Chapter 13

The contestant’s expression instantly twisted into pain, baring his teeth as he looked at Su Lanjin. “Give… give me relief.”

The intense tearing and sharp pain were unbearable, and he only wished to die right then and there.

“You won’t die.”

Su Lanjin looked directly at the contestant with hope in her eyes, raising the right hand holding the spiritual energy sword once more.

“With my power, I will break this sinister force!”

Su Lanjin softly parted her lips, her gaze steady as she looked at the contestant who was still suffering and trying to hang himself.

Golden light shimmered, spiritual energy drifted, and a faint golden mark slowly appeared on Su Lanjin’s brow before disappearing.

“You…”

The contestant’s pupils constricted sharply, utterly shocked.

【Did anyone hear what Su Lanjin just said?】

【It sounded like… something about breaking a sinister power?】

【What nonsense is that?】

The audience frowned, clearly confused why Su Lanjin would be talking about such things at this moment, seemingly without focus.

“Look quickly, that contestant… he…”

Several contestants who had just escaped from the underground abyss collapsed to the ground nearby, stunned and terrified.

They shakily pointed at Su Lanjin but kept their eyes on the suffering contestant.

The parents of the contestants, who were watching the live stream, covered their faces, their eyes bloodshot as they stared at the screen without blinking. They watched their son—who was supposed to die as a vessel—miraculously recover right before everyone’s eyes after being swallowed by the sinister demon?

Recovered! Recovered!!??

【?? Did I see that wrong?】

【I think my eyes are broken. Oh, my light brain master, what did I just see?】

【……】

【Are you sure the live stream hasn’t been edited or replaced?】

“I… what is this…”

The contestant who had escaped death looked at his hands, then at Su Lanjin, then lowered his head to look at his body again. He actually, actually got better?

“What’s going on? Su Lanjin, did you turn him from a vessel back into a normal person?”

A sharp voice from a teacher came through, tinged with urgency and disbelief.

In the five thousand years of the interstellar era, there had never been a case where someone possessed as a vessel by a sinister demon was saved like this.

Silence fell all around, even breaths could be clearly heard.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Su Lanjin, their gazes burning as if trying to melt her away.

“Hm? He wasn’t possessed as a vessel. The demon just treated him as food. Severing the connection with the demon was enough—it’s not like a vessel was turned back into a normal person.”

Su Lanjin patiently explained this to everyone, while secretly wondering: if they gave up just because they were treated as food, had no one ever tried to rescue those swallowed by the demons?

Su Lanjin was puzzled, and so were the others.

“Is it really just that? Aren’t they supposed to be vessels or possessed?”

“No, why think that way? He’s still human, not a demon.”

Su Lanjin frowned and shook her head.

“How could this be…”

【Why do I understand every word Su Lanjin says, but when put together, it doesn’t make sense?】

【So the situation isn’t that they were possessed and used as vessels, but rather used as food?】

【I… I’m really breaking down crying. If I had known this before, I wouldn’t be the only one left in my family. Sob sob sob sob.】

Su Lanjin’s words struck everyone deeply.

If they had understood earlier that those people were only used as food by the sinister demons, not directly as vessels, would those brilliant prodigies still have perished?

In the end… was it actually they who killed those prodigies?

Those who, to prevent their good friends, family, and lovers from becoming demon vessels—or being controlled into something neither human nor demon—had taken up swords and knives to end their lives, how were they to come to terms with this?

After all, they ended up killing those they cared about with their own hands?

The viewers watching the live stream, anyone who saw this scene, couldn’t help but crouch down and cover their faces, crying.

If only it had happened earlier… a little earlier, would things have been different?

At the border between the Federation and the Empire, on the frontline.

Fu Hui frowned as he looked at the team member delivering news from the higher-ups, clearly impatient.

“Captain, please relay the message to everyone.”

“Is what you said true? Are you sure about this?”

“But if the person has already been used as a vessel, possibly possessed, can’t we just let them die quickly and peacefully?”

“At that point, are we really going to let them painfully become demon fiends, and then use all the techniques learned from the Federation against our own people?”

“Absolutely ridiculous!”

Fu Hui, the demon-capturing sorcerer who had just finished listening carefully to the message, suppressed his anger. “Which unreliable old man came up with this idea? If you keep this up, I’ll take them to the highest court.”

The messenger looked nervous, waving his hands repeatedly. “Someone has already tried it—it can keep the Demon-Sealing Master alive.”

“Their current state is just being marked by the demons, treated as food—not as vessels.”

“Hmph, you said the same thing before.”

Fu Hui snorted coldly, stepped forward, grabbed the man by his collar, and repeated firmly, “Tell those people to behave. I’m not your subordinate, don’t keep bossing me around.”

“Hmph.”

Fu Hui slammed the man heavily onto the ground, rolled his eyes, and, annoyed, wanted to catch some demons nearby to vent his anger.

“Boss, boss, something’s wrong… San’er, he…”

“Boss, kill me! I don’t want to become something neither human nor demon.”

“Boss!!”

Several screams and cries overlapped. Fu Hui, who was still speaking, froze on the spot and then hurriedly ran toward the commotion.

The man who had brought the message followed at a jog. From a distance, they saw a person screaming in pain, his lower body completely devoured by the demons.

“Ah! Boss, please kill me quickly.”

“Boss, what do we do? I can’t bring myself to do it.”

Fu Hui said nothing but turned to look at the man who had come with him. “Are you sure what you just said is true?”

“I’m sure.”

“Good.”

Fu Hui took a deep breath, grabbed the big knife from one of his subordinates, and at the point where the subordinate and the demon fiend were connected, he raised his hand and struck down, separating the two.

With swift eyes and hands, Fu Hui released his spiritual energy, instantly trapping the demon fiend on the spot. The connection between the demon’s mouthpiece and the teammate wobbled, and Fu Hui struck again. The struggling teammate immediately fell down.

Howls echoed across the frontline, the demonic energy completely dissipating. Fu Hui opened his eyes wide, witnessing it all with his own eyes.

The teammate miraculously survived. The lower half of the body that should have been swallowed by the demon fiend was completely intact, without a single scratch.

“Truly… this is really happening.”

“……”

Scenes like this appeared throughout the Federation.

It turned out they had all misunderstood.

It wasn’t that the person had become a vessel, they were just treated as food.

As long as the connection is severed with one sword while the person still has consciousness, no harm will come to them.

How ironic it was that those who had personally ended the lives of their loved ones before…

Far away in the Empire, the people watching the selection contest through VPNs threw their light brain devices in frustration.

The reason? Every time the most exciting part of the live stream came, the network would cut off and fail to connect. Those unaware might think the Federation’s network was especially bad.

【This crappy network, can’t the Federation just fix it properly? Every time I try to VPN, it’s such a hassle.】

【This device keeps lagging and dropping the connection, sometimes with bugs. Wouldn’t it be better if we had some higher-end equipment on our side?】

【I’m really fed up, it always disconnects at the crucial moments.】

The people of the empire couldn’t help but complain while watching the pitch-black screen, not feeling at all embarrassed for sneaking in to watch the contest.

After all, in the eyes of the Empire’s people, to know yourself and your enemy is to win every battle.

…

…

The players who withdrew from the competition were taken away by the teachers, and the area became empty.

Bian Duhen clenched his hands tightly around the dirt and sand on the ground, biting his lip as he stared at everyone in front of him.

If it weren’t for them, some of his subordinates wouldn’t have been brutally killed, nor would they have had to quit the competition.

It was all because of them.

They clearly knew how dangerous it was inside, yet they didn’t warn them. They deserved to die!

“Hey, Bian Duhen? Since when have you been so sloppy?”

Zeng Yanzhi stood leaning to the side with his arms crossed, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Lost your little brothers and now you don’t even take care of yourself?”

Zeng Yanzhi’s voice was loud enough for several people present to hear.

“You! What did you just say!”

Bian Duhen turned angrily toward the speaker, but when he saw it was Zeng Yanzhi, his anger deflated like a burst balloon. He moved his mouth but instead spat a few harsh words at Song Juncai standing beside him.

Song Juncai: “……”

What did I do to deserve this?