Chapter 14: The Demon Castle
Linley and his companions were not stingy, but they wouldn't waste money recklessly either. They left that hotel and wandered around the Imperial Wing City for a while longer, visiting over a dozen hotels and lodgings before finally settling on one that was elegant and quiet.
The cost for one year of lodging was 210 Mo Stones.
After paying the 210 Mo Stones, they received a black room number plate. Linley and the others entered their residence. Pushing open the courtyard gate, what unfolded before them was an elegant courtyard, with flower beds taking up a third of the space.
Behind it stood a quaint two-story wooden building.
Linley and Delia looked at it and couldn't help but feel very satisfied.
"Boss, this courtyard is pretty quiet," Bebe said with a grin. "Boss, I'll take the upstairs." Bebe leaped directly to the second floor, but just a moment later, he flew back down, pouting. "This hotel is really stingy. Aside from the bed, table, and chairs, there's nothing else."
"Having an environment like this is already pretty good," Linley said with a satisfied nod.
He then took out two azure stone slabs and handed them to Delia and Bebe. "Bebe, Delia, each of you take 200,000 Mo Stones for now. If you need to buy anything later, you can decide for yourselves."
"Hehe." Bebe raised an eyebrow and took his.
Delia nodded and accepted hers as well.
Linley looked up at the sky. It was still afternoon, and the blood-red sun hung high overhead.
"It's still early, and it's not dark yet. The Imperial Wing City has a curfew, but that only prohibits being on the streets after midnight. Let's go out and take a look first," Linley said. His first thought was the Demon Castle. "Let's head straight to the Demon Castle and see what this demon trial is all about."
"The Demon Castle?" Delia and Bebe were also looking forward to it.
Not wasting any time, Linley and his two companions immediately set out for the Demon Castle.
The ancient Demon Castle was entirely purple-black. Its iconic giant carving—a blurry face with a single eerie red eye—was unforgettable once seen.
The number of people heading to the Demon Castle was far fewer than those going to the Violet Thorn Castle or the Black Sand Castle.
However, although the people walking toward the Demon Castle were sparse, they all exuded a certain confidence as they glanced around. Most of them wore demon badges on their chests. Clearly...
They were all demons!
The elite of the Infernal Realm!
Linley, Delia, and Bebe stepped up the stairs and entered the first-floor hall of the Demon Castle.
"So quiet," Bebe whispered.
The first-floor hall of the Demon Castle was very spacious and sparsely populated, with only a few hundred people. With so few people in such a vast hall, it felt scattered and sparse. Linley immediately spotted the counter for demon applications.
At the counter sat a beautiful woman with green hair. Behind her, on a shelf, were rows of bottles of fine wine.
"Una, give me a bottle of O'Reilly, the red one!" A bald, black-armored man casually placed an azure stone slab on the counter.
"Hey, can't you see I'm busy? Wait a moment." The green-haired woman ignored the burly man and continued talking to a black-haired youth in front of her.
"Anji, how many times do I have to tell you? In the last demon trial, out of a thousand participants, only fifty-three succeeded. Twenty-eight others failed but survived, while over nine hundred died! You've already failed the trial twice. You were lucky both times and survived. But can you rely on luck a third time?" The green-haired woman urged him anxiously.
Linley and his group walked over.
The black-haired youth spoke in a low voice: "Una, I know the first two times were luck, but I don't want to give up. I was so close both times. This time, I'll definitely succeed."
"Can't you just keep training and come back when your strength has improved a bit?" Una sighed. "I'm in charge of demon applications here. I don't know how many people like you I've seen who want to become demons. But the demon trial has an extremely high death rate. Out of a thousand, usually only a few dozen succeed. Those who survive are fewer than a hundred!"
"Anji, go back and train. Come back when your strength has increased significantly. I promise I'll sign you up then," Una urged.
"Strength increase?" The black-haired youth shook his head. "I'm already a mid-level deity now, and I've comprehended three types of law insights. But I know... even if I keep training, comprehending a fourth insight would take who knows how long. And even if I do, my strength won't improve much. Unless I reach the level of a high-level deity! But that's too far off."
"Are you asking me to become a god by refining a divine spark? I don't want that. Besides, I don't have enough money to buy a high-level deity divine spark."
The black-haired youth looked at the green-haired woman: "Una, don't stop me."
"Haha..."
Suddenly, the bald, black-armored man beside them burst out laughing. The sound echoed through the entire quiet hall, and many demons turned to look. The bald, black-armored man turned to his friends and said, "Brothers, come over here. Look at this little guy. He's survived two demon trials in a row by sheer luck. And now he wants to try a third time! Haha..."
"Oh? Survived twice in a row?" Several people walked over. All of them wore demon badges on their chests.
"Survived twice by luck, and you still want to come back? Tired of living?"
Those demons walked over, laughing and chatting freely.
The black-haired youth lowered his head, frowning, his whole body trembling slightly. This was humiliation!
"Una," the bald, black-armored man laughed, "This little guy wants to go die. Why are you trying to stop him? Let him take the trial and die!"
"Shut up, Crompton!" Una glared at him and snapped.
The bald, black-armored man was stunned, then furious. "Una! How dare you talk to me like that!"
"What? Can't I?" Una lifted her chin slightly and stared coldly at the bald, black-armored man. "Crompton. That's how I'm talking to you. So what?"
"Damn it!" Crompton slammed the table in anger, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Una.
Una flinched but mustered her courage and said firmly, "Crompton, what are you trying to do? This is the Demon Castle!" Una knew that Crompton was a fairly powerful demon. He was already a high-level deity.
"Crompton!" Several demons who had come over immediately shouted at him. "Don't cause trouble."
These demons, whom Crompton had called over, were his friends.
"Hmph." Crompton snorted coldly. He knew that in the Imperial Wing City, he couldn't start a fight. He could only vent his anger.
"Una, Crompton's just hot-tempered. Come on, give us a bottle of O'Reilly, and hurry up." Another man with fiery red hair pushed the azure stone slab on the counter toward Una. Taking the opportunity to back down, Una accepted the stone, took out a bottle of wine, and handed it to them.
At that moment, the black-haired youth, Anji, whispered, "Una, I'm sorry."
Una looked at him and could only shake her head with a wry smile.
"I know my own training speed," the black-haired youth said, looking at Una. "It took me a hundred thousand years to comprehend the third law insight. I know that within the next hundred thousand years, my strength won't improve much. And I only have enough money to live in the Imperial Wing City for a few more decades. I don't have time!"
Una glanced at him.
"Fine." Una finally relented.
"Excuse me, what are the requirements for applying to become a demon?" A voice rang out as Linley and his group approached the counter.
Una looked at him and immediately slapped her forehead. "Heavens! One guy who's failed twice and still wants to try again—that's crazy enough. Now, don't tell me a low-level deity wants to take the demon trial too?"
"Hey, my boss asked you a question," Bebe said, staring at her.
Una looked at Bebe, puzzled, and said in surprise, "He's your boss?" She could tell that Bebe was a mid-level deity, while Linley was only a low-level deity.
"What? Can't he be?" Bebe retorted.
Una was momentarily speechless.
Beside him, Delia smiled and said, "Miss Una, could you tell us what the requirements are for applying to become a demon?"
Una replied, "There are no other requirements. Just pay 10,000 Mo Stones, and you can take the trial. If you pass, you become a one-star demon. However... although there are no explicit requirements for taking the demon trial... sir, I'd advise you to wait until you reach the mid-level deity stage before trying. A low-level deity... it's too dangerous." Una looked at Linley and gave an awkward smile.
Una was telling the truth.
Linley knew this too, because he had just heard it.
Out of a thousand participants, only fifty-three succeeded, and fewer than a hundred survived. That death rate was truly terrifying. And the participants were probably all mid-level deities. The danger of the trial was obvious.
Crompton and his friends were sitting at the edge of the hall, drinking. He was still fuming.
"Damn bitch!" Crompton was full of anger, occasionally glaring at Una from a distance.
"Huh?" Crompton suddenly paused. "Brothers, look at that brown-haired kid. He's only a low-level deity, right?"
The others also paused and looked closely.
"Oh, he really is a low-level deity!" They were all surprised.
"You're not thinking of applying for the demon trial now, are you?" Una looked at Linley and his group.
"No rush. We'll come back after some time," Linley said with a faint smile. Knowing how dangerous the demon trial was, Linley couldn't risk it, even for Delia and Bebe's sake. Besides, he had already comprehended most of the earth element insight.
Even if he slowly fused it to completion, a few decades would be enough.
No rush.
Just as Linley and his group were about to leave, a harsh voice rang out from the side—
"Come back after some time? Haha..." The voice was extremely grating.
Linley turned to look. The speaker was none other than Crompton. Crompton sneered, looking down at him with contempt. "Haha, a low-level deity wants to take the trial?" Crompton's voice was loud.
The hundreds of people in the hall turned to look, and many walked over.
"A low-level deity taking the demon trial? Did I hear that right?" Someone didn't know what was going on.
"A low-level deity taking the demon trial? I've heard of it happening a long time ago, but I've never seen it myself." A red-haired man, holding a wine glass, also walked over.
They swept their gazes around and immediately fixed them on Linley.
"Is it him? The one who wants to take the demon trial?" They could all tell that among the group, only Linley was a low-level deity.
"That's right, it's this kid," Crompton said with a laugh.
Linley's face darkened. Delia and Bebe were also furious.
"Not just the brown-haired kid, but that black-haired one too. He's failed the demon trial twice, but got lucky and survived both times. Now he wants to try again!" Crompton laughed. "There are more idiots than usual today. They think that with their strength, they can become demons? What do they think demons are? What a joke!"
The black-haired youth clenched his fists in anger, glaring at Crompton.
Linley's face was also grim.
"Damn it, bastard!" Bebe roared, but Linley grabbed him firmly. "Bebe, don't be impulsive. Getting angry at trash like him isn't worth it," Linley said. He knew very well that Bebe couldn't start a fight. In the Imperial Wing City, fighting would be disastrous.
Crompton, who had been laughing, froze. He turned to look at Linley.
"Hey, Crompton, did you hear that? A low-level deity just called you trash," some people nearby fanned the flames.
"What did you say?" Crompton's face darkened.
"You want me to say it again?" Linley wore a look of disbelief. "I didn't think someone would actually ask to be insulted. Fine, I'll say it again. I said you..." Linley's expression turned cold as he stared directly at Crompton. "Trash!"
"Let's go!" Linley took Bebe and Delia by the hand. Without sparing Crompton another glance, he headed for the exit.