A private room in a luxurious mansion in the Demon Capital.
Jiang Yu gazed through the transparent window of the mansion, taking in the bustling cityscape of the Demon Capital.
Before he knew it, he had been in the Demon Capital for a year.
At the Six-Cornered Auction, the Mu family had earned a thousand spirit coins, while the Black-Robed Cult had taken three hundred according to their contract.
The Mu family had then generously given him five hundred spirit coins as thanks, while Jingjing had shared four hundred with him.
He had turned those sixteen hundred spirit coins into resources.
Most of them had been converted into his strength over the past year.
Even so, his cultivation level was still far behind the great families.
Even with his Starfall Demon Tool, Demonic Law, and all sorts of resources, he was still lacking.
His primary Fire Element and his Ice Element had only just broken through to the third tier of the Middle Rank.
That had happened not long ago.
He had accompanied Ying Yue on a mission and helped her deal with the criminals. In return, she had given him a Fire Element spirit crystal.
That was on top of the contribution he'd earned for helping the Mu family deal with five members of the Black-Robed Cult at the Six-Cornered Auction.
Ying Yue had worked behind the scenes and secured him a cultivation opportunity at the Demon Law Association's Spirit Pool.
It was a place that rivaled the three-step cultivation ground at the Mingyao Academy.
Afterward, Jiang Yu had used the Demon Law Association's Spirit Pool to cultivate his Ice Element and Fire Element to the third tier of the Middle Rank. He had also managed to advance his Shadow Element to the Middle Rank.
Jiang Yu's strength was now basically unmatched at Mingyao Academy. Even the main campus couldn't find anyone his age who could compete with him.
This was his second year at Mingyao Academy...
"Little Tan, why aren't you going to the freshman welcome party?"
Jiang Yu turned around, puzzled.
He looked at the beautiful girl sitting across from him, savoring the fragrance of her clear tea.
Mu Nü was currently sitting with her eyes closed, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere.
She opened her eyes and glanced at Jiang Yu, then blinked.
"Oh, I was planning to invite you to an important cooperation opportunity."
"As for the freshman welcome party, I've already had enough time to prove myself."
After cultivating at the Spirit Pool and obtaining a Fire Element spirit crystal, she had also broken through to the Middle Rank.
You had to know that Mu Nü had only just entered the Upper Rank!
Now, she had become one of the Mu family's core members.
"Is that so?"
Jiang Yu indicated that he understood.
He was also curious to see what sort of cooperation Mu Nü had in mind, and whether she could pull off something impressive at the freshman welcome party.
But he thought she might be exaggerating. Even a Middle-Rank spirit crystal was a terrifying resource.
"Didn't you say you picked up a Demonic Stone Fragment in a demonic realm? Show it to me."
Mu Nü said.
Jiang Yu didn't hurry or panic. He reached into the Demon Tool in his empty space and took out a dark, oddly shaped stone.
But if someone with Demonic Law or a spirit-type talent sensed it, they could detect the demonic energy within.
He set it on the table for Mu Nü.
Mu Nü held it in her hand and carefully examined it in the sunlight outside the window.
As one of the Mu family's future heirs, she had been taught a great deal about Demonic Stone Fragments from an early age.
"A Demonic Stone Fragment of this quality could be considered A-grade!"
Mu Nü looked a little surprised. Demonic Stones of such high quality were rare.
"How much would it sell for?"
Jiang Yu was most concerned about how many spirit coins it could fetch.
This Demonic Stone was the one he had brought back from the Six-Cornered Auction.
Mu Nü looked at the Demonic Stone and examined it for a while before saying,
"A-grade Demonic Stones can fetch over a thousand yuan per jin. Your fragment is quite rare even among A-grade stones. It could probably sell for around twelve hundred yuan per jin."
"Not bad. I'll have to make sure the fragment's quality is above ninety-eight percent to get that price."
After all, Demonic Stone auctions were large-scale events. They usually dealt in lots of over a hundred jin, and the quality was usually quite high.
Jiang Yu couldn't help feeling a little excited.
So one jin of Demonic Stone could fetch more than two hundred spirit coins! And he estimated that the Demonic Stone from the Six-Cornered Auction weighed at least a hundred jin.
His previously distant dream of becoming wealthy was finally coming true.
"By the way, how much does your family take as a cut?"
Jiang Yu asked curiously.
After all, twelve hundred yuan was only the market price.
Mu Nü looked at Jiang Yu and pondered for a moment.
"Previously, my family charged a twenty-percent cut when collecting Demonic Stones."
"But recently, the Bai and Qin families worked together to discover a large Demonic Stone deposit outside the city. That's driven the price down."
"So now it's fifteen percent."
Hearing that, Mu Nü nodded.
"But for you, I'll make an exception. I'll have my family give you a special discount and take only eight percent."
"That's also because my family's financial situation has been tight."
Jiang Yu nodded to show he understood.
He had known for a while that Mu Nü could give him a higher share than the usual rate.
It seemed she really did regard him as a close friend.
The two chatted for a while, then went back to talking about their friends.
Mu Nü thought for a moment, then looked at Jiang Yu's handsome face and mustered her courage.
"By the way, do you have a place to stay in the Flower Moon district? Ai Yan and I are going to move out of the dorms after the first semester."
"Wouldn't that be inconvenient for you? I've already got a rental."
Jiang Yu paused, then shook his head. He didn't think it was a big deal.
After all, the dorms were only ten square meters, and he and Xia Xin had already made arrangements.
"Anyway, I've got something to do. I'll get going first."
Jiang Yu finished his greeting and pushed open the door.
Mu Nü watched as the mansion was left with only her. She smiled faintly...
Jiang Yu hurried back to the Flower Moon district.
He immediately went inside.
"Little Tan!"
At that moment, Little Tan was lying on the ground, looking much bigger than a year ago.
But the tail of its plump body bore several charred scars, and its entire body was coated in ash.
"Jiang Yu, what happened to Little Tan?"
Xia Xin heard the commotion and walked out of the room.
She was dressed in white. When she came to Little Tan's side, warm-colored healing energy appeared in her palm.
That was the healing light of a low-tier healing spell.
As Xia Xin placed her hand against Little Tan's tail, the charred wound healed as if it had never been there.
Jiang Yu felt a little irritated that his pet had been bullied.
Still, he seemed to remember something, and his mood settled. He said coolly,
"Come on, Little Tan. I'll help you get revenge!"
Little Tan nodded fiercely.
"Xia Xin, Little Tan and I are going somewhere. We'll be back soon."
Jiang Yu explained things to Xia Xin.
Little Tan climbed onto his shoulder, and a black light wrapped around him.
A flash of spatial magic later, the two vanished.
At the Six-Cornered Auction.
It was just as lively as ever. The sunlight shone brightly, and the thunder in the core area rumbled without pause.
Jiang Yu looked in one direction.
Little Tan had been attacked because of the Six-Cornered Auction, and because of its connection to the Demonic Stone auction.
The Demonic Stone auction had drawn together a large amount of demonic energy, making it a haven for many foreign demons.
The most troublesome were the Fire-Patterned Demonic Snakes among them. Their tribe contained five beings who had reached the Commander level.
The tribe also had quite a few other Commander-level and Lord-level Fire-Patterned Demonic Snakes.
The most dangerous thing about them was their ability to share flames. The more of them there were, the stronger they became!
Working together, they could even rival powerful demons like the Stone-Armored Demon!
That was why Little Tan's tail had been burned...
The tribe wanted to break through the spatial barrier and pull over reinforcements, so they had first sent some weaker Fire-Patterned Demonic Snakes to probe the area.
Little Tan wanted to help its master. It could sense that its master really wanted those Demonic Stone fragments.
Jiang Yu understood why it had been attacked. It was because he'd been busy cultivating and hadn't had time to keep an eye on it.
"Let's go. We'll wipe out that group of Fire-Patterned Demonic Snakes today. Then we can go check out that Demonic Stone deposit."
Little Tan nodded and swung its tail excitedly.
Its master was much stronger than it was. He could definitely get revenge for it!
Soon, it began eagerly gulping down the snake meat.
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