Chapter 9: Brown Laurel

Chapter 9: Brown Vine

Amidst billowing smoke, Wen Ying collected his unfolded spell cards and strolled over calmly. The smoke dissipated quickly, revealing the beleaguered demon beneath.

His clothes were tattered, his hair frizzled from the electric shock, and his entire body was drenched. There were whip marks from the vines, and holes in his clothing suggested penetration by some sharp object.

This demon had endured too much in a short time, his expression reflecting both pain and existential doubt.

Lying sprawled on the ground, he spoke in a melancholic tone, "Why can you cast six spells instantly?"

These were all basic spells. Although casting six at once was...well, very painful—alright, excruciatingly so—it shouldn't have incapacitated or robbed him of his offensive abilities.

The fact that this white demon could instantly cast six basic spells led Li Jie to suspect that he might be capable of even more aggressive spellcasting. Therefore, he didn't attempt to rise immediately.

Perhaps this was a formidable opponent. He needed to conserve his energy.

Wen Ying gazed at the demon's arm, where a scorecard should have been attached but now was empty. A hint of disdain involuntarily flashed across his face.

"If you had met me a few minutes earlier, I still had over forty score tokens on me," Li Jie touched his arm.

Wen Ying replied, "If I had found you a few minutes sooner, I might have ended up fighting you for them."

Li Jie sat up from the ground and rolled his eyes. "Actually, it wasn't a demon that stole my tokens, but a magical beast. Do you want to team up with me and take down that spider?"

Without hesitation, Wen Ying refused. "No."

Perplexed, Li Jie asked, "Don't you want to think about it first?"

Looking at him, Wen Ying spoke slowly, "Spiders aren't creatures that suit me."

With that, Wen Ying left the penniless man without any compassion, not even turning back.

"But…" But the direction you're going is towards the spider's den.

Li Jie swallowed his words and followed stealthily. Spending too much time with that fearsome bird-demon had corrupted him with bad habits, he thought to himself.

He was curious to see who would win in a fight between the white demon and the ghost-faced spider. He had never seen a demon with such a unique attacking style; he wondered what species it was.

Wen Ying proceeded forward, and soon encountered another demon.

"Hey, isn't this the rookie who couldn't leave a scratch on the adamantine stone during the first test? Hahaha, you must have scored zero, yet you still dare to participate in the third round. Hand over your scorecard and go back home," the tall and burly demon laughed heartily with his arms crossed.

Li Jie, who had been secretly following Wen Ying, found the scene somewhat familiar.

Wen Ying smiled as well. It seemed he didn't need to search far and wide for an opportunity; it had presented itself effortlessly. Without hesitation, he pulled out his card and sneered at the demon, "Who are you calling a rookie?"

With that, he threw the card infused with magic towards the demon.

Although Mass Ice Spikes and Golden Arrows were the most basic spells, they couldn't withstand the fact that their power seemed to have multiplied several times.

"You're cheating!" The demon's face turned ashen as he dodged the menacing ice spikes and golden arrows in a pathetic manner.

Wen Ying activated another card, and the white light emanating from it dissipated as soon as he released his grip, causing it to fall to the ground. Swinging vines emerged from the spot, further complicating the demon's struggle to evade the ice spikes and golden arrows.

While he managed to avoid the first two attacks, he was completely unable to dodge the vines that lashed at him from various directions.

"Hisss—"

"Ahh!"

"Dang it!"

"Damn it, do you take me for a weakling just because I haven't shown my might?!"

The demon with tiger ears and tail roared, stirring up dust around him.

Wen Ying stared at him unblinkingly.

"You've done it now, you're in deep trouble!"

The tiger demon despised Wen Ying's attitude even more. Planting his legs firmly, he spread his arms wide, then sank his energy into his dantian to let out a deafening tiger roar. The surrounding leaves rustled and fell, accompanied by the continuous sounds of objects plummeting to the ground.

The ice spikes, golden arrows, and vines attacking him were all shaken apart, dissipating into light particles.

The tiger demon didn't pause, instead rushing fiercely towards Wen Ying. He raised his right hand, and a two-meter-long shadow of a tiger claw materialized.

Li Jie couldn't help but feel anxious for Wen Ying, who remained motionless. The Yellow Tiger Clan's Demonic Claw was a natural ability that could bypass an opponent's defensive magic and directly harm their physical body. Paired with the previous Roar of Ultimate Tiger, those with exceptional talent could even strike at the soul.

With Wen Ying's basic magic just now, though it seemed grand, it was still unable to harm him in the slightest.

Wen Ying also realized that the devil with black ram horns they encountered earlier probably didn't engage seriously due to consecutive blows to its morale. This one, however, seemed determined for a showdown.

Drawing the "Impenetrable Barrier" card, the yellow tiger demon only felt its claws clash against something hard. Dazed by the force rebounding from its claws, Wen Ying took the opportunity to retreat and draw another card.

A magic bow materialized in Wen Ying's hand, and he placed his right hand on the bowstring, pulling out an arrow also made of magic.

At a mere three to four meters away, even someone with poor eyesight could hit such a large target.

Wen Ying shot the arrow into the yellow tiger demon's leg, using the momentum to fly backward and increase the distance between them.

"Hmph," the yellow tiger demon regained its composure and disdainfully pulled the arrow from its leg. "All those arrows couldn't do anything to me earlier. If this is all you've got, prepare to be beaten into a pulp."

Wen Ying's attention was entirely focused on his own leg, which was starting to ache. He hissed in pain. Didn't that guy feel any pain? To pull out the arrow without even flinching, he must be a ruthless one.

Do devils treat themselves so harshly?

"Are you even listening to me?!" The yellow tiger demon was on the verge of being driven crazy by Wen Ying. Seeing his distant expression, it felt like he was completely disregarding him!

Wen Ying looked at the thick-skinned demon with disdain and said nonchalantly, "Don't you feel anything?"

"What kind of feeling?"

"Just," Wen Ying recalled what Aruda had told him and repeated slowly, "dizziness, ringing in the ears, and heavy limbs."

As soon as Wen Ying spoke, the golden tiger demon suddenly felt those symptoms appearing in his body. He looked at his limbs in disbelief. "What did you do? Word Magic? Impossible, that's a high-level magic. How could a weakling like you use it?"

The golden tiger demon contradicted himself.

Upon hearing the word "weakling," the lack of interest on Wen Ying's face gradually turned more menacing. He opened his mouth and said, "Do you also feel a bit short of breath? And is your body starting to feel numb?"

The golden tiger demon nodded.

"That's right. I coated the arrow with poison," Wen Ying smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth, adding another spot of brightness to his appearance.

The golden tiger demon was stunned and blurted out, "You have poison? That's impossible. How could a poisonous demon be white?"

No props were allowed in the testing grounds, including poisons, unless the demon itself could produce venom.

Wen Ying curled his lips, casting a disdainful glance at the demon's ignorance. "Are you stupid? Do you see this lovely little grass? It contains a paralytic toxin."

Li Jie froze, then looked where Wen Ying was pointing. Indeed, it was Brown Ivy.

The Golden Tiger demon was also taken aback, but he truly had no knowledge of that plant.

"Ignorance is truly terrifying," Wen Ying remarked coolly. He bent down slowly and methodically, retrieving all the score cards from the paralyzed Yellow Tiger demon, stringing them together for easy carriage.

Wen Ying slowly tore off the scorecard from his arm under the demonic, carnivorous gaze of the Yellow Tiger Clan, binding them together with a rope.

A series of scoreboards left Wen Ying muttering to himself, "Is this the feeling of sudden wealth? It's truly wonderful."

"Hmph, you weakling. If it weren't for your sneak attack, I would've beaten you until you cried for your mother. Remember this, when I recover... Ah!"

Wen Ying infused a common Vine Card with magic, and another red mark from a vine appeared on the demonic Beastman's face.

The Yellow Tiger Clan demon panted heavily, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, "One doesn't hit where the face is..."

"Smack!"

Wen Ying held the vine and, without any mercy, struck the demon’s face again.

Peering cautiously from behind the tree trunk, Li Jie subconsciously touched his own mouth. His face throbbed with pain, fortunate that he hadn't taken the previous exchange seriously; otherwise, he would have been the one on the receiving end of that strike.

This white demon was peculiar - seemingly weak but with bizarre tactics and an inexhaustible supply of magic power. Li Jie wondered what kind of demon it could be, as the card likely represented its innate racial ability.

After observing for so long, Li Jie had figured out why the white demon could instantly cast six different spells at him. There was something odd about that card, as if it were an enchanted item.

He mentally combed through his knowledge, but couldn't recall any demonic family possessing such abilities, let alone one with a similar appearance.

In the Realm of Demons, creatures entirely clad in white were indeed rare sights - a color scheme not favored by demons.

"I'll tell you this, once I'm back to full strength..."

"Smack!"

"Don't push your luck too far! Once the test is over, and I leave this place..."

Smack!

The furious Yellow Tiger demon couldn't hold back his anger and snapped, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Wen Ying held onto the vine, pointing his chin at the demon. "Who's the weakling now? Huh?" He drawled out the question with an arrogant tone.

The Yellow Tiger demon looked at Wen Ying's poised hand but still wore a mocking expression. "Still you."

Wen Ying crossed his arms and crouched down, hugging his knees. He appeared harmless, almost innocent. "You've been poisoned. You need an antidote."

The mocking sneer on the face of the golden-furred demon froze.

Li Jie listened to the white demon speak: "The teachers who brought us here said that the Eternal Forest is filled with deadly plants. The poison you've been inflicted with is one of them. There's no antidote. In about twenty-four hours, you'll either ascend to heaven or descend into hell – um, the latter seems more likely."

"You..."

Wen Ying pressed his index finger against the demon's lips, tilting his head with a smile as gentle as a spring breeze. "I know the rule is not to kill demons, but you died from poisoning. How is that my concern? I can't even create such a brown lily venom."

"You!" The yellow-furred demon's eyes widened in shock at Wen Ying's audacity. He had never encountered such a shameless devil before.

Wen Ying asked with a charming smile, "Do you want the antidote?"

The demon from the Yellow Tiger Clan reluctantly nodded.

"Who's the rookie now?"

The demon grumbled inwardly that only a rookie would care so much about this question, just as a short person would be most sensitive to being called short.

"I'm the rookie, okay?" Hu Po growled, cursing Wen Ying as the real rookie in his heart.

Li Jie's lips twitched. If he recalled correctly, Harrow didn't even need an antidote; the effects of the potion would fade after an hour.