The beginning of the academy's week came like a flash.
After the academy's weekly resources were distributed, the class session would begin.
Meng Xuan had a routine of sleeping through cultivation-based subjects and only waking when it was martial arts or any of his loved subjects. His schedule would've continued as normal if he had managed to rush out before the class ended, avoiding the usual bullying. But today was different—Teacher Bai had asked him to visit his office.
"The only thing I did to gain Teacher Bai's attention was the fight between me and Jiaosan. But five refined demonic cores have been deducted from my reward as punishment..."
"Is there still another punishment…?" he wondered aloud, calmly walking out of the class.
Spitefully, the class bullies were already waiting for him. Two boys stood at the exit of the class, eyeing the weak ones for their resources.
One was stout with an oval, hard face. The other was a fatty, and with every move he made, his flesh jiggled.
"You, drop all your refined demonic cores. They'd only be wasted in the hands of a cursed child like you," the fatty sneered in a thin, mocking voice.
The two of them laughed derisively, looking down on Meng Xuan.
Meng Xuan stared at them coldly. Before, if he was unfortunate enough to encounter them, he would have been forced to hand over his refined demonic cores. While two cores were roughly extorted from others, his were different,He had no holy force, so to others, they were useless.
But this time was different.
Ever since he awakened the demon within, he felt himself brimming with an unknown power. Sometimes,he feels like causing violence...destruction.
"What if I don't?" he said coldly.
"You might be lucky against
Jiao san because of the academy's rules, but now it's different. We're outside the protection. Any one of us could kill you in a mere second!" snarled the oval-faced bully.
Meng xuan snorted, "You two should just fuck off!"
Meng Xuan's hands and legs moved strangely.
In a few seconds, the two bullies were lying face-flat on the floor.
Meng Xuan grinned coldly.
"Hard work beats talent—that's the saying."
After practicing all night, he could now even defeat someone with cultivation powers. At least, it was a fair fight now.
The reason the two bullies had fallen was because he had temporarily sealed their soul veins. The chaotic energy within them became unstable, making it impossible to manifest any form of power—a technique taught by Fiend Monk.
The two bullies stared with wide, terrified eyes.
"What just happened? Why can't I use my Bull Thrust?" one of them stammered.
Meng Xuan seized their pouches, which contained both personal and extorted resources.
He found a total of twenty refined demonic cores.
Then, without mercy, he pummeled each of their heads.
"Tell everyone—Meng Xuan isn't the same person anymore," he spat at their faces before turning and heading to Teacher Bai's office.
The other weak students, once too afraid to speak, now watched with awe. One by one, they walked past the bullies with wide smiles—some even kicking them as they left. Under the pretense of a "mistake,"
" Meng Xuan is our hero."
Inside Teacher Bai's office, one could see various training straw dolls of different sizes. Some students could even testify to seeing a fighting martial artist puppet, locked in combat with Teacher Bai himself. Only his best student, whom he deemed worthy, was fortunate enough to train with the puppet.
Teacher Bai was currently engaged in training, battling a straw doll. At that same moment, Meng Xuan entered the room.
"As expected of the academy's best martial artist, you still take the initiative to train."
Teacher Bai didn't respond to Meng Xuan's praises. Instead, as Meng Xuan approached, he took a seat, gesturing for the young man to do the same.
"I called you here to warn you," he said, "especially about Jiaosan and the Jiao Clan. They hold grudges—deep, like a well."
Meng Xuan's eyebrows furrowed.
He called me… to warn me about Jiaosan?
"You might be wondering why I'd take the initiative to warn you," Teacher Bai continued.
Meng Xuan slowly nodded his head. He found it strange that the one warning him was the cold teacher bai.
"Both your late mother and I once entered a demonic zone. Thanks to her, we all made it out alive."
He smiled wistfully.
"So, I'm literally owing her," he finally said.
It turned out that Teacher Bai once met Meng Xuan's mother in a demonic zone. She had saved his life. Naturally, he felt indebted to her, and by extension, to Meng Xuan.
Meng Xuan was quick to understand Teacher Bai's intentions.
He stood up, slightly bowing his head.
"Thanks for the warning. I promise to beat Jiaosan to a stupor anytime he comes for revenge."
Teacher Bai was speechless. He found no fault in the words, but coming from someone like Meng Xuan—when had he become so bold and shameless?
After leaving Teacher Bai's office, Meng Xuan headed straight to the Academy Shop to prepare for his next demonic zone expedition.
The shop was located at the heart of the academy, accessible from any angle.
It had three compartments, each containing different items. The first compartment only contained lower-tier items. The second was known for holding middle-tier items. The third compartment, which held upper-tier items, was only for people like Jiaosan who could afford such luxuries.
"Sir, would you like to buy or exchange anything?" a young woman with brunette hair asked from behind the counter.
Her appearance reminded Meng Xuan of his late mother.
"Both," Meng Xuan replied.
He brought out twenty refined demonic coreshe had looted from the bullies, the rest was his own weekly resources.Altogether, he had twenty-five.
The lady placed the refined demonic cores on a weighing machine. The digits began to scroll rapidly. When it reached fifty-five, it stopped.
"Your refined demonic core is worth fifty-five spirit shards," the trader said, inspecting the item. "But due to taxes and other custom services, some value from the core will be deducted."
Meng Xuan didn't argue — he already knew how these transactions worked.
"I need a lower-tier spatial ring," he said.
"Sure," the woman replied. She walked into the first compartment and returned moments later with a silver, rune-patterned ring.
"This spatial ring costs forty-five spirit shards," she explained, her tone calm and seasoned like that of an experienced merchant.
Meng Xuan frowned. "Wasn't it thirty-five spirit shards when I saw it earlier?"
"Sorry, sir. The one you're referring to was the old model — it's completely sold out now."
"This one is a new model," she added with practiced ease. "It has enough space to hold a full bull compared to the previous ones."
She was smooth — a professional who knew how to handle even the most disgruntled customer.
Meng Xuan sighed and gradually calmed himself. He had eighty-five spirit shards in total. Losing forty-five for something crucial like this… wasn't the end of the world.
"An important mission is worth it," he muttered.
He then purchased a few cheaper essentials, saving the rest of his funds for what truly mattered.
"Hey Fiend monk, don't you think I've become more violent in battle recently?" Meng Xuan asked casually, speaking to the voice within him as he walked toward his residence.
"Master, that's the passive skill of the devil. The more you fight, the more vicious and battle-crazed you become," the voice replied.
"There's another one too — as your power grows, so does your charm," it added playfully.
Meng Xuan rolled his eyes. "I thought Lucifer was strong, vicious, and prideful… but I never imagined he'd be this perverted."
...
Two days later, Meng Xuan was fully prepared for his demonic zone hunting mission.
As soon as the class session ended, he gathered his new team members and went straight to the Abyssal Spider Demonic Zone Transporting Hall.
The academy had three personal demonic zones, each with its own significance — remnants of the ancient Demonic Zone history.
The other two were upper-tier zones, only accessible during special missions or with direct approval from the principal himself.
Meng Xuan stood confidently in front of his team.
"I am Meng Xuan, the leader of this team. My longtime friend, Xiaolong, will serve as the vice leader," he announced with clarity and confidence.
His voice rang loud enough to be heard by every team member.
Xiao Long slowly approached, her expression conflicted.
"Meng Xuan… I have a bad feeling. Something is going to happen in the Demonic Zone," she said quietly, her tone edged with fear.
"I don't want what happened back then to resurface," she added, her voice trembling.
Meng Xuan turned to her and gave a reassuring smile.
"Xiao Long, what are you worried about? If trouble comes… you will always be there — for me."
"But—"
"Just trust me. Nothing bad is going to happen."
"Besides, if anything does happen, we'll both die as lovebirds, hugging each other till our last breath."
"You won't even stop saying rubbish at a time like this, huh?"
Though she said that, a faint blush still crept onto her cheeks.
Meng Xuan chuckled and turned away, facing the rest of the team with a serious expression.
"I need each of you to give me two Spirit Shards. Purchasing the map for the Abyssal Demonic Zone took a lot out of me."
The team members stood in stunned silence.
They instantly felt a surge of indignation—he was blatantly extorting them.
According to the norms, the team leader was supposed to provide basic necessities like a map.
A map only cost ten Spirit Shards, yet he was asking for two from each of them. Wasn't he practically making a profit—twice over?
"Utterly preposterous! What you're doing here is pure extortion, and we're not stupid enough to fall for it," snapped a young woman with blue hair, her brows drawn together in frustration. "Two Spirit Shards each?"
The others quickly joined in her protest.
"Heh."
A guy with a plaster on his left cheek chuckled dryly. He wore a multicolored shirt and loose trousers. His red hair matched perfectly with the single glove on his right hand.
He stepped forward, flashing a wide grin.
"Brother, you can have these—twenty Spirit Shards. Take them on behalf of the others."
He tossed a pouch toward Meng Xuan.
That grin never left his face.
Meng Xuan found the expression strange but didn't comment. Instead, he smiled in return.
"Good."
"Li Feng, you can't do that!" one of the team members shouted in disbelief.
"How dare you disobey the team leader's orders?" Lifeng barked.