Chapter 336: A Bet Must Be Honored

As the old crone’s body split in two and fell heavily to the ground, the entire battle arena fell into dead silence.

With her death, the countless spiderwebs, having lost their spiritual reinforcement, became frail and weak. Hua Erniang merely waved her hand slightly, and the dense webs snapped apart, falling powerlessly to the ground.

Hua Erniang, who had slain the old crone in an instant, landed softly. Her face showed neither joy nor sorrow—an eerily calm demeanor, as if everything had gone exactly as she had expected.

Dark blood pooled beneath the crone’s corpse, merging with the deep red of Hua Erniang’s flowing dress, creating a scene both eerie and hauntingly beautiful.

Sweeping her gaze around the arena, Hua Erniang pinpointed Ying Xiang’s location and raised a slender, jade-like finger, pointing gently.

“Next.”

Such an effortless display sent the male demons in the audience into a frenzy.

Demons revered strength, and coupled with Hua Erniang’s stunning beauty and cold demeanor, the contrast was so striking that many demon cultivators found themselves swallowing hard.

“Hua Erniang!” “Hua Erniang!”

A tidal wave of cheers erupted, as nearly the entire audience stood up, shouting her name at the top of their lungs.

However, amidst the frenzy, there was a small section of the stands where no one stood. In fact, every single gaze in that area was fixated on one spot.

Feeling the weight of so many stares, the tanuki demon’s face turned red with suppressed fury. After cursing “useless trash” a few times, he turned to Gu Ning’an and said in a low voice, “I’ll give you twenty taels of silver. You’ve won.”

Gu Ning’an shook his head. “That wasn’t our bet… A wager must be honored.”

“Leave some room for future encounters,” the tanuki demon growled through gritted teeth.

Gu Ning’an chuckled. “I’m human. I doubt we’ll have many chances to meet in the future.”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Every demon nearby turned their eyes toward Gu Ning’an!

They had assumed Gu Ning’an was a demon—perhaps just one with higher cultivation or some unique concealment technique that made it difficult to discern his true form.

But now, not only was he not a powerful demon, nor using any concealment method—he was actually human?!

Which meant… he had no cultivation at all?

Then how had he dared to come to this battle arena alone?

And how did he have the nerve to gamble against demons?

“A human?”

The tanuki demon shuddered, scanning Gu Ning’an from head to toe. Then, a slow grin spread across his face—one that hadn’t appeared in a long time.

“A human? Do you even know what humans are in Eternal Slumber City? They’re nothing more than consumables—just like that bug sitting on your shoulder!”

Gu Ning’an waved a hand dismissively. “Enough talk. Just tell me—will you honor the bet or not?”

“I refuse!”

The tanuki demon burst into wild laughter, baring his sharp teeth. “But don’t worry. Once we’re out of this battle arena, I’ll make sure to teach you a lesson about what it means to be ‘consumable’ in Eternal Slumber City—”

Clack! Clack!

His words abruptly stopped. His lips parted and closed, but the next thing he uttered was:

“I, the tanuki demon, am a pet! Seeking an owner to adapt me!”

Whoosh!

The moment the words left his mouth, his arrogant expression twisted into sheer terror. He realized his body was moving on its own. He stood up, pushed through the crowd, and ran toward the right-side stairs.

As he ran, he bellowed at the top of his lungs:

“I, the tanuki demon, am a pet! Seeking an owner to adapt me!~~~”

Gradually, more and more spectators noticed a tanuki demon running while shouting for an owner. The bizarre sight piqued their curiosity, and soon, the stands were abuzz with murmurs.

Yet, only a few truly knew the reason behind it, and they were seated near Gu Ning’an.

Seeing how the once-arrogant tanuki demon had abruptly changed his tune and was actually fulfilling the bet, even the slowest-witted demons in the audience came to a shocking realization—

This white-robed man was human, but that didn’t mean he was defenseless!

Gu Ning’an hadn’t even made any visible move, nor had he let anyone sense the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy, yet he had effortlessly “controlled” the tanuki demon into fulfilling the bet. Everyone present understood the implications of this.

Because of this, those sitting near him didn’t dare to recklessly say anything that might provoke him. If they ended up like that tanuki demon, they’d never have the face to show themselves again for the rest of their lives!

Many demons who understood the situation put themselves in the tanuki demon’s position for a moment. The more they thought about it, the more certain they became—forget running three laps around the hunting arena, even one lap while shouting like that would make them too ashamed to ever return to Eternal Slumber City again.

Most people just gossiped about it, but the host responsible for maintaining order, Ying Xiang, went straight to the source for answers.

He stepped forward, blocked the tanuki demon’s path, and asked what had happened. But the tanuki demon only left behind five words: “A bet must be honored”—then continued running.

Hearing that, the spectators immediately understood what was going on.

At first, those who didn’t know the truth had genuinely thought the tanuki demon had some unusual fetish and was actively seeking an owner. But now they realized—so this was the result of losing a bet!

And judging from the demon’s expression, he was clearly completing the wager very unwillingly.

Before long, the tanuki demon finished his three laps, thus fulfilling the bet. The moment he did, control of his body was restored.

His face was flushed red, and though he wanted to glance at Gu Ning’an’s direction, he ultimately didn’t dare. With his head lowered, he slunk away from the hunting arena in shame.

This little episode quickly passed, and after a few casual remarks, Ying Xiang redirected everyone’s attention to the next “arena defender.”

At the same time, Gu Ning’an withdrew his gaze from the right stone gate of the arena, stood up, and began walking toward the stone stairs.

The seats on the viewing platform weren’t spaced too far apart between upper and lower levels, meaning that if someone wanted to leave, those already seated had to pull back their legs to make way.

Earlier, the tanuki demon had forced his way out, squeezing through.

But now, the moment Gu Ning’an stood up and people saw he was about to leave, they immediately retracted their legs—one after another—without hesitation.

Seeing this, Gu Ning’an thanked each demon who made way for him. Then, turning to the small creature perched on his shoulder, he remarked, “Doubao, look at them. These demon cultivators are actually quite friendly.”

“They’re not like that tanuki demon, who looked down on his own kind. In the future, you should try making friends with demons outside the Blaze Bug clan.”

Doubao widened his tiny eyes and scanned the curled-up demons on the stone seats.

Those demons, upon meeting his gaze, all responded with forced smiles.

Seeing this, Doubao said in a small voice, “Mr. Gu, they’re only being friendly because they’re afraid of you.”

“Oh?”

Gu Ning’an glanced around. Everywhere his gaze landed, the demons he looked at were all nervously smiling.

Doubao nodded. “Yes!”

Gu Ning’an continued walking and said, “Then you should cultivate diligently as well. One day, when they see only you, may they still be just as ‘friendly’…”