Old Bai's words cleared away the clouds in Yang Kai's mind.
When he first heard about the Blood Demon Secret Realm, he'd found it somewhat puzzling. The Blood Demon Secret Realm was a Minor World left behind after the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm expert. Inside it lay that expert's complete inheritance and all their wealth. Who could ignore such staggering profits? Even the various Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands would surely covet it.
If they coveted it, why hadn't the various Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands seized tight control of it, instead allowing other martial artists to participate and letting it become a grand event sweeping across the entire Three Thousand Worlds?
He hadn't been able to work this out at first, and hadn't thought too deeply about it.
Only now did he realize it wasn't that those Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands didn't want to do so—they simply couldn't.
In the beginning, when entrances to the Blood Demon Secret Realm were rare, they could still control the entrances and block other forces, selecting disciples solely from their own ranks to explore. But now, an entrance could appear anywhere in the entire Blood Demon Domain. How could the great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands possibly guard against that?
It was precisely because of this that second-rate, third-rate, and even unranked forces—and even lone, independent martial artists—now had the opportunity to enter the Blood Demon Secret Realm and claim their share.
Old Bai continued, "The entrances to the Blood Demon Secret Realm have also become extremely unstable. Sometimes even if one appears right before your eyes, it's nothing more than a flash—it might vanish before you can enter. Even if it doesn't disappear, each entrance can now only bear a single person entering before it falls apart."
"Each entrance can only bear one person entering?" Yang Kai's face was full of surprise.
Old Bai nodded gently. "That way, you should understand why I said earlier that although the number of martial artists coming to the Blood Demon Domain is considerable, those who will actually manage to enter won't be many."
Yang Kai suddenly saw the light.
According to Old Bai, to enter the Blood Demon Secret Realm, you first had to fight over the entrances. An entrance might appear between several martial artists, but it could only accommodate one person passing through before disappearing, leaving the rest to simply gape helplessly.
In that case, only a small handful would be able to seize the opportunity and enter the Blood Demon Secret Realm.
Old Bai gave a soft snort. "In past years, when the Blood Demon Secret Realm opened, the martial artists converging on the Blood Demon Domain numbered far more than a million—there were probably even ten million. It's just that most of them made the trip for nothing."
Yang Kai couldn't help but agree. Now that they had arrived in the Blood Demon Domain, a glance around revealed flying artifacts and martial artists dashing about everywhere within sight—there were indeed quite a few. And that was only what he could see; the unseen would be even more numerous, since the entire Blood Demon Domain was in this state.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai turned to Lang Qingshan and the others. "When the time is right, you all enter my Minor Mystic Realm."
This time, quite a few people had come on his side. Setting aside Lang Qingshan's group—over thirty who had followed him since the Grand Ruins Realm—there was now also Guo Miao, plus the cook and the accountant from the First Inn.
With so many people competing for entrances, not all of them would necessarily succeed. But if he hid them in the Minor Mystic Realm and brought them in himself, things would be different. He would only need to grab a single entrance, and everyone would be happy.
Once inside the Blood Demon Secret Realm, he could release them all.
With his mastery of the Dao of Space, seizing an entrance in the vast Blood Demon Domain would be a simple matter. After all, there were tens of thousands of entrances.
That had been his plan, but to his surprise, Lang Qingshan and the others exchanged glances and didn't immediately respond.
Yang Kai asked curiously, "What? Do you have other ideas?"
Scabby-head chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "My Lord, we'd like to give it a shot on our own. Last time we followed you into that Land Without Elders, you protected us the whole way, and we ended up staying inside the Minor Mystic Realm without contributing a thing. Since we've pledged ourselves to you, we should pull our own weight. It's not right to always shelter under your wing."
Lang Qingshan clasped his fists. "My Lord, during our time in the Shura Arena, this subordinate came to understand a truth: only through hardship can one grow quickly. Flowers raised in a greenhouse don't live long. We wish to follow you through storms and rain, to accomplish great deeds. For the Blood Demon Secret Realm, please allow us to prove ourselves."
Yang Kai stared at him for a long moment, then looked at the others. "You all feel the same way?"
Everyone clasped their fists and replied in unison, "We humbly request your permission."
Yang Kai stroked his chin and nodded. "I'm gratified that you have this fighting spirit. But if you want to train on your own, that's simple—once we enter the Blood Demon Secret Realm, you may go your own way. Until then, I'll still bring you in."
Thirty-odd people would need thirty-odd entrances—there was no way they could all grab one. If he really let them each compete individually, some would inevitably fail, and not just a few. It was a rare opportunity; it would be a pity to miss it.
On this point, the others had no objections and readily agreed.
With the matter settled, the Landlady said, "Let's go. Time to claim some territory."
"Claim territory?" Yang Kai looked taken aback.