Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "The Blood Arena truly is wealthy beyond measure! Since you've brought it, I won't stand on ceremony."
The middle-aged Demon King's smile didn't waver. "Brother Yang, please hand over your spatial ring so I may inspect it."
"You want to inspect my spatial ring? Inspect what?" Yang Kai stared at him with a dark expression. What did this fellow mean? A spatial ring was something you just let people rummage through at will? Was he looking for trouble?
The middle-aged Demon King blinked in surprise, then broke into a laugh. "Judging by Brother Yang's reaction, I'm afraid you're unaware of the Blood Arena's rules?"
"What rules?" Yang Kai suddenly felt something was off and glanced toward the door.
The middle-aged Demon King explained. "It's like this — the Blood Arena has always operated on the principle of bet first, pay later, to make things convenient for everyone's wagering. Naturally, when someone wins a bet, the Blood Arena needs to verify that the bettor actually has enough Demon Crystals on hand. Brother Yang, being new here, you may not be fully aware — in the past, quite a few people tried to game the system by placing bets they couldn't possibly cover, which cost the Blood Arena dearly. So after that, the lords who oversee the Blood Arena established this inspection rule. As long as Brother Yang has the one hundred million Demon Crystals used for the bet, I can issue the full payout immediately."
The moment these words left his mouth, Xiao Wu's face turned deathly pale.
Others might not know Yang Kai's situation, but how could she be unaware? Forget one hundred million — Yang Kai didn't even have one million Demon Crystals on him right now. If they insisted on an inspection, how could he possibly produce them?
She blamed herself inwardly. If she had known this would happen, she should have gathered more intelligence about the Blood Arena beforehand. She didn't know its rules well either — after all, she'd never been here before. Everything she knew about the Blood Arena was hearsay. She had mentioned a few things about the place to Yang Kai earlier, but she never imagined that winning a bet would require an inspection.
And if he couldn't pass this check, he would naturally have violated the Blood Arena's rules, and there'd be no chance of getting the one billion Demon Crystals.
"There's such a rule?" Yang Kai's face twitched. He shot a glance at Xiao Wu, and judging from her expression, she clearly had no idea either. Either she genuinely didn't know, or the Blood Arena was specifically targeting him.
"It has always been this way." The middle-aged Demon King nodded slightly, looking at Yang Kai with a half-smile. "Brother Yang, you wouldn't happen to be unable to produce one hundred million Demon Crystals, would you?"
Yang Kai scoffed. "What's a mere one hundred million Demon Crystals? It's just that all this back-and-forth inspection is a waste of time. Can't you make an exception?"
The middle-aged Demon King smiled and shook his head. "The Blood Arena's rules cannot be broken. I'm merely fulfilling my duty. Please forgive me, Brother Yang."
Yang Kai stared at him coldly, and the other met his gaze without flinching, even with a hint of aggression in his eyes. He immediately understood — whether the Blood Arena actually had this rule or not was irrelevant. What was real was that they were deliberately making things difficult for him.
He curled his lip. "In that case, I don't want the one billion Demon Crystals. Just bring me my prize."
The middle-aged Demon King rubbed his forehead at these words, looking troubled. "Brother Yang, you're making this rather difficult for me. According to the rules, if you can't produce the one hundred million Demon Crystals used for the bet, you've violated the Blood Arena's rules. And if you've violated the Blood Arena's rules, then everything prior becomes null and void — the so-called prize, I'm afraid, would also..."
Yang Kai suddenly laughed. So that was why he'd been harping on about the Demon Crystals — he'd been setting a trap all along. It was clear the Blood Arena had no intention of handing over Li Shiqing.
"You insist on this?" Yang Kai looked at him blandly, a look of eager anticipation flickering in his eyes. If the other dared so much as utter a single word of affirmation, he would tear this place apart right then and there.
He could forgo the one billion Demon Crystals bet, but he absolutely had to take Li Shiqing with him. This was one point on which he would never yield.
That woman had been brought to the Demon Realm for some time already. He had noticed her condition looked grim before. Although she had been using secret arts to resist the demonic energy and prevent herself from falling into corruption, who knew how long she could hold on? If he was too late, even rescuing her would be pointless.
The middle-aged Demon King wore a mocking smile and was about to speak when Xiao Wu, her face deathly pale, suddenly stepped forward. With a trembling voice, she stammered, "The... the bet was placed by this servant. It has nothing to do with... with my lord!"
Their gazes snapped toward her in unison — Yang Kai wearing an expression caught between exasperation and amusement, the middle-aged Demon King's face as dark as still water.
In Xiao Wu's view, as long as she took the blame for placing the bet, then Yang Kai hadn't broken the Blood Arena's rules, and the Arena couldn't withhold his rightful prize. But doing so would likely seal her doom. She was nothing more than a servant girl — the Blood Arena could do whatever they wanted with her. Even if she was a maid from Yu Rumeng's palace, her life was not guaranteed.
But Yang Kai didn't want that at all! He was counting on using the other party as an excuse to stir up trouble. If Xiao Wu took all the responsibility for the bet, what excuse would he have left?
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" The middle-aged Demon King's aura was sharp and imposing as he glared down at Xiao Wu, instantly making her already bloodless face even paler, the several scars on her cheek growing more hideous.
Yang Kai shifted his stance, positioning himself in front of Xiao Wu. His gaze was cold as he said, "You certainly carry yourself with great authority, sir."
The middle-aged Demon King glanced indifferently at Yang Kai, a trace of surprise in his eyes at the latter's reaction. After all, was a mere servant girl worth stepping forward like this? He let out a cold laugh. "Brother Yang's own bearing is quite impressive."
Yang Kai couldn't be bothered with him. He turned to look at Xiao Wu and said, "This doesn't concern you. Step aside."
"But..." Xiao Wu raised her head, wanting to say something, but as soon as she met Yang Kai's gaze, the words on her lips died back down.