The disciples of the Dao Academies—as well as the youths from the large family clans—watched intently. Almost all of them had to serve the military in the future. This was something unavoidable.
"Pig demon." A muscular youth with a shield in his left hand and a huge axe in his right hand jumped onto the arena and stared at the pig demon on the opposite side of the arena.
The pig demon stared at the human, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth as it let out a low grunt before charging.
Boom!
The pig demon barged around with extremely fast speed.
"What speed!"
"This speed matches those of the Mortal Shedding realm. The books are right. Even the most ordinary lesser demons have bodies that match a Mortal Shedding realm fighter." Many Dao Academy disciples' hearts tightened as they watched. This was already the most ordinary lesser demon.
The youth—Zhang Rushang—retreated to the side just as his opponent was about to collide with him. With shield and axe in hand, he swung his axe to cleave at the pig demon's bottom.
The pig demon had charged too quickly and was unable to change directions in time, but it raised its right arm and "brushed" past the shield with its right elbow. The youth, Zhang Rushang, was overwhelmed by the surge of strength and staggered three steps back. His cleave missed.
The books say that demons have powerful bodies, but their combat skills are inferior to ours. It's true. Zhang Rushang thought, But they are even more savage. I can't make any mistakes. I have to find an opportunity to kill it in one fell swoop.
"Humph!" The pig demon's eyes turned even crazier as it continued its fierce assault.
The pig demon was incomparably savage in the arena. It was extremely strong, and it was incredibly fast as well. Even when it casually brushed against the human youth, he would be knocked backward by the strength behind the blow. But the human youth was tenacious and his footwork exquisite. He never fought the pig demon head-on, and his shield's defensive strength was high as well. He was able to completely block the pig demon's repeated charges in a very slippery manner.
"This junior of your Zhang family is really good at using his shield."
"He completely defended himself and didn't give the pig demon any chances."
"I wonder if this pig demon has a trick up its sleeve." The upper echelons of the five major family clans were also chatting.
Suddenly, the pig demon's brandishing claws increased in speed.
This surprised Zhang Rushang as his expression changed drastically. He immediately ducked to hide behind the shield.
Bam! The claw slammed into the shield. Although the angle of the shield caused the pig demon to feel some discomfort, this blow still caused the shield to fly up. Zhang Rushang made use of the attack's momentum to fly backward and land outside the arena.
As soon as he landed on the ground outside the arena, Zhang Rushang spat out a mouthful of blood—his face pale.
How sinister. It actually hid its strength. Zhang Rushang stared at the pig demon on the stage.
"Count yourself lucky for escaping fast," said the pig demon in a deep voice.
"What?"
"This pig demon actually hid a trick up its sleeves?"
"It's terrifying how it schemed to use it at a critical moment." The disciples of the Dao Academy were somewhat nervous. Thankfully, the first person to fight—Zhang Rushang—was a cautious person and good at defending. If it were another Dao Academy disciple, they might have suffered terribly.
"It really hid something up its sleeves." The five family clans' upper echelons chatted casually. They had experience fighting demons on the battlefield, so they were acutely aware of how savage demons were! The scene in front of them was very "mild" to them.
The Imperial Court official who was looking at the name list laughed loudly. "Demons are sentient as well. They also scheme, so they are not to be underestimated. Alright, next up will be the Spring Rain Dao Academy's Xiahou Song."
The pig demon continued standing in the arena as he talked to the one-armed man in a deep voice. "I won the first round."
"You can return to prison after winning three rounds," said the one-armed man.
"Alright." The pig demon nodded, its eyes filled with fierceness. It would kill a human youth if it had the chance to. It wasn't simply because of the food and drink it could enjoy from killing a human youth, but to enact revenge on the humans because it was captured by them. As long as it could take revenge for being left with such an abject fate, it would naturally want to take revenge.
The second youth on stage, Xiahou Song, used a saber. His saber arts were exquisite. His footwork was profound, preventing the pig demon from touching him at all.
He eventually found an opportunity.
Pfft. He slashed straight at the pig demon's body. After tearing through the thick layer of hair, his saber was firmly stuck in the pig demon's muscles. This caused Xiahou Song's expression to change drastically.
Not good.
He immediately abandoned his saber and retreated without any hesitation. However, the pig demon took the opportunity to fiercely slap him. Xiahou Song was struck, and the loud slap left the Dao Academy disciples worried.
The upper echelons of the five great family clans, the prefectural magistrate, and the others were all very calm. This was really trivial.
Xiahou Song immediately flew out of the arena as blood splattered across the ground.
Thankfully, Xiahou Song wore a family heirloom—a protective armor. He was only heavily injured and didn't lose his life. He just needed a few months of recuperation to fully recover. It was truly fortunate.
"Next, Wind Center Dao Academy, Ruan Mi."
"Sharpshooter Ruan Mi." He instantly garnered the attention of many. Every sharpshooter was extremely important. Even Meng Chuan carefully watched because Qiyue was also a sharpshooter! Much could be referenced from Ruan Mi's battle with the demon.
Ruan Mi was quite famous amongst the younger generation in Eastcalm Prefecture. He was from an ordinary family clan, but becoming a sharpshooter made things different. He became one of the most influential disciples in Wind Center Dao Academy. He held a large bow with his long arms, and he immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow after leaping onto the arena.
Swoosh.
The arrow pierced through the air.
It was fast! An archer going all out was extremely terrifying.
The pig demon immediately howled as it charged forward. At the same time, it brandished its claws and sent the first arrow flying; its other claw protected its head. This was its vital point.
But right after, a second arrow pierced through its thigh and remained stuck in its thigh! The normal blades of a Marrow Cleansing expert would have their might greatly reduced after tearing through its hide, but this arrow completely pierced through its thigh, affecting the pig demon's movements. Ruan Mi wore a cold expression as he moved, quickly shooting the third and fourth arrow in succession.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The third and fourth arrows were all aimed at the legs. The pig demon's muscles and bones gripped the arrows, and there wasn't much blood. However, its speed halved. This made Ruan Mi a lot more relaxed. He quickly moved agilely around the edge of the arena while shooting out one arrow after another.
"Die."
"Die!" The pig demon could vaguely sense that death was approaching. It began to grow even more frenzied as it drew closer to the human sharpshooter.
However, its legs just couldn't be any faster. The short distance between them was like a massive chasm that could not be closed.
The pig demon's body was hit by a total of twelve arrows as it howled and ran. It was until the twelfth arrow that the pig demon's head—its weakness—was pierced through. This arrow finally caused the pig demon to collapse to the ground and convulse. It could no longer stand up.
"A demon's vitality is really strong," Ruan Mi muttered.
"Well done."
"Beautiful."
There were cheers, the loudest coming from the Wind Center Dao Academy disciples.
"Take it away." The one-armed man by the side of the arena ordered his soldiers. Immediately, two soldiers walked up to the arena and dragged the pig demon's corpse away. Only its blood remained on the arena.
No one cared about the death of a pig demon!
The demons were invaders and massacred humans. Humans only wanted to protect their homes, but even so, large numbers of humans died for this endeavor. Half of those who served in the military died, and numerous people were crippled. From this, one could see the price humans had to pay for peace.
Countless human commoners had been slaughtered. Archean Mountain established Jadesun Palaces in every prefectural city and sent Godfiends to preside over them to protect the commoners! Godfiends watched over an area, eliminating all demons who dared to infiltrate human territory. This was the only way to stabilize the human race's numbers. The hatred humans had for demons was irreconcilable.