in the darkness to observe.
A Frost Demon spoke passionately. "This manual and technique were made for us. If we train seriously and combine the strength of our entire tribe, we might actually defeat the Island Guards."
"Attack the Island Guards... that's a death sentence."
"Who cares about a death sentence? They never planned to let us live anyway."
"We're short on Frost Ore this time. By regulations, they're going to randomly execute twenty percent of us. If this continues, we'll be wiped out in a few years! If that's the outcome, I'd rather die fighting."
Silence fell for a moment.
Then the tribe reached a shared resolve. Right there atop the snowy mountain, they secretly began cultivating. If death was certain either way, then they'd rather die with fire in their chests. They'd truly been pushed to the edge.
Yun Jin nodded in satisfaction, then moved on to the next island.
She repeated the same process on the surrounding islands, leaving modified manuals and techniques.
But not every demon chose to train. Some hesitated, then simply sealed the manuals away and continued their work.
The ratio was about half and half.
The Acceleration Plan had been in effect for eight years. The pressure grew every year, but many demons were still barely managing to endure.
Yun Jin wasn't in a hurry. Soon, all twenty islands would fall under her control. It was only a matter of time.
When she finished everything, the time for the yearly big inspection arrived. A squad of Island Guards led by a late Tianmo powerhouse began collecting resources.
During small inspections, only one guard came to check basic progress.
During big inspections, the entire squad moved from island to island, collecting a year's worth of output.
If any island failed its tasks, the Island Guards carried out the punishment.
That day, the big inspection finally arrived.
The Island Guards chose Frost Island as their first stop.