Chapter 117: Cause and Effect

"You had quite a serious expression just now," Muershi slumped back, lazily remarking. "What are you worried about? Could it be that Wen Ying has some influential human connections in the mortal world?"

This thought flashed through Muershi's mind, causing his eyes to twinkle as he straightened up, pondering carefully.

Seeing the contemplation on Muershi's face, Wen Ying immediately interrupted his train of thought. "If a war starts, how will I make money? Sales of useless magic cards will definitely plummet."

Muershi wore an aggrieved expression; Wen Ying's sudden misinterpretation had dispersed the idea he was just about to grasp.

A demon inquired, "What do you mean by not going in your true form?"

"His Majesty the Devil has improved the cursed dolls, turning them into avatar dolls," Feng Luo explained. "I've placed those avatar dolls with the humans at the academy for a month, which should be enough to deceive the barrier's rules and allow them to be sent to the mortal world."

So that's how it is, Wen Ying realized. If the true form can't pass, then attaching oneself to something else would do the trick. He couldn't help but eagerly anticipate seeing Beros, who would be reduced to a cub upon entering the mortal world, and imagined all his classmates turning into adorable little creatures.

"When you arrive, you'll have to rely on your own abilities to attract humans and convince them to sign a contract with you. Use a causality contract to deceive the laws of the mortal world, and only then will you be able to move freely there."

Causality contracts – Wen Ying had studied them before. Finally, he understood. In the demon world, these contracts were akin to taking an oath, typically used in transactions.

"Help the humans with one task in exchange for their consent to let you use their bodies for certain purposes," Muershi proposed, his eyes twirling with devious thoughts.

Essence beamed, "How exciting it would be to play in the human realm!"

"I've always wanted to meet those exorcists," Scarlet said eagerly.

The classroom buzzed with excitement once more.

Feng Luo scanned the demons' eager faces and said coolly, "If any of you are picked up by gifted humans or directly encounter exorcists without forming a causal bond, you'll automatically fail."

The demons: "?" Indeed, they hadn't considered the possibility of encountering exorcists right from the start.

"Factionless dolls are powerless without a causal contract with humans," Feng Luo suddenly curled the corner of his mouth, mocking the class with a sneer, "I doubt any of you wish to start the final exam only to be taken away by an exorcist for interrogation, right?"

Feng Luo's tone was dripping with malice.

"Holy sh*t."

"Hopefully, we won't be that unlucky."

"How many exorcists are there in the Human Realm?"

"I recall those human instructors mentioning that exorcists aren't as common as street lamps," Feng Luo observed their expressions for a while before continuing, "Although your consciousness is merely within the clone puppets, and suicide or being killed won't affect your lives, it will still damage your souls and impact your upcoming maturity transformation. So, don't recklessly act just because you believe you can't die."

The atmosphere turned more solemn.

"However," Feng Luo's tone shifted, "if you do encounter an exorcist and realize they have the means to trap you, it's best to commit suicide immediately. This is to prevent them from tracing your consciousness back to your main body and launching unknown attacks. More humiliatingly, they might trap you to do disgraceful things, like using you as a power extraction tool or torturing your soul."

Among them, Wu Fei was the most terrified, his mind already conjuring up images of the eighteen cruel tortures of the Qing Dynasty.

What was initially a joyful "spring outing" had turned into a perilous journey filled with dangers due to Feng Luo's few words.

Lan Jiaying spoke calmly, "Teacher Feng Luo, they're just exorcists. We are demons." There was no arrogance in his voice, but a quiet pride from being well-prepared.

The golden-haired demon's sharp gaze locked onto the demon on the podium, as if questioning his lack of confidence.

"Indeed," the Wicked Bird chuckled. "The chances of failure are slim."

He wasn't being sarcastic. Wen Ying glanced at Muershi. This guy was always casual and carefree, and now, with his arrogance on full display, he took his indifferent attitude to new heights.

Beros's response was even simpler. He unleashed an aggressive surge of magic, followed by a mocking laugh.

The same went for the other demons—Felius, Wu Shaluo, Essence, and more. Each of them expressed their confidence with their powerful waves of magic.

Looking at the formidable lineup in his class, Wen Ying's gaze landed on Lan Jiaying, whose composure exuded pride. For a moment, he thought to himself—oh no, I just set a flag.

Muershi looked at his classmate, whose expression had turned both serious and odd. He poked his arm. "What are you thinking about now? Do you need me to hold up a mirror so you can see your current look?"

"I'm just wondering," Wen Ying paused, "if you guys were to fail, what would be the reason?"

He had interacted with some exorcists before. Even if their powers were suppressed in the human world, they shouldn't end up too disheveled. So where might they stumble?

Muershi's eyes widened. "How could we possibly fail?"

Double flagging, Wen Ying patted Muershi's shoulder. "It's better to believe in mysticism sometimes. Just look at how many times Lan Jiaying and the others have had their flags fall."

Muershi's casual demeanor suddenly shifted; he froze, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately decided against it, for fear of jinxing Lan Jiaying further. Indeed, there were instances where Lan Jiaying's flag-planting would backfire.

Prompted by Wen Ying's comment, Muershi looked at Lan Jiaying, sensing that the latter might stumble. He couldn't help but feel a faint sadness – the joy of their playful mood was ruined.

After Feng Luo had emphasized the main points, the class began in earnest. However, the demon students were hardly attentive, except for Beros, who had a terrible experience in the Human Realm. The pure-blood demons eagerly anticipated their trip, while Wu Fei, a non-pureblood and an orphan, had few attachments in the Human Realm and thus didn't have much expectation. He even harbored a paranoid fear of exorcists, his mind conjuring visions of their torturous methods.

Wen Ying, knowing that this trip to the Human Realm would involve hunting demons associated with the Extreme Party, didn't dare to be too hopeful, lest he bring danger along. Instead, he pondered what magic or artifact he could use to conceal his face.

He had been careless last time, allowing those exorcist students to see his face. He needed to be more cautious about revealing his identity in the future.

Final exams would commence the next day. The teachers would send their avatars to each student's home, as the host body would need to sleep deeply to strengthen the attached consciousness. Therefore, the demons from Class One had to choose a secure location for their true bodies.

Before tomorrow arrived, Wen Ying wanted to visit a certain place. Having been busy with end-of-term assignments, he had finally completed them all. He asked Muershi to take him to that "kind" of store they had previously discussed.

It was said to be a non-prostitution, demonic-style entertainment establishment. Leading the inexperienced Wen Ying, Muershi took him to a basement shop.

The entrance was brightly lit with dazzling colors, exuding a sultry atmosphere. The sign wasn't hidden but displayed openly. Two demon attendants, resembling foxes, stood at the door with fluffy ears, swaying tails, and charming smiles, causing Wen Ying to wear an expression of a country bumpkin demon.

"R-Really, can we touch their ears?" Wen Ying whispered to Muershi beside him.

Muershi chuckled and said, "What are you afraid of? Of course, you can touch them." With that, he strolled over, jesting with the fox demon as casually as an old hand.

After living in the Demon Realm for so long, Wen Ying had ingrained the foreign custom that "touching someone's ears is harassment" into his mind. Under the bright daylight, he felt too embarrassed to make a move, so he simply descended the stairs and entered the shop.