"Mr. Byakuya, we must return to report. If you need anything, feel free to find me."
Kamado Tanjiro politely bowed to Byakuya, then left with Inosuke and Agatsuma Zenitsu.
Byakuya, on the other hand, began to wander the ancient town alone.
Currently, the ancient town seemed sparsely populated, with only a few scattered figures on the streets.
However, this was not particularly representative, as it was already late at night. Most people in most worlds were accustomed to activity during the day and sleep at night.
This was also why Byakuya was unwilling to consume demon blood and turn himself into a demon.
Admittedly, operating at night had its conveniences, but it also had many inconveniences.
Most importantly, when necessary, Byakuya could be active at night, but after becoming a demon, he could not be active during the day when necessary.
After a short stroll, Byakuya found the Summoned Players' Market in the neutral zone.
Naturally, it was deserted in the middle of the night, not a soul to be seen.
Byakuya merely confirmed the market's location and then found an inn to sleep.
As for money, Kamado Tanjiro had given Byakuya some before leaving.
It was a Japanese-style inn with an open courtyard. Wind chimes hung by the windows, and a small bridge with flowing water graced the garden, exuding a unique charm.
However, the occasional snoring from the room was quite disruptive to the atmosphere.
The night passed without incident!
The next morning, Byakuya was woken by a cacophony of noise.
Blinking his eyes groggily, Byakuya leaned by the window, opened it, and looked outside. He immediately saw that the quiet streets from the previous night were now bustling with activity, with crowds of people coming and going as far as the eye could see.
Byakuya was not too surprised by this scene.
The headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps was a very popular neutral zone.
The reason was similar to the Great Wall.
The Great Wall could accept a large number of missions, hunting bandits, barbarians, and demons. It allowed people to venture into dangerous areas to search for treasures and accumulate merit through these missions to strengthen themselves.
The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was much the same; a large number of missions were posted here.
However, the targets of these hunts had changed from bandits, barbarians, and demons to…
Demons!
Killing demons also earned merit, and one could receive rewards from the Demon Slayer Corps, or even directly join the Demon Slayer Corps and become a Demon Slayer.
In addition, the quality of this area was clearly lower than that of the Great Wall.
No restricted areas had been opened on the Great Wall yet, as the players' levels were not high enough to trigger them.
However, this area was different; restricted areas had already been opened, with Mount Natagumo as an example. Therefore, it was naturally more favored by the Summoned Players.
If the Great Wall was considered a high-level map, where players entered to prepare for the future, then the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was a normal map that catered to most Summoned Players, perfect for current exploration.
After watching by the window for a while, Byakuya stretched and then got up to leave the inn.
To seek trades, one naturally had to go to the Summoned Players' Market.
Upon entering the market, Byakuya couldn't help but be taken aback.
Compared to its deserted state at midnight, with not a shadow to be seen, the market now was truly a sea of people.
All sorts of stalls, all sorts of standing banners.
Indeed, order had already been established in the market, with trading categories even demarcated into specific areas.
Upon entering the market, the area near the entrance was filled with stalls, mostly selling small items. Further inside, small competitive auctions had formed.
Bartering was the primary mode of transaction, but the items here were good, and many people wanted them. Thus, people could make offers, and the seller would ultimately decide with whom to trade.
There were even two methods of bidding: open and blind. In open bidding, people competed. In blind bidding, the seller did not want others to know what they had received, so people wrote their offers on paper, and the seller ultimately decided the trading partner.
Moving further inside, there were many standing banners.
This was no longer a place for trading items.
It was primarily for acquisitions and recruitment.
Acquisitions were easy to understand. Recruitment was more complex, the most common instance being when Jinsha had previously asked Byakuya to play death football.
If no one approached, then one could recruit people in the market using this method.
Rewards were usually calculated per person, with no room for conflict or dispute.
Therefore, they could cooperate with each other.
In essence, there was a natural relationship of conflict among the Summoned Players. However, as long as there were benefits and those benefits did not conflict, cooperation was not impossible.
Byakuya browsed slowly, not in a hurry to make any trades, and then…
Byakuya suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed ahead.
The Evil Spirit Group!
"The Evil Spirit Group…" Byakuya murmured, "Has the Evil Spirit Group already begun to be established?"
Byakuya's thoughts began to drift.
After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Byakuya had developed some new ideas.
Originally, the unlucky gacha machine had thrown Byakuya back to the beginning of the World Battlefield's establishment. After accepting this fact, Byakuya's only thought was—get stronger!
Continuously grow stronger, rapidly grow stronger, and once again stand as one of the foremost Summoned Players.
Then…
It would inevitably be a struggle for survival!
To await the final great battle, to still be able to break through the encirclement, enter the central region, and ascend that tower, to see who truly stood behind the World Battlefield.
However, the sudden appearance of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had given Byakuya other aspirations.
Ten years!
A full ten years!
In his previous life, Byakuya had struggled desperately in this damned place for ten years!
Was he going to spend another ten years in this place in this lifetime?
Byakuya was unwilling!
Perhaps…
He could give it a push from behind, to accelerate the progress of the World Battlefield?
Such a thought uncontrollably appeared in Byakuya's mind.
Byakuya was well aware of the developmental trajectory of the World Battlefield. Knowing this, could he artificially interfere and speed up the process?
Byakuya truly did not want to spend another decade in this accursed place!
Sometimes, certain ideas were just flashes of inspiration.
But once a flash of inspiration appeared, it was difficult to suppress it.
Byakuya knew that it would be extremely difficult to accelerate the progress of the World Battlefield single-handedly, but it was only difficult, not impossible.
Since that was the case, why not try?
Byakuya looked at the standing banner of the Evil Spirit Group, lost in deep thought.
First, he needed to determine one thing: was the acceleration of the World Battlefield's progress driven by a specific event? Or by regional exploration? Or by a certain individual? Or, more precisely, by a certain powerhouse?
No, no, no…
Byakuya knew that this was incorrect.
The progress of the World Battlefield was like a book, but this book could not be opened by just one person!
…