After Chen Rui had arrived in the Demon Realm, he had spent most of his time in the laboratory. Having been used to staying home in his previous life, he hadn't found it especially difficult. Now, thanks to the aura, he had finally been tempted to go shopping and browse for treasures.
Aldas didn't mind. He waved a hand, indicating Chen Rui could do as he pleased. After all, the human was a special apprentice. That was better than having him stay behind and mistake poison for medicine.
After thinking it over, Chen Rui brought Sli along, since he knew his way around the city. The few times Chen Rui had gone out before, he'd been tagging along after the little princess or Athena. This was his first time going shopping with a follower of his own. As they walked down the street, the human, with nothing to disguise his appearance, immediately drew everyone's attention.
Many demons along the way pointed at him and discussed him, mostly in connection with his challenge at the arena last time. His performance at the Master Challenge Tournament had earned Chen Rui some acceptance among the demons, but most still regarded humans with a measure of suspicion and hostility.
"Hey, human! You look pretty tasty."
At last, an ugly-looking demon couldn't restrain himself. He blocked their path and picked a fight.
"Hmph! You blind fool." Chen Rui was no longer the weak human he'd once been. His eyes flicked over the demons watching from the sidelines, but he didn't look flustered. Instead, he sneered calmly. "Here's a fact for you: after the last tournament, my body mutated. My flesh and blood are full of poison. If you want to get yourself killed, go ahead and try. But first, why don't you taste this poison I've brought for you?"
As he spoke, he flicked a finger from inside his robe. A pinch of powder shot out. His strength was far beyond what it had been, and the flick sent the powder flying like a trigger mechanism. It hit the demon squarely, and he immediately felt an unbearable itch all over. He scratched frantically, soon tearing terrible bloody welts into his own skin. He rolled on the ground, unable to stop the itching.
"Still want to eat me?" Chen Rui asked deliberately. The demon shook his head frantically.
"Want me to cure the poison?"
The demon hurriedly nodded. Chen Rui waved his hand, and some liquid fell on him. The demon felt the itching gradually fade and was just about to leap up and take revenge when his body suddenly went limp, utterly devoid of strength. Then the itching gave way to pain, as though every inch of his muscles were being torn apart. He let out a howl.
"If you dare offend someone from the Aldas Laboratory, you'll pay the price!" Chen Rui put on an eerie smile, then spoke loudly. "The Eldest Princess issued an order not long ago. I'm already a member of Darkmoon City. This fellow deliberately picked a fight with me, which means he's showing contempt for the Eldest Princess and Master Aldas! I'd rather hear these wonderful screams than poison him to death. Let him scream for two days and two nights. If he dares bother me again, I'll leave not even a bone of him behind!"
Two days and two nights! Seeing the unlucky demon howling, the onlookers shuddered. A few who'd been itching to try their luck immediately changed their minds. This human was even more vicious than an ordinary demon. No wonder he'd come from the Aldas Laboratory.
After the last Master Challenge Tournament, the heroic story of Sandru being poisoned into oblivion by a single fart from the Dark Elf master had spread throughout the Darkmoon Territory. Some people went further, solemnly claiming they'd personally witnessed Master Aldas poison a Dragon with some kind of gas from his rear.
Contrary to Aldas's own mortified feelings, the Dark Elf master had risen another level in the demons' estimation.
Chen Rui had prepared his methods and choice of words in advance, and had even obtained a few poisons from Aldas. This display of force had worked exactly as he'd hoped. Thanks to the walking advertisement, the image of the human apprentice as poisonous, devious, and ruthless spread rapidly. No demon came up to ask what human flesh tasted like for the rest of the way, and Chen Rui grew more at ease beneath their various stares.
The Lesser Devil was pleased to see his master intimidate the demons. As they walked, he introduced Chen Rui to the situation in Darkmoon City.
The Demon Realm had once had seven royal families. After years of conflict, only the Lucifer Clan, the Mammon family, and the Asmodeus family remained. The others had either disappeared without a trace or submitted to the strong to preserve their bloodlines.
The Darkmoon Territory had once been one of the most prosperous regions of the Fallen Angel Empire. However, four hundred years ago, the Beelzebub Royal Family, which had vanished for many years, suddenly reemerged in Darkmoon City. Its leader was a powerful demon named Ge Luofen Beelzebub. He possessed the Beelzebub family's divine artifact, the God-Devouring Mask, and wielded immense power. He brazenly killed the Lord of Darkmoon and several other powerful demons, quickly seized control of the entire Darkmoon Territory, and began swallowing up the neighboring Chiyou Territory, before moving on to overthrow the whole Fallen Angel Empire.
Emperor White Night Lucifer led an army to attack Darkmoon. He fought his way into Darkmoon City, carrying the Lucifer Clan's divine artifact, the Sword of the Fallen Angel, and challenged Ge Luofen to a one-on-one fight in the arena. Ge Luofen was gravely wounded, but used the power of his divine artifact to escape. He then vanished without a trace, and the rebellion was brought to an end.
After that war, the Darkmoon Territory never regained its former prosperity. After Emperor White Night died in battle, the Regent, Heiyao, drove his nephew Green—the one who was supposed to inherit the throne—to Darkmoon to serve as its lord. He then used all sorts of means to keep the territory under surveillance and control, leaving Darkmoon even more impoverished. Though the Eldest Princess, Shea, had worked hard to govern and made many reforms after inheriting the lordship, she still couldn't escape the territory's poverty and decline at their root.
The financial officer of Darkmoon City, Joseph Alvin, was the eldest son of Zhuo Qie, Lord of Chiyou. On the surface, the Alvin Family had provided considerable support to the Darkmoon Territory, but this was only what they let people see. In reality, they were trying to control Darkmoon's economic lifeline. These days, the only merchants' guild in Darkmoon City and half the shops were in Joseph's hands. Even most of Darkmoon's food supply came from the Alvin Family. It was obvious that Heiyao was using the Alvin Family to control the Darkmoon Territory.
Militarily, Athena, daughter of First General George Wells, was in Darkmoon, but the territory's garrison was in the hands of Allen of the Kalon Family. The Kalon Family had originally supported Crown Prince Green, but later switched sides to the Regent, Heiyao. The only troops that truly belonged to Shea were the royal palace guards led by Kagulon.
This was the mess Crown Prince Green had left behind, though the circumstances at the time had left him no choice. The two most important things, the economy and the military, had fallen into other people's hands, and Shea still had no way to change that.
Athena hadn't explained many things clearly before. Only now did Chen Rui understand that Shea's situation was even worse than he'd imagined. He suddenly understood why the Eldest Princess was so cold and forceful. Perhaps only by acting that way could she bear the burden her father had left behind.
Life came with many burdens. They weren't always burdens people wanted to carry, but sometimes they had no choice.
If Emperor White Night were still alive, if Green had managed to ascend the throne back then, the gentle older sister the little princess remembered wouldn't have needed to wear that cold mask. But now, perhaps the mask had become part of her. She might never be able to take it off again.
Chen Rui gathered his thoughts and asked the Lesser Devil, "Sli, are there any shops in the city that sell strange things? Special materials or ores, for instance?"
"Shops that sell strange things..." Sli looked thoughtful, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "I think there's one, but that shop... If you only want to look at ores, there should be some at the blacksmith's shop up ahead."
"Good. Let's go take a look at the blacksmith's shop first."
It was one of only two blacksmith's shops in the city. Its name was a little terrifying: "Guillotine." It had a distinctly demonic flavor. The owner was a strong Horned Demon. The three workers hammering away inside were Horned Demons too, along with a Lesser Devil who did odd jobs.
Horned Demons were famous for their strength among demons. Besides using it to great effect in battle, some of them could also become highly skilled blacksmiths.
Seeing a customer arrive, the talkative Lesser Devil hurried over. When he saw Chen Rui, he hesitated before saying, "Human... You're the human from the arena!"
The Master Challenge Tournament was a hot topic throughout the Darkmoon Territory, so Chen Rui was recognized immediately.
Seeing the astonished look on his kin's face, Sli felt a little proud. He introduced Chen Rui: "This is my master, Lord Chen Rui, an apprentice of Master Aldas."
"You became a human's servant?" The Lesser Devil was even more astonished, then looked at Sli with contempt. Demons admired strength, and this human was said to have none at all—he was weaker than even a Lesser Devil at the bottom of demon society. Who would've thought this foolish fellow would accept a human as his master? Now, becoming a servant acknowledged by Master Aldas—that would be something worth boasting about.
"Kakan, what are you babbling about?" The Horned Demon owner came out, looked Chen Rui up and down, and said scornfully, "Weak human, what are you doing at Zack's blacksmith shop? We don't have any herbs for you here!"
Last night's battle had filled Chen Rui with confidence, so he paid no attention to their contempt. "Master Aldas told me to pick out some unusual ores to make poison from, so I came here."
The title of Master Fart King was certainly useful. Though Zack didn't understand what ores had to do with poison, he didn't dare neglect Chen Rui. He immediately led him over to the pile of ore.
Since Analytical Eye couldn't help him choose, Chen Rui activated the Aura Conversion skill and picked out the ores by touch. Each use of Aura Conversion consumed one point of aura, and lasted half an hour.
Chen Rui searched for a long time without finding anything. Just as Zack was growing impatient, an odd look appeared on the human's face. Chen Rui picked up an ore covered in pitted, crystalline lumps and asked, "What kind of ore is this?"
Zack looked unimpressed. "That's more or less waste ore. Those dark yellow crystals are a pain to remove. It takes a lot of effort, and any residue left behind affects the purity of the iron during smelting."
Waste ore? Chen Rui's heart stirred. When he'd touched the ore just now, the conversion skill had given him a prompt. He just didn't know what effect it would have.
He came up with an idea and said, "I'll do a small experiment first to see if this strange crystal is what the master needs. If I damage anything, I'll compensate you."
Zack nodded. The ore was practically a reject anyway.
Chen Rui took out some powder, sprinkled it on the crystal, then placed his hand on it. Zack watched the crystal slowly disappear, until it turned into a pile of powder, while the ore itself remained completely unharmed. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. The stubborn crystals were normally difficult to remove even with powerful blows, yet the human had gotten rid of them so easily—and without leaving a trace!
In Zack's eyes, alchemists' abilities became more and more mysterious. Even an apprentice had such strange skills!
The powder Chen Rui had used was just a trick to mislead the onlookers. The real effect came from the Aura Conversion skill. To his delight, what could actually be converted wasn't the ore but the crystals everyone regarded as waste—and they had provided him with 25 points of aura!
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