In the great hall on the first floor of the Demon Castle, a considerable number of people had gathered, and Lin Lei's group of three was among them.
"Miss Una!" Bei Bei stood at the counter, greeting the attendant Una with a smile.
Una looked at Bei Bei, and then at Lin Lei and Dilia behind him, with some pleasant surprise. "Lin Lei, I was just lamenting how few people from your batch had returned alive. To think all three of you made it back safely. Congratulations!"
"We were quite fortunate." Lin Lei thought of the incident outside the Emperor's Wing City and still felt a lingering fear. When faced with Ulson, he had realized he possessed no power to resist at all. The gap in strength was simply too vast.
"Miss Una, we've been waiting here for quite a while now. When can we submit the trial tokens?" Bei Bei asked a bit anxiously. Lin Lei and the others from their group had been in the first-floor hall for some time already. Una smiled. "Don't rush. Becoming demons isn't as simple as just handing you a demon medal. There are some procedures to go through."
After a moment—
"Those who succeeded in the demon trial at Moon Lake, come to the second floor!" Suddenly, a burly man with short golden hair descended from the second floor of the Demon Castle, his voice booming.
"Hurry up then," Una said with a smile.
"Miss Una, we'll head up now!" Bei Bei grinned.
Immediately, Lin Lei and the twenty or so others ascended to the second-floor hall of the Demon Castle. This hall was much smaller than the first one, and it was filled with numerous rooms. The golden-haired man led them into one of the black-walled rooms.
Inside the room, three people were seated.
"Come one by one. Hand over the Moon Ring and the Demon Seal," one of the men in black robes said clearly.
One by one, they stepped forward to submit their tokens, beginning the process of becoming 'demons'. However, it was obvious... the procedure was quite complex. Fortunately, the man in black worked quickly; it took only a few minutes to process one person.
"Next!" the man in black said.
Finally, it was Lin Lei's turn.
Lin Lei immediately handed over the 'Moon Ring' and the 'Demon Seal' he had received during the trial.
"Name," the man in black said.
"Lin Lei," Lin Lei replied.
Instantly, Lin Lei felt his body tremble. The man in black had actually deployed his Divine Domain, suppressing Lin Lei directly and isolating him from everyone else.
"Now, I'll take your soul imprint," the man in black said, flipping his hand to produce a small, finger-sized pearl of emerald green. He placed this green sphere next to Lin Lei, and it began to visibly change color, gradually turning gray at a speed the eye could follow.
In a short while, the entire small sphere had turned completely gray.
"Soul imprint? What is this?" Lin Lei asked curiously.
The man in black glanced up at him and said flatly, "This is called a 'Soul-Reflecting Stone'. It can absorb the soul imprint of a person. Regardless of how powerful someone is, their soul imprint is unique. With just this one Soul-Reflecting Stone containing your soul imprint, your identity can be verified."
Lin Lei was secretly amazed. Such a substance actually existed.
But it was also normal. Back on the Yulan Continent, some of the items alchemists had crafted had already astonished him. In Hell, the appearance of even more complex things was hardly strange.
"This is the Demon Medal, and this is the Deputy Demon Medal. Drip blood on both to claim ownership," the man in black instructed.
Lin Lei's eyes lit up when he saw the Demon Medal. This was the mark of a demon.
"Deputy Demon Medal?" Lin Lei was somewhat surprised. This so-called 'Deputy Demon Medal' was actually a blue medal. However, he had never seen any demon wearing a blue medal before.
The man in black smiled faintly. "The Deputy Demon Medal is kept here in our Demon Castle. When this Deputy Demon Medal becomes ownerless, we also know that you have died."
Lin Lei understood immediately. This was just an item to determine whether one was alive or dead.
He immediately dripped blood to claim ownership. Lin Lei received the Demon Medal and, as required, pinned it to his chest. He even directly merged this 'Demon Medal' with his own 'Pulse Armor', since the clothes he wore were merely the Pulse Armor anyway.
Outside the Demon Castle.
"Lin Lei, will you remain in Emperor's Wing City in the future?" Ruisen asked Lin Lei. "I owe you two hundred thousand inkstones for that. I will repay you in a while." Ruisen disliked owing others money.
"No need. We will be leaving Emperor's Wing City in a while," Lin Lei said directly.
"Leaving? Where are you going?" Ruisen asked quickly. "Is it far?"
Lin Lei, Dilia, and Bei Bei exchanged glances. Bei Bei grinned at Ruisen. "Ruisen, the three of us plan to roam across the Violet Mountain Continent, then drift through the Star Fog Sea, and explore this boundless Hell thoroughly. What do you think, is that far?"
Ruisen was visibly startled. Many highgods in Hell had never even traveled to another continent.
After all, the five continents in Hell were each enormous, providing more than enough space for one to operate. Without a special reason, people generally wouldn't risk the danger of traveling to another continent.
"Well, I... I..." Ruisen didn't know how to handle repaying the two hundred thousand inkstones now.
"Hehe, no rush. Whenever we meet again in the future, you can just give it to me then," Bei Bei said with a smile.
"Mm, thank you truly for this," Ruisen said, looking at the Demon Medal on his chest, feeling even more grateful. Becoming a demon... had been his dream for many years.
After bidding farewell to Ruisen, Lin Lei, Dilia, and Bei Bei first went to a restaurant to enjoy a celebratory meal in honor of their success, and then returned to their residence. They had paid their lodging fees annually.
In the courtyard where they lived, the three sat around a stone table.
"Now, it's time to take a good inventory of our current wealth!" Bei Bei said excitedly. He waved his hand, and seven space rings immediately clattered onto the stone table, making a crisp sound. These seven space rings reflected the light under the blood-red sunlight.