The giant pit inside the tent resembled a simplified coliseum, with rows of seats carved into the pit walls for the demons to watch.
Although there were many seats, the tickets were not cheap, and most demons wouldn't buy them. They crowded around the outer perimeter to get a free view, reasoning that they could see everything anyway, so why be a sucker?
At this moment, two suckers were buying tickets to enter, having specifically paid a hefty price for seats closer to the front.
It took a little time to find their seats. By the time Jian Lin was settled, the lion and tiger fighting in the arena had completed another round, with the tiger currently having the upper hand.
Having stayed at the tiger demon village before, Jian Lin instinctively hoped the tiger demon would win. She nervously asked the Demon Lord, "Young Master, who do you think will win between them?"
"The lion," the Demon Lord commented with keen observation. "The tiger demon has been injured in a vital spot and is at the end of its strength. It won't last much longer."
Jian Lin's heart tightened. Unwilling to give up, she argued, "But the tiger demon has the advantage right now..."
Before she could finish, the lion demon struck out with a paw. The tiger demon staggered, exposing a weakness. The lion demon seized the opportunity, kicking it away with its hind legs, then quickly flipped over. It opened its bloody maw and clamped down on the tiger demon's nape once more.
There was already a wound there. The lion demon's bite caused blood to spray, and the tiger demon let out a desperate, drawn-out cry. Its body convulsed, and it was powerless to resist.
In Jian Lin's understanding, a referee should have stepped in to declare the winner at this point. However, this was the demon realm, a place of life and death, where the strong preyed on the weak.
The lion demon reverted to its human form, revealing a burly man. He rolled to the side, picked up a long saber, and while the tiger demon was still convulsing, raised the saber with both hands and plunged it down with all his might. The tiger demon, without even a final struggle, fell silent.
In mere moments, a life was extinguished.
No demons grieved for it. Instead, they howled and applauded with excitement, shouting "Kill!" and "Kill!" with fervor.
Jian Lin didn't understand at first. It wasn't until she saw the lion demon grip the saber's hilt and directly slice open the tiger demon's abdomen that she grasped the source of the other demons' excitement: they relished the process of obtaining the golden core.
The lion demon plunged its hand into the tiger demon's abdomen, rummaged around, and suddenly pulled out a dark red golden core. Holding it aloft like a trophy of honor, he paraded around the arena. Amidst the cheers of the demons, he swallowed the tiger demon's golden core, letting out a roar that was a mixture of a lion's and a tiger's, shaking the tent with its intensity.
A familiar, hoarse voice rang out, "Lion demon Wu Gang, seventh consecutive victory!"
Jian Lin followed the sound and saw Leopard Boss on the lowest tier, seated on a carved chair. Five or six jars of wine were laid out on the long table before him, with his duck subordinate standing by his side.
Her gaze returned to the arena. A few laborers emerged to drag away the tiger demon's corpse. The lion demon took the opportunity to sit down and cross his legs to recuperate. Seven consecutive victories meant he had consumed seven golden cores that night; the process of absorbing their power was not easy.
Jian Lin's face turned ashen. She leaned in and whispered into the Demon Lord's ear, "Young Master, should we reconsider? We could go through Snake Boss's connections. For the next duel, what if there's an accident..."
Earlier, in Snake Boss's tent, Snake Boss had offered to accommodate one more person, as long as the price was high enough. Unexpectedly, the Demon Lord had flatly refused, stating he didn't need it.
Jian Lin couldn't fathom it. Was it out of male pride? Did he insist on coming to the beast arena to seize an opportunity? But after witnessing one match, Jian Lin truly felt it wasn't worth the risk.
The Demon Lord glanced at her, his gaze carrying a dangerous aura. He spoke slowly, "In your heart, do I not stand a chance against that lion demon?"
Jian Lin flinched and quickly explained, "That's not what I meant, Young Master. You surely don't lack spirit stones and magical artifacts..."
"This isn't about spirit stones or artifacts," the Demon Lord said coldly. "You don't understand. I rarely come to the demon realm and have never fought against powerful demons. This is a rare opportunity, and I absolutely will not miss it."
Jian Lin fell silent. She truly didn't understand.
As they spoke, the arena was cleaned up. The duck pulled a large bell hanging from the top of the tent and announced loudly, "Next challenger, enter the arena!"
A new battle began, repeating the same cycle of bloodshed and death. The lion demon maintained its winning streak until the ninth victory, when it was defeated by a seemingly unremarkable monkey demon.
The lion demon's golden core was extracted. Ten golden cores of varying sizes and colors were still clustered together, not yet fused into one. At a glance, they resembled vomit or a deformed creature, nearly sickening Jian Lin to death.
She truly couldn't bear it any longer. The Demon Lord, in his mercy, took her and left early, so she didn't see who the ultimate champion was.
It wasn't until they walked out of the tent area and returned to the previous thicket, breathing in the refreshing air tinged with the scent of grass and wood, that Jian Lin felt a little better.
Without bothering with anything else, she sat directly on the grass, leaning weakly against a tree, and said in a faint voice, "Young Master, promise me, after you win tomorrow's match, you won't swallow that demon core?"
The Demon Lord found a clean stone to sit on and looked at her as if she were an idiot. "If I don't swallow it, won't it expose that I'm not a demon?"
Jian Lin took a deep breath. After much deliberation, she still couldn't accept it. "Young Master, I know you must have a way. Please don't swallow it. That thing is bloody and not clean at all. Be careful not to get sick!"
The Demon Lord closed his eyes and said coolly, "Worry less about me. We will part ways tomorrow at noon. Jian Lin, be careful yourself. If you encounter danger, it might be a good opportunity for cultivation. I wish you an early breakthrough."
Jian Lin almost laughed. Even at a time like this, he hadn't forgotten to wish her an early breakthrough.
"Young Master, have you never considered that I might lose my life?" Jian Lin asked.
"That would be your own fault. Before you die, please reflect on why you didn't cultivate diligently."
Such cold and heartless words left Jian Lin speechless.
Much later, as they both slept in the woods, she lay in his arms, gazing at the stars, and reminisced about their time in the demon city.
She asked him why he had been so confident in letting her enter the demon city alone back then.
He explained that he had never trusted her.
He believed she was deliberately concealing her strength and feigning ignorance, suspecting she was a spy sent by the Guanlan Sect.
The Guanlan Sect's execution of her was a staged act between her and the sect, intended to create a plausible excuse for her to come to the Demon Sect, approach him, and curry favor. Then, at the opportune moment, they would coordinate from within and destroy the Demon Sect.
Jian Lin was stunned upon hearing this. Indeed, as a ruler, his mind was incredibly intricate and thorough!
After a moment of thought, Jian Lin raised another question. Since he didn't trust her, why didn't he simply drive her away? Why did he teach her the Mingyue Divine Art?
The Demon Lord answered frankly that he wanted to win her over. His kindness towards her was strategic, hoping to obtain useful information from her.
Jian Lin exclaimed, "Brilliant!" To be honest, if it weren't for the two zeros above the Demon Lord's head, she would have fallen for him long ago.
Fortunately, Jian Lin was a person whose rationality outweighed her emotions. Knowing that the Demon Lord hadn't fallen for her, she certainly wouldn't like him.
Time rewound to that period. At that time, Jian Lin hadn't thought much about it. She wanted to please the Demon Lord, and when he told her to enter the demon city, she went.
Regarding dangers and the risk of losing her life, she was rather nonchalant. Firstly, she had the system, and she had quite a few points. At critical moments, she could exchange them for many good things. Moreover, even if she truly died, it wasn't a big deal.
Soon, it was noon the next day. The Demon Lord accompanied Jian Lin to Snake Boss's tent.
Along the way, Jian Lin had been rehearsing what she would say to make the Demon Lord remember her.
By the time they reached the large tent, Jian Lin still hadn't quite figured it out. The Demon Lord, with a cold expression, simply said, "Take care," and turned to leave.
"Hey?" Jian Lin, quick as lightning, grabbed the Demon Lord's cloak. "Young Master, I haven't said anything yet!"
The Demon Lord tilted his head and glanced at her. "Then speak."
Jian Lin was speechless and could only pick out the most important points. "Be careful in tonight's duel. Don't be too careless. I'll be waiting for you in the city. Young Master, you must come find me quickly."
"Understood," the Demon Lord replied, and then, without any emotional fluctuation, asked, "Anything else?"
Jian Lin released his cloak, maintaining a forced smile with resignation. "That's all. Young Master, farewell!"
The Demon Lord waved his hand without even looking back, quickly disappearing into the chaotic tents.
What a failed farewell! Not a shred of lingering sentimentality!
Jian Lin watched the Demon Lord's retreating figure disappear and turned back reluctantly. To her surprise, as soon as she turned, she met a pair of sinister, small eyes, making Jian Lin's heart skip a beat.
In just a short period, she had grown accustomed to the Demon Lord's presence. Now, with their sudden separation, she truly felt unaccustomed and lacked any sense of security.
Snake Boss, alone and without any subordinates, stood in the shadow of the tent and spoke to her. "Miss Fox Demon, I heard you referring to the nameless one as 'Young Master'."
"Yes," Jian Lin replied indifferently. "But Snake Boss, what difference does it make whether you hear it or not?"
The transaction had been settled, and he had even signed a blood oath with the Demon Lord. Snake Boss wouldn't dare go back on his word, so Jian Lin felt fearless.
Snake Boss let out a sinister, low chuckle. After laughing enough, he said, "There is a difference. It proves I wasn't mistaken. How could someone so high and mighty be in a subordinate position?"
"Miss Fox Demon, your eyesight is sharp," Jian Lin flattered him casually and immediately urged, "Let's get down to business quickly. Otherwise, my Young Master will surely not let you off easily."
Snake Boss's smile remained unchanged, his small eyes gleaming brightly. He said slowly, "Miss Fox Demon, don't be in a hurry. We will begin soon."
Snake Boss invited her into the tent. He waved his hands, and a gourd-shaped magical artifact appeared in his palms. He tossed the artifact into the air, and it instantly enlarged until it was the same height as Jian Lin.
He began forming hand seals with his dry, long fingers. The gourd artifact vibrated, and red runes flickered. With a crack, the gourd artifact split open in the middle, revealing its empty interior.
"Miss Fox Demon, please enter," Snake Boss invited her.
Jian Lin could roughly guess the process and frantically communicated with the system in her mind. "A'Zha, what is this? Is this thing reliable?"
"Judging from the spiritual energy on the artifact and the runes that just appeared, this gourd can change size at will and will not affect the objects inside. The system judges it to be fine," the system replied patiently.
"Meaning, I go inside, Snake Boss changes my size, and then finds a way to bring me into the city, right?" Jian Lin confirmed with the system again.
"The system cannot determine this. The system cannot perceive the thoughts of other beings besides the host. If you wish to know, you can search the exchange mall for..."
"Alright, you shut up." Jian Lin interrupted the system. She didn't need to spend points for such a small matter. No need to be timid, just go in!