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    Chapter 216: Entering the Market

    After Wen Ying reported the situation, foreign powers finally realized the demons' firm stance and began to issue veiled condemnations against Huaxia.

    It was not a big issue; they had always operated this way.

    From the territory of the Butterfly-Winged Merfolk, batches of Loach Fish were transported out of Mu City, with pre-sales going viral. Phileas had initially intended to fulfill his mission and gain favor, but he never expected to make such substantial profits.

    Muershi found this business opportunity appealing. He dismissed his summon and returned to the Demon Realm, instructing his subordinates to arrange for the transportation of goods. He wanted to send the fruits from an orchard under his name to the Butterfly-Winged Merfolk's territory and then sell them in the human world.

    After Muershi finished his arrangements, many demons in Squad One also transported some of their own produce to the human world.

    Within a short month, a large amount of demonic ingredients flooded the human market, seamlessly blending in. Ordinary people who consumed these magical foods felt a marked increase in energy, while exorcists found their cultivation speed accelerating.

    No one tried to stop the demons from continuously selling their goods. Most importantly, the Disaster Department maintained strict control over the entire sales and distribution process. Demons were only responsible for bringing the items over, while the Disaster Department acted as the primary wholesaler. The demons had no direct contact with the customers.

    In a display of great-state generosity, the Disaster Department also exported some demonic goods abroad.

    This small quantity could not meet the overwhelming demand overseas. Taking advantage of the situation, the extremist faction contacted merchants in many countries to sell the demonic goods they had brought along.

    They were selling them at a much higher price than the official rate in the Demon Realm. Foreign merchants bought them and resold them for an even higher profit. Netizens in Huaxia felt immensely grateful to be born in their country, where they could acquire these items at a fraction of the price foreigners had to pay.

    The extremist group seized the opportunity to make a fortune by trading human goods in the Demon Realm, leaving plenty of traces behind. The Demon Realm's judiciary caught many of these extremists, resulting in a surge in their performance recently. Lai Yehua's mood improved as he listened to their curses from within the prison cells, which soon turned into screams.

    A month and a half after the start of the semester—

    Wen Ying sat beside Lu Qingyuan, meticulously taking notes on the history of exorcists in ancient times.

    Wen Ying listened attentively to this class, as the records of a thousand years ago in the Human Realm differed from those in the Demon Realm. Both sides had conveniently beautified their own histories while denigrating the other.

    Stripping away these biases, Wen Ying felt that he understood that era better.

    He had always wondered why the once-widely known exorcists in the Human Realm had no historical records in modern times, as if they had been erased from history. Demons were unaware, but the exorcists knew – it was written in their textbooks.

    When studying history at the Lucifer Demon Academy, Wen Ying had been perplexed. Now, someone finally explained the reason to him.

    After the war ended, a barrier emerged, protecting the Human Realm while simultaneously blocking the flow of demonic energy, which originated from the Demon Realm. As the concentration of demonic energy decreased, cultivation resources became scarce, leading the two major exorcist organizations to reduce their numbers and cease actively recruiting new members.

    As time passed, people gradually erased the memory of being enslaved by demons, and in their lives, only Low- and Mid-level Demons would occasionally appear.

    The density of demonic energy continued to decrease, and after a few hundred years, demons became creatures of legend.

    The primary reason for the general populace's ignorance of Exorcists was due to the Divine Stones.

    These stones had always absorbed demonic energy, but with its decline, they lacked sufficient power. Thus, they began to actively absorb the emotions of those who knew of their existence, including many malicious thoughts. As a result, the Divine Stones transformed into Fallen Stones when they absorbed too much malevolence.

    With the increase of Fallen Stones, Exorcists started to conceal information about the Divine Stones, passing this secrecy down through generations until ordinary people completely forgot.

    Low- and Mid-level Demons born in the Human Realm originated from human emotions. Those who were aware of the existence of demons inadvertently increased the chances of their appearance. Therefore, Exorcists decided to erase the existence of demons altogether.

    Back then, without the internet and with poor transportation, accomplishing this was not difficult.

    Wen Ying finally understood why, but a question arose: Why did Exorcists choose to erase their own existence? The profession of an Exorcist held a high status and was respected and envied, as evident from the current societal situation.

    Why would beneficiaries willingly give up their benefits? Moreover, for them to collectively agree on this, if the Church members were truly saintly, most of them wouldn't be involved with extremist factions now.

    Wen Ying buried his face in his hands, clawing at his hair in distress. No wonder Muershi went all out to dig for information. He was starting to understand – solving one mystery only led to another puzzle.

    "What's wrong with you?" Lu Qingyuan asked his desk mate with concern.

    Wen Ying scratched his head casually, smoothing his hair as he spoke, "I can't wrap my head around something. Why would exorcists deliberately distance themselves from the public?"

    Lu Qingyuan paused, "Because there aren't many demons left?"

    Wen Ying's eyelids drooped slightly.

    Lu Qingyuan chuckled awkwardly, then regained his serious expression, "I don't think anyone has ever pondered that question. It doesn't seem necessary to think about it."

    Wen Ying murmured, "My intuition tells me this is an important issue."

    Wu Shaluo held his chin, looking at Wen Ying and his contractor chatting in a low voice. He was putting on such a perfect act of nonchalance that even the most suspicious human from the upper echelons would believe Wen Ying's friendly attitude towards humans and his genuine friendship with his contractor.

    He had been staying in the human world for one and a half months, spending every day on this island, enduring artificial intelligence and self-serving conversations, dull magic lessons, weak and uninteresting humans - all of which tested his patience.

    The worst part was that the Demon King actually wanted them to take the final exams at the academy! The practical exam was manageable, but they were also testing geography! Human geography, which had nothing to do with the demon world, required them to start from scratch, a daunting task that made him feel like pulling out his hair.

    There was also an open-book exam for the ethics class. Fortunately, the textbooks given to them by the humans were written in demonic script, making them easier to read. In the previous semester, Wu Shaluo had barely passed the course on human language.

    Wu Shaluo's gaze was numb. At this moment, he somewhat admired Wen Ying for his absurd tolerance.

    Moreover, Belos was obviously a devil who disliked being surrounded by weak creatures, yet he hadn't revealed his true nature until now. Wu Shaluo even doubted if his own stress resistance was inadequate.

    The person contracted to Wu Shaluo sat beside him, looking at the atmosphere between Wen Ying and Lu Qingyuan with envy. After much deliberation, he asked, "Wu Shaluo, do you like Wen Jing? I mean, in terms of interacting with him."

    Wu Shaluo's eyes rolled, landing on his contractor. He scoffed softly, speaking in a tone that was restrained but still revealed their conflict, "So-so."

    His attitude carried an innate arrogance, unpretentious yet very natural.

    Yang Bofeng was somewhat intimidated by Wu Shaluo's imposing presence, which deterred him from engaging in conversation.

    This upper-level demon exuded an eerie charm, largely due to his striking features and feather-like ears. Instead of conventional auditory organs, he had feathers resembling ears, positioned where one would expect them to be.

    These slightly rigid yet externally soft feathers extended up to two-thirds of his head, giving the illusion from afar of black cosplay accessories dangling from his ears.

    "Do you wish to outshine him in academic performance?" Yang Bofeng often unintentionally addressed Wu Shaluo with the formal "you" instead of the casual "you."

    Wu Shaluo raised an eyebrow, about to deliver a sarcastic remark. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, causing him to swallow his initial words and respond, "Tell me more."

    It was now between classes, and Yang Bofeng was passing a sheet of paper, already filled with content, to Wu Shaluo.

    After reading it, Wu Shaluo lifted his gaze to look at Yang Bofeng, who offered a pleasing smile.

    He couldn't figure out what was wrong with this academy. Those exorcists hadn't even properly investigated Wen Ying's true capabilities, yet they still viewed him with their usual perceptions, believing that as an Upper Demon, he must be significantly stronger than a Mirror Devil...

    It was irritating to be reminded that Wen Ying could surpass him.

    Not wanting them to know he was no match for a mere Mirror Devil, a flame flickered into existence at the tip of Wu Shaluo's finger, instantly turning the paper to ashes. He nonchalantly said, "Depends on my mood."

    "So you'll consider it?" Yang Bofeng's face lit up with joy. "They've promised generous benefits."

    Lowering his voice, Yang Bofeng continued, "Just give them your approval, and you'll become their most esteemed guest immediately."

    Upon hearing their hushed conversation, Wen Ying didn't turn his head but focused his interest in that direction. At this volume, were they taking demons' acute hearing for granted?

    It sounded like the Mu family faction, whom he had secretly retaliated against, was attempting to recruit Wu Shaluo for some purpose.

    Beros suddenly stood up. His aura was not concealed, and his presence was particularly intense upon entering the room, causing everyone's voices to subside.

    Boros rushed straight towards Wen Ying.

    Wen Ying asked, "It's not the last class, why are you here?"

    Boros replied, "Did your class mention anything about an outdoor practical session?"

    "No," Wen Ying replied in curiosity, "Is it an activity for first-year students?"

    Boros gave a brief explanation.

    A magical beast had appeared in a paradise in the Human Realm, a bee-like creature. The beehive and the queen bee had already been dealt with by the local disaster response team. The task of searching for any remaining bees was assigned to the academy students as an outdoor practical experience.

    One second-year senior would be paired with one first-year junior.

    Wen Ying blinked, his eyes shimmering with depth, and his voice carried a hint of flirtatiousness, "Are you asking me out on a date, darling?"

    Boros: "..."

    Boros turned and walked away.

    Wen Ying couldn't help but chuckle, addressing the stunned people around him, "He's just bashful."

    The surrounding crowd: "..." They didn't find it so at all. Just now, Cerberus had unleashed a terrifying surge of magical pressure, yet Wen Jing seemed completely oblivious to it. Their hearts had raced in that instant.

    Lu Qingyuan hesitantly asked, "Wen Jing, aren't you afraid of him?"

    "Why should I be?" Wen Ying replied nonchalantly.

    A classmate exclaimed, "He's a Hellhound! One of the three major races in the Realm of Devils. Even though you're incredibly skilled, a devil like Pluto could easily overpower you, right?"

    Wen Ying was taken aback for a moment. He quickly reviewed in his mind everything he had done in the human world and how people perceived him, discovering that they had upgraded their estimation of his combat abilities but still placed him among the lower-ranking devils.

    A glint of amusement flashed through Wen Ying's eyes. "He's quite obedient to me, actually."

    Someone marveled, "You're amazing! You can actually make a Hellhound do your bidding."

    "I'm so envious. I wish I had a handsome and powerful boyfriend like Pluto. In the Realm of Devils, he'd be the equivalent of a rich, privileged, and influential second-generation heir, wouldn't he?"

    As the conversation veered off course, the curve of Wen Ying's lips gradually diminished. It seemed that in their eyes, being Pluto's boyfriend was a highly enviable and remarkable achievement, akin to a minor celebrity dating an Academy Award-winning actor.

    A shadow flickered in Wen Ying's eyes; he needed to find an opportunity to advertise his strength, that he had the power to punch the Great Prince of the Demon Realm and trample the Three-Headed Hellhound underfoot.

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