Dance of Demons

I really miss that kid.

Butcher touched the scar left by the explosion on his face, his eyes icy cold.

That battle...

His Butcher Squad was practically wiped out. Blue Shark, Viper, Wolf Eye, and Tiger Cannon—all four were crippled.

Only he and Red Poison remained unharmed.

To seek revenge, he returned to the Paradise Organization, immersing himself in relentless, closed-door training for over half a year!

Now, he had finally ascended from S-rank to the legendary SS-rank!

Truth be told, his promotion had been anything but smooth.

Two SS-rank assassins, Spear and White Rhino, had been killed in Daxia.

With two top-tier spots in the Paradise Organization now vacant, he had seized the opportunity to rise.

Red Poison said solemnly, "Boss Butcher, Archangel Gabriel has made it clear—the Paradise Organization shouldn’t act recklessly."

The Paradise Organization boasted twelve SSS-rank assassins!

The assassin codenamed Gabriel was one of them.

"He’s just a nobody. No need to report it. Just make it quick and clean," Butcher said coldly.

Clearly, in his eyes, An Yi was nothing more than an insect.

"But the person next to him... seems to be Katies from the Sacred Knights," Red Poison said warily.

Katies was one of the Sacred Knights’ Eight Paladins!

The youngest genius in the order’s history!

Her strength was not to be underestimated.

Butcher grinned. "You really think someone like An Yi, that loser, would even register on Katies’ radar?"

Red Poison chuckled. "Fair point."

"These monsters are trading...?"

Katies asked with difficulty.

An Yi, slouching lazily, nodded. "Catgirls, huh? Interesting. These guys really know how to exploit men’s tastes. Two billion isn’t even that steep."

Inside the cage, the shapeshifting beast-girl’s eyes burned with fury as she roared, struggling desperately to break free.

"Hey, boss, seriously? Your catgirl isn’t even tamed!"

"Yeah, who’d dare play with that?"

The crowd of onlookers jeered, though their eyes remained glued to the cage.

The chubby auctioneer chuckled into the microphone. "Wild horses are fierce, but taming them is far more thrilling than docile livestock."

"Haha, the boss knows what’s up! That does sound more fun!"

"Two billion—I’ll take her!"

The regular customers’ gazes turned greedy.

This batch of shapeshifting beasts was higher quality than the last.

The auctioneer, a member of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, grinned. "Only one item up for grabs. Since everyone’s so eager, let’s make it a bidding war."

This business was far more lucrative than cosmetics.

The catgirl snarled and shrieked.

An Yi narrowed his eyes.

She was speaking the ancient tongue of the Primordial Continent.

"Two billion. She’s mine."

A green-haired young man on the second-floor balcony spoke lazily.

The crowd turned to look.

"Who the hell is this guy? Doesn’t he know I’m the Young Master of the Southeast Province?"

Xu Chao slammed the table in fury.

Tonight had been humiliating enough.

Now some punk was trying to steal his woman?

First, he’d hire assassins to deal with that bastard An, then this green-haired freak.

The green-haired man smiled faintly at Xu Chao. "And you are?"

"Your granddaddy, Xu Chao!" Xu Chao declared arrogantly. "Two billion—she’s mine. Try bidding against me, I dare you."

The green-haired man merely smiled and gestured for him to proceed.

Seeing his opponent back down, Xu Chao straightened his collar with a smug grin. "Three billion! Any other blind fools wanna bid?"

Hands in his pockets, he swept a condescending gaze across the room.

Then, mid-smirk, his body stiffened—before collapsing with a thud, foaming at the mouth.

"Young Master Xu!"

The crowd rushed to his side.

Within seconds, Xu Chao’s face had turned a ghastly purple-black.

"Save... me..."

His final words faded into silence.

One brave soul checked his pulse.

"He’s... dead!"

The crowd gasped, their eyes darting to the green-haired man, who still wore that serene smile.

"I... I think I know who he is!"

"Xue Ming, the Young Master of the Five Poisons Sect!"

Some in the crowd looked confused, but the martial artists among them paled.

"This guy killed Wang Dahai, one of the Law Enforcement Bureau’s Four Guardians—the Black Tortoise!"

Because of that, the Law Enforcement Bureau had launched a full-scale siege on the Five Poisons Sect.

Yet no one expected the sect to have already pledged allegiance to the Hundred Ghosts Sect.

For Xue Ming to appear here so brazenly meant he didn’t fear the Law Enforcement Bureau at all.

"If no one else wants her, I’ll take her," Xue Ming said indifferently. "Elder Bat, any objections?"

No one dared speak up.

No one wanted to end up like Young Master Xu—dead without even knowing how.

The auctioneer sighed into the microphone.

He knew this was Xue Ming’s way of asserting dominance.

Earlier, Xue Ming had demanded the catgirl, but he’d refused.

Now, the young master was making his displeasure known.

"Since Young Master Xue has the highest bid, the little kitten is yours," the auctioneer conceded.

Xue Ming smirked, his eyes briefly locking onto An Yi below before he turned and left.

"Tch. Spotted me."

An Yi grinned.

Katies tilted her head. "An enemy of yours?"

"Something like that."

An Yi patted her shoulder. "Nice meeting you. Let’s grab tea sometime. Later."

With that, he slipped away.

Katies watched him go, a faint smile curling her lips. "What an enigmatic man."

"Done flirting with the foreign chick?"

Yan Zhi shot An Yi a sidelong glance as he returned, deep in thought.

An Yi frowned. "Ever heard of the Sacred Knights?"

Yan Zhi’s eyes chilled. "That was Katies?"

"She’s that famous?" An Yi asked.

"One of the Sacred Knights’ Eight Paladins. Of course she is!"

Yan Zhi rolled her eyes.

Sometimes she wondered if this guy was from another world—he seemed clueless about so many things.

An Yi nodded gravely. "Think we should establish international relations? I’m willing to sacrifice myself for Daxia’s sake—arranged marriage, maybe?"

"Get lost!"

Yan Zhi scoffed.

"I saw Xue Ming," An Yi said seriously. "Should we... tonight?"

Yan Zhi’s phoenix-like eyes darkened. "Lay low. This is the Hundred Ghosts Sect’s turf."

The cruise ship sailed on silently.

An Yi frowned at the sea. "When did we start moving? Where are we headed?"

"The capital."

Yan Zhi’s reply was flat.

An Yi snorted. "Who takes a luxury cruise to the capital? A plane’s way faster—just a few hours."

Yan Zhi gave him a pitying look.

"Even if I gave you money, you wouldn’t know how to spend it."

"Get some sleep. Goodnight."

With a sway of her slender waist, she walked off.

An Yi’s gaze lingered.

"Hmph. With hips like that, she’d definitely bear sons."

The ship cut through the waves in silence.

Meanwhile, at the stern—

A man and a dog, both dripping wet, hauled themselves onto the deck.

"Damn it! I’m exhausted!"

Hongtian gasped for breath.

Fang Jueming wiped seawater from his face and grinned. "We finally caught up. Nice work, Hongtian."

Hongtian shook himself dry. "No big deal. It’s about the spirit core—er, I mean, your master’s safety."

Fang Jueming scanned the massive ship, muttering, "Now... where is he?"