I guarded Impel Down for a hundred years in the pirate world.

As for the promotional methods, they all involve discounts.

Figo glanced at each article and then started browsing the news to quickly learn about the current situation of the Land of Lights.

The headlines were still about the destruction of the Serau Merchant Guild and the mysterious angel warrior Michael, followed by the news that "the Holy Demon King has taken a new wife, his 173rd wife is a demon girl."

This Holy Demon King is the second turning point in the history of the Lamp Star that Figo had mentioned to the three Celestial Dragons but hadn't fully explained. He is the only known powerhouse on the Lamp Star who is at level six and has lit six lamps!

His ascension 600 years ago not only did not worsen the situation of humanity, but also completely ended the war and brought peace to humanity—with his ascension, the demon race split apart!

'I'm over two hundred generations removed from Lucifer, why should I risk my life for him?'

'Although Lucifer was the creator of our demon race, he was also a loser!'

'Although he has three abilities, he only actually lit five lamps, right? I'm now at level six in terms of lamp power; I'm going to be stronger than him!'

'The king of the demon race in this era should be me! From this day forward, I am the Holy Demon King!'

This is the gist of his manifesto: a lustful and power-loving old devil.

Over the past few hundred years, he has married girls from almost every race on the planet Lampfire. His existence has made some demons hate him to the core, but they can't do anything about it. On the other hand, humans are mostly happy to see him like this.

He and Lucifer are bound to have a battle, and the pressure on the human race has been greatly relieved because of him.

It is precisely because of this that the human race has been able to settle down completely over the past six hundred years, giving rise to slave-hunting merchant groups like the Serau Merchant Guild. Moreover, this is by no means an exception; the existence of 'lamp-fishing slaves' is probably a recognized unspoken rule among the human race.

Figo narrowed his eyes and continued flipping through the pages, reading past news articles.

He reads very quickly, skimming over useless information in almost a second.

Sitting next to him, Lin Qi occasionally glanced at the screen out of curiosity, feeling overwhelmed, and then continued to tease his new internet addict.

News about the Celestial Dragons.

News from various factions.

News of the emergence of high-end lighting.

Figo quickly analyzed the complex information in his mind, and only paused slightly when he saw a news article from four years ago two hours later.

'A Level 5 Demon Bloodline Lamp appeared in the Tingwu Sea, prompting a concerted effort from various forces, only to be secretly taken away by an unknown powerful being. It has been confirmed that this Level 5 Lamp does not belong to any fallen Level 5 King within the Lamp Star, but currently, no one in the starry sky can match its identity.'

"Is it Blue Fravo's Borrow Fruit Lamp?" He's a one-trick pony who hasn't lit five lamps, and he's very good at hiding it.

The borrowed fruit also left a very deep impression on Figo, though it's unclear who got it.

Princess Asmodeus, a half-demon who had been missing for 120 years after refusing to marry the Holy Demon King, has finally returned home. Her charm has reached level five, earning her the title of the most beautiful woman on the planet. The Holy Demon King, unable to resist, extends another marriage invitation, only to be cruelly rejected…

'Shocking! Gaston Figo, a king from the Land of Hope and one of the 13 heirs of kings, single-handedly fought five level-five kings from Tianlong Star, decisively killing one of them, and shattering Tianlong Star's dominance!'

Gaston Figo is considered the strongest being in the cosmos below the Holy Demon King, a claim acknowledged by the Skeleton Emperor, who expresses his hope to meet him someday…

Five or six years ago, there was more news about Figo, as people who had drifted to Deng Huoxing each year brought a lot of information.

"It seems I'm more famous than I expected."

"The Holy Demon King..."

Figo thought for a moment, then turned and smiled, "Lin Qi, if I were to form a trading company, would your skills in using network bugs be sufficient?"

Lin Qi was taken aback, then nodded repeatedly.

"I can do it!"

Chapter 295 Helping to Light the Lamp

Hepsey hasn't been in a good mood lately.

His daughter was about to turn 10, and Hepsey had planned to give her a unique gift for her birthday—a dancing lamp wick. He had already paid the deposit, but the Herau merchant group from which he purchased the wick was suddenly wiped out.

The dancing lamp wick may sound obscure and worthless, but in reality, its value far surpasses that of the giant bloodline lamp wick!

Firstly, they are rare.

Secondly, learning dance, especially under the influence of lamplight, can make girls more elegant and beautiful as they grow up, and even give them a small chance to ignite their charm as adults.

Asmodia, the half-demon princess, is a good example of this. Her charm didn't come out of thin air; from a young age, she learned one charm skill after another.

Which capable and wealthy person wouldn't want their daughter to grow up to be even more beautiful? In times of war, the wicks of dancing lamps were ignored, but since peace was restored, the value of these wicks has been driven up higher and higher, and they are no longer something that can be bought at will.

For this, Hepsey paid the Serau Merchant Guild a deposit of 2000 million to search for it, and would pay them a reward of 5000 million to 8000 million lamp coins after finding it.

He didn't care much about the money loss; what bothered him was that he would miss his daughter's birthday, and that he had inadvertently let the words slip out.

So these past few days, whenever he had free time, he would keep an eye on nearby shopping groups, hoping to find a dance lamp wick in stock, even if it was at a premium.

But nothing came of it.

On this day, as usual, he used the web crawler to browse through the various merchant groups. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a new merchant group that had been added to the island at the very top and very close by—the Lynch Merchant Group.

"Another merchant firm trying to take over the trading rights for the lights and wicks in this sea area? I wonder if they really have the ability or are just trying their luck."

Hepsey clicked on it without thinking.

Help light up your home and get free lamp wicks!

The pop-up text box startled Hepsey, who frowned and murmured, "Free?"

Even the most obscure lamp wick is a legacy left by an ancestor who possessed the probability of igniting a lamp and who achieved the pinnacle of ordinary people in a certain direction. Two million lamp coins are enough for an average family to live on for three years.

He closed the text box, and another screen appeared: 'Congratulations! You've been showered with a free flying boat-controlled lamp wick gift! Invite new users to help light the lamp and you can successfully claim the lamp wick!'

Airship control? Definitely not a good thing.

But it's free...

Hepsey carefully read the rules and understood what the Lynch Merchant Guild was doing in half a minute.

In the middle of the page, there is a dim light with the word "0%" written below it. Every time a newcomer who has never joined the Lynch Merchant Guild is invited through this page, the light will brighten a little.

Once the light is 100% lit, he will be able to obtain the free flying boat control lamp core.

"That's interesting."

Hepsey immediately understood the other party's intention. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the merchant group had clearly stated that it only supported the participation of 81 inhabited islands, including X Island and XX Island, which originally belonged to the Serau Merchant Group!

"They're willing to invest heavily."

He thought for a moment and then called his wife over.

"Come on, let's try this light-up method."

His wife quickly understood and used her own web worms to help Hepsey complete the task—each web worm had a different number, equivalent to a different login account.

The degree of light ignition has increased to 1%.

"Need to find 100 people? Not many."

This quantity is just right, because even buying 100 of the worst network bugs would cost 200 million, and it's not worth it to control a single lamp wick for a flying boat.

Hepsey had no interest in causing trouble for two or three million, but his wife was extremely interested. Why not take something that's free?

"Don't bother our employees," Hepsey said, offering only a word of advice, as she couldn't bear the embarrassment.

His wife smiled and agreed, then quickly used her internet to call on her friends for help.

The light intensity increased by 1%, 1%, until it reached 67%, two-thirds of the way through, and a text box suddenly popped up on Hepsey's wife's web browser.

"I'm sorry, cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. Your progress is too slow; you haven't successfully lit the lamp before your lifespan runs out (someone was faster than you and took the wick that controls the flying boat)."

She was stunned, a little angry, and a little amused as she handed the web bug to Hepsey.

Hepsey laughed heartily after reading it: "Interesting, really interesting. This Lynch Merchant Group's 'opening event' is much more impressive than other merchant groups. Oh, I forgot, let me see what kind of lamp wicks they have for sale."

The result showed: 'During the new merchant group event, there are currently no items for sale. Two hours after each free lamp wick is given away, a brand new lamp wick will be given away for free, continuing for seven days. Everyone is welcome to participate!'

"Two hours, seven days, at this rate. Even if they're all inferior products, it'll still be at least 200 million lamp coins invested, not even counting transportation costs. That's quite a sum." Hepsey calculated in his mind, his expression slowly becoming serious.

His wife exclaimed in surprise, "Is this... really a free gift? Won't we lose money?"

"Of course it's true. Registering a business group requires verifying financial resources and leaving an image. Who has the time to become a wanted criminal? As for losing money? What was your first reaction after seeing this message?"

"...I want to find a hundred people who have never been part of the Lynch Merchant Guild before and wait for them."

“Everyone else thinks the same way!” Hepsey laughed. “If the 67 people you just invited all think this way, and you multiply that by 100? Seven days and seven nights? Three days and three nights, then probably no one in the sea area that originally belonged to the Serau Merchant Guild would be unaware of it!”

The person who came up with this idea is a genius. If they have the manpower and resources, they might just be the ones taking over the Serau Merchant Guild!

Seeing the admiring look in his wife's eyes as she marveled at his wisdom, Hepsey smiled faintly and added, "Don't contact our employees."

"I know I know."

His wife smiled helplessly. Fortunately, she held a certain position and had a wide circle of friends, so many people were willing to give her face.

Three hours later, the merchant group interface refreshed, and the content that appeared surprised her slightly. She quickly shared the invitation.

Two minutes later, she exclaimed, "What?!" and turned to look at Hepsey.

"Someone beat me to it again?" Hepsey shook her head and smiled, looking at her screen.

The lighting progress is stuck at 99%.

New content has appeared.

Swordsmanship training is not easy. To ensure the lamp is lit, you need to accumulate 10 more wicks. Inviting 10 new users will light one wick.

So... another 100 people?

They figured out that everyone would prepare in advance!

This would normally make everyone feel like they've been tricked and angry, but it also has a certain rationale—the sword technique lamp wick is far more valuable than the flying boat's control lamp wick!

"It's actually a sword-crafting lamp wick..."

"Honey, quickly call the employees for help! This is 2000 million!" his wife said anxiously.

Hepsey was a bit conflicted; 2000 million was a considerable sum for him.

In that moment of hesitation, his wife's page refreshed again, and her cultivation slowed down once more (the wick of the sword technique lamp had already been taken).

"How could it be so fast?!"

“Hmm…it seems someone just happened to find more than 200 people, and they’re preparing for the next lamp wick, and the one after that,” Hepsey said.

"Forget it, just ignore it. Who knows what tricks they'll pull next time they give it away."

His wife was a little unhappy: "If you won't help me, I'll do it myself."

Hepsey was speechless. He was greedy for small gains and made a fool of himself. Although 2000 million was a lot, it was not enough for him to earn from selling a merchant ship. As the largest ship merchant in the surrounding waters, how could he ask his crew for help just to get a lamp wick for free? Did he have no shame?