Chapter 275: Sending a Message

Chapter 275: Sending a Message

Wen Ying hastily pulled Beros away from their field of view, only slowing down once they reached the stairs.

"Beros, what's up with that human?" Beros asked.

Wen Ying chuckled. "It's just as I mentioned earlier. When I was unhappy a few days ago, I wanted to see the expression he had just now – it lifted my spirits."

Beros replied, "... You're still as wicked as ever."

"I call this payback."

Pausing for a moment, Wen Ying jokingly probed, "Aren't you angry?"

Without hesitation, Beros answered, "Which eye of yours saw me not being angry?"

"No," Wen Ying pointed at himself, "I mean, are you angry with me for doing something like this?"

"Huh?" Beros was confused for a few seconds before understanding, his tone laced with sarcasm, "Among all the ridiculous things you've done to me, this would probably rank near the bottom."

Wen Ying chuckled, averting his gaze. "I'm not that... bad, am I?"

In his heart, Wen Ying thought that Apollo was actually incredibly good-tempered.

"But," Apollo's voice was low and resolute, "there won't be a next time."

Wen Ying approached to give the sulking Apollo a hug, sweetly saying, "Mmm, no more next times."

He tiptoed to peck Apollo on the corner of his mouth, but Apollo abruptly pushed him away, whispering, "Don't do this sort of thing in public!"

Unbothered by being pushed away, Wen Ying glanced at the two students who had suddenly appeared from the stairs. The unfortunate pair, overwhelmed by the pressure, turned and ran away in fright.

Wen Ying twirled a lock of hair at the end of his fingers, grinning. "It doesn't matter, if we keep doing this, outsiders might think our relationship is quite ordinary."

Apollo pursed his lips, torn despite leaning towards agreement. "It's not important."

Wen Ying shrugged. "Alright, your image is really important to you."

"It's time for class, you should head to your classroom too."

Wen Ying approached his classroom and took his seat. Ever since his human heritage was revealed a few days ago, the attitude of his classmates towards him had visibly softened, making their interactions more natural.

As Wen Ying sat down, Lu Qingyuan turned to him and said, "Wen Ying, have the demons' attitudes toward you changed at all?"

Wen Ying chuckled. "Why do you ask me this every day? It's still the same, so don't worry."

The student in front interjected, "We're just concerned. Demons place great importance on bloodline. If they start isolating you, you need to tell us, even if we can't do much right now."

Another voice chimed in, "That's a bit harsh to hear."

"I won't be isolated by them," Wen Ying spoke with a relaxed tone. "At least not while I'm capable of defeating them."

"Yet soon, you won't be able to beat them," Ning Yu, a girl who had contracted with Di Ji, whispered softly. "It should be coming up soon, I heard that once demons reach adulthood, their power surges. And as upper-class demons, they can't stay in the human world after that. Only lower-class demons are allowed here now."

Wen Ying paused, but before he could respond, a chorus of voices erupted around him.

"Yes, it's unfair for Wen Ying. Becoming a demon only at adulthood means he misses out on the power boost most demons receive then."

"I heard Wu Shaluo and the others view you as a thorn in their side. Wu Shaluo's birthday is coming up soon, do you think he'll confront you?"

"I heard that Beros confronted you in the hallway earlier because of your human heritage and your close ties with humans. Are you alright? Is he breaking up with you? Listen to me, break up with him. Don't cling on. That demon looks like he's prone to violence."

Wen Ying looked puzzled. "Wait, wait, let's talk about that hallway incident first. Beros wasn't angry at me; he was angry at the person who wanted to be with me."

The people around them were taken aback, then someone murmured in awe, "That person must be really brave."

"Doesn't that person value their life? Even though it seems like Beros might abandon Wen Ying in the future, it's not the time to try to steal their partner. They're lucky to be alive."

"Trying to get a head start, huh."

Wen Ying twitched his lips, wanting to hit Beros's head for saying that outsiders' opinions didn't matter when they clearly did.

Wen Ying sighed and scratched his cheek, clarifying, "Beros and I are currently in the honeymoon phase of our relationship. There's no way we would break up."

"Honeymoon phase?"

"Wen Ying, are you...?"

Everyone seemed concerned about Wen Ying's feelings but didn't push the matter further or continue the conversation.

Wen Ying, under the gaze of concern and sympathy from everyone, felt even more inclined to give Belos a knock on the head.

Realizing belatedly what else they had just mentioned, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he asked doubtfully, "The official Demon Realm hasn't announced that demons attending the Exorcist Academy will return to their realm upon reaching adulthood, have they? How do you all know about this?"

Lu Qingyuan was also puzzled. "It's all over the internet. Isn't it common knowledge?"

"It is," Wen Ying didn't elaborate further, instead masking his thoughts with a smile.

"Does everyone know about Wu Shaluo's upcoming adulthood ceremony in a few days?"

"Yes, people were still talking about his bad luck, saying his birthday was inauspicious, and predicting that his grades this semester would definitely suffer."

"Now only Low Rank Devils can stay in the Human Realm for an extended period, isn't that great? Let alone High Rank Devils, even Mid Rank Devils give me a sense of intimidation."

"Wen Ying, aren't all the employees at the Devil Realm Department Store Low Rank Devils?"

"Oh... um, yes."

"Wen Ying, you're considered an adult now, right? You'll be staying in the Human Realm from now on, won't you? There's a strong bias based on bloodline in the Devil Realm. It seems better for you to stay here in the Human Realm."

"Probably, I'm not too sure."

"I swear, look how quickly the Church is pinning the blame on a scapegoat, and it's even from a prominent family. Brutal! They silenced them before making the announcement, afraid that the Department of Calamity would trace other participants through this family. Too ruthless."

"This must be the Nian family, right? To think they'd go this far. They're one of the four major families in the domestic Church. Did they really eliminate all of them? The Nian family has quite a few powerful exorcists as their protectors."

"There's a rumor going around that the headquarters has sent a knight order over."

The explosive news instantly captured everyone's attention, leaving no room for Wen Ying to listen. They were all frantically surfing for more information before class began.

Wen Ying listened to their discussions while resting his chin in his hand, deep in thought.

The fact that a mid-to-high-ranking demon couldn't stay in the human world after reaching adulthood seemed to lower human vigilance. It felt like a smokescreen deliberately released by the Devil King.

Was this the Devil King's immediate correction after Angel Wu Mixiu made the Church halt their plan? The Devil King didn't seem to have any intention of slowing down the process of sending demons to the human realm.

Wen Ying glanced at Lu Qingyuan, who was engrossed in a heated discussion with his peers, staring at his phone screen. The disappearance of the Nian family was somewhat connected to him, so it should count towards his final grade, right?

There were no core members of the Church in this class, so no one reprimanded the young, excitedly chatting students.

Happy moments always seem to pass too quickly, and soon the bell rang, signaling the end of their leisurely time as everyone reluctantly put away their phones.

In the main headquarters of the Flower Gardening Country's Angelic Church, key figures within the domestic church had gathered, all with grim expressions; no one appeared radiant or in high spirits.

"Has the demon side's stance towards Wen Ying not changed at all? They place even more emphasis on bloodline than we do. What's the situation?"

"Not entirely unchanged. We received news today that Bellerophon caused a scene in the Exorcist Academy's teaching building. Although it was directed at a student, two students later witnessed him forcefully pushing aside Wen Ying in the stairwell with a darkened face."

"Wu Shaluo will be reaching adulthood in a few days. He personally stated that he intends to make Wen Ying understand his own worth."