Chapter 40: The Mantle

Chapter 40: Inheritance

Lai Yehua placed his hand on Huiguo's shoulder, causing the bubbling magic within him to still for a few seconds.

Wen Ying gazed at the demon below. Judging from his appearance, he guessed this must be Lai Yehua, the Thunder Demon who had a conflict with Feng Luo, as mentioned by Essence.

The on-duty teacher descended from mid-air, landing gracefully and strolling over slowly. The demons in front of him instinctively stepped aside to make way.

"Lai Yehua, your junior seems rather impulsive," the on-duty demon said, his hands clasped behind his back like an old man taking a leisurely walk in the park. "In this ranking match, Wen Ying is the victor."

Huiguo gritted his teeth, his face contorted with frustration. "These rules of the ranking match are utterly unfair—"

Lai Yehua covered Huiguo's mouth with one hand. "Don't let other demons think that fallen angels are a race that can't accept defeat."

Wen Ying was somewhat taken aback. The moment Lai Yehua appeared, he had swiftly added three more defensive cards to his arsenal, just in case. However, he hadn't expected this demon, who exuded such formidable presence, to be... so polite?

Lai Yehua removed his hand from Huiguo's mouth. With reddened eyes, Huiguo protested, "Uncle!" He was a Mirror Demon!

Huiguo wanted to say more, but the coldness in Lai Yehua's purple gaze made him shudder, and he reluctantly shut his mouth, still seething inwardly.

Wen Ying descended from the arena slowly, maintaining a safe distance from Lai Yehua. Unfazed by Huiguo's demonic gaze, he responded to the situation as if dealing with one troublemaker only to encounter another, albeit with a different attitude, at least on the surface.

The larger fallen angel appeared calm, his expression steady.

"Be quiet."

Even his reprimand of Huiguo was delivered in a mild tone, yet it carried an unassuming authority.

The on-duty demon had already approached Lai Yehua, saying with a smile, "If you overreact, there's a high chance you'll be labeled an extremist. Be mindful."

"Mm." Lai Yehua lifted Huiguo's collar and walked out, the other demons parting to make way.

Lai Yehua nodded at Wen Ying, seemingly apologizing, before quickening his pace to leave. Despite being dragged away, Huiguo's eyes remained locked onto Wen Ying.

He saw Wu Fei approach, engaging Wen Ying in a cheerful conversation. Fuming inwardly, Huiguo realized that Wen Ying was indeed on Wu Fei's side.

"Do you really think the ranking match's restrictions only favor that Mirror Demon?" Lai Yehua was exasperated by his hot-tempered and arrogant nephew, who wrote lust but read rage. "Use your head; do you know why Scarlet fell? Aruda fed him a lot of toxic demon potions – those would've been no problem against you."

"That wasn't his true power, it was all external aid," grumbled Huiguo. "Damn it, for Essence to propose such conditions."

"You're betting on a demon," Lai Yehua mused, almost wanting to slap his naive nephew. "The Demon Realm has its own humans."

Huiguo: "…" His eyes instantly lit up.

Lai Yehua wished he could remold his nephew from scratch. He spoke in a deep voice, "Stay away from that Mirror Demon for a while."

"Why?"

A solemnness appeared in Lai Yehua's purple eyes. "I need time to consult ancient texts to verify something."

The Mirror Demon had won again, and not in the playful manner of last time. All the demons present were astonished. It was unbelievable that this Mirror Demon could replicate Beros' advanced Flame Incineration form. The replicated magic had even neutralized Huiguo's innate spell.

Most demons looked at Wen Ying with disbelief. This time, Wen Ying hadn't relied on trickery; this only fueled their doubt about what they had just witnessed.

"Merging Beros' Flame Incineration with Thorns," Muershi clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Thankfully, you didn't use that combo on me last time, or I'd be feeling some serious pain right now."

Wen Ying noticed Beros standing not far away and hurried over to him.

Muershi muttered, "This guy really doesn't treat his opponent with respect."

Boros stood amidst an empty space, making him easy to locate without having to push through the crowd. Wen Ying approached him with a sense of accomplishment and newfound confidence.

"I won. Your Flaming Incineration was truly impressive. As a token of gratitude, I'd like to treat you to a meal this weekend."

Recalling Wen Ying's previous "invitation," Boros glanced at Muershi not too far away. "Just the two of us?"

Wen Ying was taken aback for a moment before nodding. "Yes, because it's specifically to thank you. However, I'm not familiar with the capital, so please bear with me if the place doesn't suit your taste."

"Alright."

Originally, he had planned to take Boros out for dinner right after winning tonight. But...

His entire body ached, and despite his nonchalant demeanor just now, it was all for show. In reality, using the Succubus' Soft Body spell had left his muscles sore. Several of his moves exceeded his natural flexibility – the backbend, the standing splits, and the waist twist – his old limbs felt close to giving out.

Wen Ying forced a smile while inwardly wincing. He suspected severe muscle strain in his inner thighs; his steps trembled involuntarily as he walked.

Now, Wen Ying admired the Succubus. His body’s suppleness was unbelievable. No wonder he moved with such enchanting grace every day.

Using the excuse of their meal, Wen Ying hurriedly left the arena. The on-duty demon watched his eager departure, momentarily stunned. Then, from a spatial magic tool, they pulled out a silver rod about the length of an adult's forearm. It appeared to be made of metal, with a lustrous finish that indicated it was no ordinary object. Ancient magical runes adorned its surface, and one end was sealed while the other connected to a sturdy whip cord.

This was an enchanted weapon in the form of a whip, but judging from its design, it seemed to be a blend of a rod and a whip.

"The youngsters nowadays don't seem to be as enthusiastic about enchanted weapons," the old man muttered, wondering if times had changed.

Wen Ying originally intended to head straight back to his dormitory, but his growling stomach forced him to drag his exhausted body to the cafeteria to buy a loaf of bread to eat in his room.

It was now after school hours, so not many demons paid attention to Wen Ying, and his limping went unnoticed. As he opened the door to his dorm and collapsed on the floor, Wen Ying felt as if the entire demonic city had ascended to new heights. A blissful expression spread across his face.

"Ah, so comfortable..."

Wen Ying lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, not wanting to rise for quite some time.

But he had to get up. Using a low-level healing spell on himself, Wen Ying restored his strained muscles, leaving him feeling refreshed except for a slight emotional ache.

After stretching his body and casually biting into a loaf of bread, he retrieved his phone from the teacher's office before heading home. In the classroom office, there was a devil in charge of each class's phones, requiring students to sign in and out every day when they handed over or collected their devices. The devil was still there.

As soon as Wen Ying saw the castle, he eagerly pulled out the magical potion he had crafted that day.

"Grandma! Look, I successfully made my first potion today!" He exclaimed with excitement as he burst through the door.

Aruda descended from the second floor, her gaze gentle and indulgent. She picked up the magic potion pill and held it up for a closer inspection, while Wen Ying waited eagerly for her appraisal.

"Not bad, you have a good talent in alchemy," Alruda nodded. "You can inherit my legacy."

"…Ah?" Wen Ying had only wanted Alruda's praise but was caught off guard by the mention of legacy. He was momentarily stunned.

Alruda looked at him quizzically. "Don't you like alchemy?"

Wen Ying came back to his senses. "I do like it, but it's a bit sudden to hear about inheriting your legacy."

"It's actually quite late to start learning now," Alruda said. "Many fundamentals should be learned from an early age, ingrained through constant exposure. Starting now is possible, but it'll be more tiring."

Wen Ying scratched his cheek. "Are you really planning on teaching me your knowledge? After all, I'm a demon who came into this halfway, and there's still so much about the Demon Realm that I don't understand."

"You don't need to worry about that when studying alchemy," Alruda patted Wen Ying's head. "I've heard about the ranking competition. Not bad. I knew from the moment I saw you that you have potential. Fallen angels aren't anything to be afraid of. Relax, you can mess with that little fallen angel as you please. Lai Yehua wouldn't dare to say anything in front of me."

It was a subtle yet ecstatic feeling. There was no need to fear repercussions for dealing with the younger one when there was a powerful demon looking out for him. Wen Ying embraced Alruda warmly and said sweetly, "Grandma, you're amazing." His voice was so sugary that it even made himself feel nauseous, but Alruda seemed delighted.

Even if his great-grandfather was unreliable, Alruda certainly wasn't.

Alruda patted Wen Ying on the back and said, "Come, let me explain the issue with this magical potion pill to you. You made a mistake in the first step by adding the ingredients too slowly. This problem will only amplify indefinitely later on..."

Alruda patiently pointed out Wen Ying's errors. After their discussion, Wen Ying felt enlightened; Alruda's teaching method was far superior to that of their magic potion instructor, Si Ya. Every word he spoke hit the nail on the head.

After the lesson, Alruda invited Wen Ying to dinner.

As usual, Alruda's culinary skills were top-notch, although the presentation remained horrifying. Today's rice was served inside a pumpkin, specifically a carved Halloween pumpkin with eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Surrounding it were a menacing beast's head, a bowl of blood-red soup, a bowl of gooey substance, and a plate of fruit shaped like snakes.

Wen Ying sat down to eat without flinching. After the meal, it was time to apply nutrient solution to the adorable white egg.

” Grandmother, I’ll go upstairs to tend to the egg now,” Wen Ying said before hurrying upstairs.

Alruda cautioned, "Take it slow, don't trip. Watch your step."

Feeling something under their foot, Wen Ying looked down and saw a flattened eyeball. His body froze for a few seconds, a chill running up his spine.

Once the initial shiver passed, Wen Ying forcibly composed himself, crossed his arms, and rubbed his hands together before darting into the room.

How had this castle become even more eerie?

Aruda was reliable, but sometimes he could be quite terrifying.

After rushing into the room and closing the door, Wen Ying's nerves gradually settled back down. He turned his head to look at the white egg on the pillow, smiled, and walked over to pick it up, stroking it gently.

"Daddy's back. How do you feel today?" Wen Ying experienced a bit of the joy that pet owners felt. The more he looked at this white egg, the more pleasing it became to his eyes, and the more he liked it.

He opened a drawer, took out the nutrient solution prepared by Aruda, and chanted an ice spell to conjure an ice basin. Placing the egg in it, he unscrewed the cap of the nutrient solution and poured it from above.

The white nutrient fluid trickled down the eggshell due to gravity. Wen Ying smoothed it out with his hand, evenly coating every part of the shell, and even sang a lullaby to it.

The white egg suddenly shook slightly. Wen Ying was delighted. "Little Bai, work hard to break out of your shell. Daddy is waiting for you!"

...

After Huiguo parted ways with his uncle, Lai Yehua, he went straight back to his dorm without eating. He had no appetite for food now. Although Lai Yehua had told him to stay away from Wen Ying, the more he thought about it, the angrier and more agitated he became.

The mere Demon Mirror, with its inverse bloodline rank, weighed heavily on Huiguo's mind. The breath was stuck in his chest, causing great discomfort. He smashed everything in the dorm onto the floor, then panted as he sat on the bed with bloodshot eyes.

Suddenly, Huiguo's eyes rolled, revealing a cruel and excited smile. —

In a fit of rage, Huiguo decided to take out his frustration on a human, as a form of retaliation against Wu Fei's faction.

Without returning home, he waited until around ten o'clock at night before using the public phone at the academy to call Cheng Haoyuan.

"Hello?"

Before the call connected, Huiguo muttered a spell, embedding a subtle suggestion into his words that would affect Cheng Haoyuan's mind.

"You're feeling very hungry and need to go to the cafeteria for some late-night snacks."

Though not an expert in mental enchantments, Huiguo was capable of simple suggestions. Ordinary humans would hardly resist such prompts that aligned with their daily routines.

After delivering his message, Huiguo hung up the phone.

Cheng Haoyuan, now confused, stared at the telephone in his hand. What did that devil on the other end say? Did he dial the wrong number?

Suddenly struck by hunger, Cheng Haoyuan glanced at the snacks in his drawer. Craving something warm, he hesitated by the door for a moment.

"I shouldn't be that unlucky," Cheng Haoyuan mumbled to himself, grabbing the card and magic coin beside his pillow before stepping out and opening the door.