"What are you doing here?" Yang Kai stared at Bai Zhuo in astonishment. Wasn't this fellow supposed to be back in the Star Boundary? How had he appeared here out of nowhere?
Bai Zhuo turned around and dropped himself into a rattan chair with a commanding air. The middle-aged Demon King immediately walked over and poured him a cup of blood wine with a respectful bow.
Bai Zhuo gently swirled the transparent goblet, the deep crimson liquid sloshing within and releasing an intoxicating aroma. He smiled and said, "I'm one of the managers of this Blood Arena, so naturally I can be here."
Yang Kai's jaw dropped even further in genuine surprise. "You're one of Yu Rumeng's people!"
Yu Rumeng had told him before that the entire Demon Realm was like a shattered mirror, split into countless fragmented continents. Each of the twelve Demon Saints controlled a varying number of these fragments and commanded varying numbers of Half-Saints under them.
Now he finally understood—Bai Zhuo was also one of the Half-Saints under Yu Rumeng's command. No wonder he had recognized her at a glance back at the city wall.
The middle-aged Demon King's eyelid twitched upon hearing this. He thought to himself that this human was truly audacious—calling Bai Zhuo by his name was one thing, but daring to address the Holy Venerable by name as well? This was sure to be entertaining. Lord Bai Zhuo might have brushed off his earlier remarks, but this kind of disrespect toward the Holy Venerable meant this human would be lucky to escape with his skin intact.
Yet to his disappointment, Bai Zhuo showed no reaction whatsoever, as though he hadn't heard Yang Kai's blasphemous words about the Holy Venerable at all.
"That's right!" Bai Zhuo smiled and nodded. "I happen to be one of the many Half-Saints serving under the Holy Venerable."
"Understood." Yang Kai's expression shifted to one of sudden realization, and he flashed a broad grin. Without the slightest courtesy, he dropped into the chair next to Bai Zhuo and looked at him with a grin. "You just said you're one of the managers of this Blood Arena?"
Bai Zhuo smiled and nodded again.
"Then this should be easy enough to settle." Yang Kai raised a hand and pointed at the middle-aged Demon King. "This fellow owes me a billion Demon Crystals and refuses to pay up, and on top of that he's trying to shortchange me on my prize money. What do you think should be done about that?"
He was completely at ease now. Most people in the Demon Realm probably didn't know about his relationship with Yu Rumeng—they only knew he was a human she had brought back from the Star Boundary, so they had no particular reason to tread carefully around him. But Bai Zhuo had come back from the Star Boundary and likely knew to some extent how much Yu Rumeng valued him. In that case, using her authority as his backing was perfectly reasonable.
Moreover, since Bai Zhuo had shown up at this particular moment, he surely had some understanding of what had happened today, so there was no need for Yang Kai to explain too much.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Bai Zhuo set down his wine glass and looked up at the middle-aged Demon King with a calm expression. "Is this true?"
The middle-aged Demon King promptly replied, "Utterly baseless nonsense, my lord. Please pay no attention to this man's ravings."
Yang Kai slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet. "The hell! You're going to lie to my face like that?"
The middle-aged Demon King glanced sideways at Yang Kai. "I was merely following the rules." He then cupped his fists toward Bai Zhuo. "My lord, here is what happened. This man named Yang participated in a brawl earlier and placed a wager of one hundred million Demon Crystals on himself. Although he ultimately won the fight, my investigation has shown that he didn't actually possess one hundred million Demon Crystals to place the bet with. According to the Blood Arena's rules, there is no need to pay out the one billion Demon Crystals, and the prize is null and void."
Bai Zhuo nodded upon hearing this. "That does seem to be the case."
Yang Kai glared at Bai Zhuo, thinking: Is this guy just here to watch the show?
The middle-aged Demon King, seeing this, was overjoyed. He cupped his fists again. "My lord, this man harbors malicious intent and is trying to undermine the Blood Arena's rules. If he isn't severely punished, I'm afraid the Blood Arena's reputation will be destroyed beyond repair. I humbly request your permission to take action and discipline this man, so as to uphold the integrity of the Blood Arena and the dignity of the Holy Venerable!"
Yang Kai was somewhat dumbfounded. This fellow was sharp-tongued indeed—turning a simple gambling dispute into an issue of Yu Rumeng's dignity. He found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
"It's not quite that serious," Bai Zhuo said with a casual laugh. He turned to the middle-aged Demon King. "Did you actually search his space ring? Are you certain he didn't have the one hundred million Demon Crystals for the bet?"
The middle-aged Demon King replied, "I didn't search it, but the man refused to cooperate. Surely that means he didn't have that many crystals."
Bai Zhuo nodded. "It seems the issue really does come down to whether or not he has one hundred million Demon Crystals." He turned to look at Yang Kai. "Do you have one hundred million Demon Crystals? If you do, just bring them out and let him check."
Yang Kai wanted nothing more than to spit in his face. Where in the world was he supposed to get one hundred million Demon Crystals? If he had them, he would have pulled them out already—wasn't this a ridiculous thing to ask? Just as he was fuming inwardly, he caught Bai Zhuo giving him a subtle wink, his gaze flicking pointedly toward his own hand. Then Bai Zhuo leisurely raised his glass for another sip of blood wine, deliberately angling his space ring where Yang Kai could see it. That refined, elegant manner, combined with his handsome features, left Little Wu staring wide-eyed from the side.
Yang Kai froze for a moment, then suddenly broke into a wide grin. He extended a hand toward Bai Zhuo. "Oh, I remember now, Brother Bai. You borrowed one hundred million Demon Crystals from me last time—surely it's time you paid me back."
Bai Zhuo nearly spat out his wine, staring at Yang Kai with an expression of pure shock. He wanted to ask: Since when did I ever borrow a hundred million Demon Crystals from you?
His original intention had been to suggest Yang Kai borrow the crystals from him as a stopgap—they could be returned afterward, after all. Who would have thought Yang Kai would completely ignore the script and pull a move like this? Borrowing and repaying were two entirely different concepts.
The middle-aged Demon King's eyes went wide as he looked back and forth between Yang Kai and Bai Zhuo, thinking: Surely not...
"Ahem..." Bai Zhuo forced out an awkward smile, set down his wine glass, and cleared his throat with a fist pressed to his lips. He shot Yang Kai a sidelong glance, seriously tempted to stand up, walk away, and never deal with this man's nonsense again. He had never seen anyone this brazenly thick-skinned in all his life. But having come this far, he could only go along with it. "Yes... it is about time I paid you back."
With that, he actually produced another space ring and began fiddling with it.