Shocking the crowd

'Fight, fight till there's nothing left!' I yelled at myself.

"Gaah!" My groan rang out in the air as I summoned my sigil to block the swords. I awakened the devil in me and the once-faded energy began flowing throughout my body. My vision turned bloody and all I could see was the mana around the swords.

So this is how the Demon Lord survived when battling. The mana didn't supplement itself as I had initially thought. He was dependent on the devil within him.

But awakening it had its consequences.

"I cannot lose!" Yichen boomed when his attack was blocked by my sigil which seemed to have grown wider.

'This is my chance,' I said and dashed around the swords clashing against the sigil, ignoring the body exhaustion.

Yichen had been so focused on controlling the swords, missing my sneak approach, which was too obvious. Seriously, how had he even become an inner disciple?

"You...!" He made haste and tried blocking me using his sigil just as I pounced at him, a rock-hard fist flying straight at him.

"Asura fist..."

The golden markings appeared in an instant before being covered by a cloud of mana which would make the blow feel like a truck had hit him.

Through my demonic eyes, I had already caught the weakness in his sigil, right where the arrows had struck earlier.

*Bang*

My fist blasted his sigil in a loud collision, splitting it into two, and continued making its way to his face.

Blood, saliva, and a few teeth flew out of his mouth after my hard fist made contact with his jaw, dislocating it in an instant.

Then... everything went silent.

The excited crowd seemed to have lost their voices as Yichen's motionless body thudded on the ground, followed by the clattering of his swords after losing their controller.

Blood, a lot of blood, began flowing from his disfigured mouth. His eyes were rolled back to leave the dread white color staring at me. I should have felt something like guilt, after all, he was still a human. This was a duel and I had attacked him so brutally, left him in such an ugly state. But, I felt nothing other than pride and satisfaction.

I had just conquered an inner disciple through my efforts.

All the pain I had endured in the past weeks was finally paying off.

My stomach twisted, not from sympathy, but...hunger.

Right in the middle of the arena, after silencing the crowd, my stomach was now demanding attention. Such shit luck.

I turned away from the half-dead disciple and faced the rest of the sect. Their eyes stared at me with all kinds of emotions, fear, anxiety, disgust, awe, and shock. Only one pair dared to look at me with pride...Nuo.

She smiled at me before winking, and at that moment, I thought, how wonderful it would be to have someone by my side who was not my servant, to help me in this journey.

The elder in charge of the duels came down and stepped off her sword. I did not bother turning to see what she was doing to Yichen, I just walked off to find a place to heal my wounds and curb my devil before it ran berserk.

"Outer disciple Surrdon, wins!" She announced as I disappeared into the exit tunnel.

When I was out of their sight, the atmosphere suddenly grew dense with murmurs which twisted till they became a monstrous noise that abused my ears mercilessly. Typical of the sect's disciples.

----------------------

****3rd POV****

----------------------

"What has just happened?" Elder Li asked, his question directed to no one and everyone sitting near him.

Shihan remained quiet, taken aback by what she had just witnessed. She didn't believe miracles existed, but she felt like she had just witnessed one right in front of her. Nothing could explain what had just happened.

Five minutes ago, she had been too sure of Surrdon's defeat. But then, he had turned the tide within a matter of seconds, completely destroying Yichen and his sigil.

How would she explain such an incident to Yichen's family? They were one of the sect's donors, and had been for decades.

Now that their son had been turned into a useless man by another useless disciple, would they withdraw their support? Or worse, come to seek revenge against Surrdon?

If it was any other outer disciple, Shihan would be at peace, she would just hand them over. But... Surrdon had some connection with the Demon Lord. And no other being terrified her as him.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes closing while her body sank back in her chair. How could such a mess have been created in less than a minute?

*********************************

*********************************

He sat cross-legged on the haystack facing the garden full of herbs, his eyes closed, and the upper half of his body bare. On his lap, an empty bottle of pills lay there without a care, and on his silver hair, sat Bluey who was keeping watch of its master's surroundings.

From its body, it showered Surrdon with cold mana, aiding him in his recovery.

The Asura markings began to crawl over his arms till and stopped at his shoulders. His sigil also made its appearance beneath him, letting him know that it hadn't abandoned him, yet.

His loose silver hair started moving, indicating the rising disturbance coming from its owner.

Two chains materialized, the last locks to the first sigil. As Surrdon's mana swirled around his body, one of the two chains began weakening till it gradually...snapped.

His eyes popped open, pride filling his chest.

Another minor breakthrough.

'Only one more. I should unlock it in the next duel.'

A yawn from nearby made its way into his left ear. One annoying, arrogant, and lazy creature could have such a yawn... Anya.

She appeared, immediately curling herself on Surrdon's left shoulder.

The direct contact made his skin ticklish. And like a worm, he kicked her off of his shoulder mumbling, "Lazy snake."

"You're the lazy one. He would be ashamed at the sluggish pace you're improving. You don't deserve his body."

"I beg to differ. He chose me, not you, not anyone else. ME!"

Anya rolled her eyes as she flew through the air to lay on the haystack. She raised her head at Surrdon, her eyes savaging the beautiful complex patterns on his arms. They looked so majestic... were the only reason she could envy him.

"Even though I feel he chose wrong, I'm still responsible for you in this world. So listen to what I'm about to tell you."

Her change of tone drew his full attention to her. He saw the seriousness in her eyes and felt a chill shoot down his strong spine.

What could it be?

"Do NOT, get involved with her."

Surrdon frowned, clueless about who Anya spoke of.

"She's not your ally. She will never be."

"Do not get distracted by unnecessary entanglements that will only harm you in the end."

"Nuo? Why?"

Anya looked away to avoid Surrdon's cold gaze. Even though the former Demon Lord was gone, she could still feel his dominance lingering in his body. It was such a waste that he chose 'this' human to replace him.

She was still unconvinced that a human who had no social interactions or combat experience could lead the demon race to where his predecessor wanted.

There was so much to be done. And little time.

"You don't need to know this now. Focus on the duels..."

Surrdon sighed. Of course, nothing ever came so easily, not even some common answer.

"The next opponent also has a body refining technique. If you want to improve your body, you need to let him beat the shit out of you for at least ten minutes. Hold on as long as you can, it'll be worth it."

"Mm! So that's the reason you gave me the technique? You seem to know everything. Tell me Anya, will I ever...go back?"

She ignored his question.

"I wish you luck, dear Demon Lord. You'll need it."