Chapter 342: “Ministers Who Follow the Dragon”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Minister Ma slammed the table hard, his brows tightly furrowed. “Enough, enough! Why the hell are you all looking so dejected?”

“Those who accomplish great things do not fuss over minor losses!”

“I’m a damn first-rank official, and now I’m just like you all—nothing left except the clothes on my back!”

“But so what?”

Saying this, Minister Ma suddenly stood up, his voice rising as he laughed, “Right now, I am ninety percent certain—the Fifth Prince will ascend to the throne in the near future!”

“And when that happens, every single one of us here will be ministers who followed the dragon!”

“I don’t think I need to explain the significance of those four words to you, do I?”

One had to admit, Ma Lilu’s eloquence was first-class—after all, he had risen to the position of Minister of Justice.

With just a few words, he managed to pull the grief-stricken officials out of their misery.

The officials at the secondary table exchanged bitter smiles, then voiced their agreement.

Ma Lilu knew that for these people, money meant everything. Losing it all at once—of course, they couldn’t get over it in just 45 minutes. So, he simply raised his wine cup, laughing, “Come, come, let’s keep the music playing and keep drinking!”

At this moment, Mi Youfu, who had been watching the entire spectacle unfold, secretly ordered his men to follow Gu Ning’an while also lifting his own cup, joining the demon cultivators in livening up the atmosphere.

Even though these officials had lost their wealth, two of them were still co-owners of this Hunting Arena. More importantly, their value wasn’t just measured in silver and gold.

So, he remained enthusiastic toward them.

Once the strong liquor flowed, smiles began creeping back onto the officials’ faces, and the private booth regained its lively atmosphere.

“Hey… wait! With so much silver and property involved, including estates and farmlands, we can’t sell everything off in just 45 minutes. Why don’t we send people back immediately and sell some of our estates at dirt-cheap prices? At least we can recover some of our losses!”

“Aren’t you afraid the Fifth Prince will find out and have your house raided and your head chopped off?”

“Hey, hey, hey! That’s why we have to time it right! I refuse to believe that Mr. Gu is so all-powerful that he can wipe out all our wealth across Tian’an and Haibei in such a short time!”

“That makes sense! That makes sense!”

Hearing the drunken words of the secondary officials, Minister Ma and General Zhong also voiced their agreement.

From their perspective, those men weren’t wrong—if they acted quickly, they could still snatch back some of their wealth. And as for whether the Fifth Prince would punish them later?

Well, they had already made a concession. Surely, the Fifth Prince wouldn’t go too far in wiping them out completely…

Meanwhile, the arena battle had entered the third round!

In the second round, Hua Erniang and her team had faced off against a bee demon—a stark contrast to the old crone from the first round.

This time, their opponent immediately transformed into its demonic form and engaged them directly in combat. The bee demon was particularly cunning, using its speed and venomous stinger to relentlessly target the mortal attendants.

As a result, Hua Erniang and Duan Chen were forced into a defensive stance.

Then, in a crucial exchange, Hua Erniang seized an opportunity and nearly severed the bee demon’s wings—only for the creature to go all in on a suicidal attack!

It unleashed a desperate burst of spiritual power, launching its stinger—along with half of its own body and internal organs—straight at Hua Erniang!

She hadn’t expected it to resort to a “perish together” tactic, and there was no way for her to dodge in time. Just as the venomous stinger was about to pierce her abdomen—

The black-clad swordsman stepped in and took the hit for her!

Thankfully, he only suffered a pierced shoulder, avoiding a fatal blow.

But the bad news? He was poisoned. He had to leave the battlefield immediately for treatment—otherwise, he’d become a burden.

At this Hunting Arena, as long as you had money, you could purchase any kind of assistance.

That included hiring reinforcements, taking breaks, delaying battles, and much more.

The only limits were your imagination—or whether you could afford it. Because when it came to the Hunting Arena, there was nothing they wouldn’t allow… for the right price.

However, in many cases, seeking assistance in the arena required astronomical sums—amounts so high that they were nearly impossible to afford. As a result, no one had ever truly been able to buy their way through the Hunting Arena with money alone.

Fortunately, the cost of sitting out a round to rest wasn’t too steep. The black-clad swordsman paid the fee himself, gave Hua Erniang a few words of caution, and then left the arena.

Thus, in this third round, Hua Erniang had to not only protect the inn assistants on her own but also fend off the enemy at the same time.

As a long, creaking sound echoed, the door of the private room slowly opened.

Outside, a black-clad man with a sword on his back stepped in with a furrowed brow—it wad Duan Chen.

His entrance caused the lively atmosphere in the private room to momentarily freeze.

Everyone turned their gazes to the swordsman, whose shoulder bore a gaping wound the size of a bowl, blood still seeping from it. A look of pity flickered across their faces.

Mi Youfu was the first to rise, stepping forward to support Duan Chen as he sighed. “Young Master Duan, you’re really willing to risk your life to win the beauty’s heart…”

Hearing this, Duan Chen chuckled. After signaling Mi Youfu to let him go, he took a seat where Gu Ning’an had been sitting earlier and replied, “You don’t understand. The thrill of the chase is what makes it interesting. A woman who’s too easy to get—I, Duan, have no interest in such.”

“The old saying holds true—heroes have always struggled to resist a beauty’s charms. I completely understand how you feel, Young Master Duan!”

As he spoke, the old General Zhong stood up, picked up a wine jug, and poured a full cup of strong liquor in front of Duan Chen with a hearty laugh. “Young Master Duan, have a drink!”

“We’re all on the same side here, General Zhong, no need for such formality.”

Duan Chen, his face slightly pale, gave a small smile, raised the cup, and downed it in one go. Smacking his lips, he commented, “Tsk, good wine, excellent wine. Just a sip, and I can tell this must be a fine vintage from the Great Wu imperial palace, isn’t it?”

Minister Ma nodded with a smile. “Young Master Duan, you certainly have a keen palate. This wine was stolen from the late emperor’s private collection. Afterward, the palace guards found out, and over twenty men lost their lives for it…”

“Oh? Then I’d better have a few more cups of this!”

As he spoke, Duan Chen picked up the jug himself, refilled his cup, and raised it in a toast toward the two high-ranking officials, as well as the lesser officials at the secondary tables. “I’ve kept you all waiting tonight. Allow me to offer you a toast as a token of my respect.”

“Young Master Duan is too kind! We’ve just been enjoying our drinks, listening to music, and watching you fight your way through the arena in pursuit of love—it’s been quite the entertainment! Even if you had taken longer, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all!”

Upon hearing Minister Ma’s words, Duan Chen let out an exaggerated sigh and pointed at the jade cup before him. “Not in a rush, you say? I hadn’t even arrived yet, but you had already prepared a cup for me!”

Swish!

The laughter that had been echoing throughout the private room suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

The officials and demon cultivators seated at the secondary tables exchanged uneasy glances, uncertain of how to respond.

At the main table, the two high-ranking officials also found themselves momentarily speechless.

Sensing that something was off, Duan Chen blinked in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong?”

At this, Minister Ma let out an awkward laugh. “Ah… actually, that cup wasn’t prepared for you…”

Duan Chen froze. “Hm?”