100: Chapter 100 Demon Warrior? I'll use you to sharpen my blade!

Commissioner Yan's voice echoed under the words "Prison Fight," and the bloody scent in the air seemed to grow even thicker.

Quit?

Among the seventy-nine people present, who had gone through untold hardships to reach this step, arrived at Dragon Abyss Palace holding a summoning token, and passed the test of the Heart-Questioning Illusion, would back down at the final stage?

The silence lasted for several breaths.

Although his face was pale, Zhao Yuanjing was the first to step forward. He cupped his hands, his voice carrying the restraint and determination typical of a scion from a prestigious family: "This Junior is willing to go!"

Once someone took the lead, others followed.

"This Junior is willing to go!"

"Willing to go!"

"I will not retreat even if I die!"

The voices rose and fell, some high-pitched, some low, but all filled with a determination to burn their bridges.

Of those who could make it here, who wasn't a person of firm will?

To take one step back would mean all previous efforts were in vain, and might even damage their Dao Heart, leaving no room for further progress.

Jiang Hanzhou stood in the crowd without speaking, merely nodding slightly.

Commissioner Yan looked at the flames in these young people's eyes. A barely perceptible hint of approval seemed to flash across his cold, stern face, before it returned to icy indifference.

"Good." His voice was low. "Since no one is quitting, prepare to enter the valley."

He stepped aside, clearing the path to the black metal gatehouse.

"Dragon Abyss Palace values affinity. Who the prisoners in the cells are, what their cultivation levels are, and what crimes they committed are not fixed. You must choose your own cells. Whether your luck is good or bad, it is all a matter of affinity; you are responsible for yourselves."

As soon as his voice fell, a figure in the crowd rushed out impatiently.

It was the youth from the West Sea who possessed the Fire Spirit Body and had flame patterns between his eyebrows. He was full of arrogance, his eyes burning with a combative fire, as if he had long been impatient.

He didn't even look at the deep prison cell entrances on either side, rushing directly toward the first cave entrance on the left side of the valley. His figure flashed and disappeared into it, and a black light flashed at the entrance, clearly sealing it shut.

"Hmph, a brute."

Zhao Yuanjing sneered in a low voice, but he wasn't slow either. After a moment of contemplation, he led his three companions toward several adjacent cells in the middle area on the right.

They clearly intended to watch out for each other; even though the prison fight was independent, being close might allow for support when entering or exiting.

With a precedent set, others began to move as well.

Wu Huo continued to act alone. His gaze swept calmly over the many pitch-black prison entrances, as if sensing something. Finally, he walked toward a secluded cell with an unremarkable entrance and walked in with a hunched back.

The Blue-clothed Woman, Teng Yuzhi, moved with light steps, yet her speed was extremely fast. The area near the cell entrance she chose had faint water vapor, seemingly compatible with her Cultivation Technique.

Liu Wenzhou shook his head as if divining or calculating, eventually choosing one.

Lei Hong chuckled, patted his chest, and chose the largest and most conspicuous entrance: "If you're going to fight, fight a big one!"

The black-robed figure drifted silently into a corner.

Jiang Hanzhou was the third to act alone.

He was not as heroic as Lei Hong, nor did he carefully sense like Wu Huo, and he didn't even look at the seemingly "special" entrances.

For him, since Commissioner Yan said it was a matter of affinity, choosing deliberately would be counterproductive.

He walked straight toward a cell entrance in the middle area directly facing the gatehouse that looked completely ordinary, had no distinctive features, and was even of medium-to-small size.

The entrance was deep, and the darkness was so thick it seemed to swallow light. A cold wind blew from within, carrying a faint scent of rust and some indescribable, decaying odor.

Jiang Hanzhou paused slightly at the entrance, looked back at Commissioner Yan, who was indifferently watching everyone at the valley entrance, and the faint, lingering gazes of the patrolling Disciples in the distance.

He no longer hesitated and stepped into the darkness.

Behind him, the black light at the entrance flowed, quickly sealing and isolating the inside from the outside.

Just as Jiang Hanzhou stepped into the cell, deep within Ancestral Dragon Island, inside that ancient palace, the surface of the floating Nine-Fire God Mirror rippled imperceptibly.

On the mirror, next to the miniature scene representing Jiang Hanzhou's room, that wisp of pale gold-jade colored "Qi" vibrated slightly, and its corresponding scene quickly switched to a dark prison entrance.

And almost simultaneously, in another area of the mirror, a point suddenly lit up, presenting a dark, blood-red color, and quickly connected with Jiang Hanzhou's Qi.

"Eh?" Master Xue Mu, who had been watching Jiang Hanzhou, gave a soft exclamation, his brows slightly furrowed.

The other Elders in front of the mirror also noticed this change.

The white-haired Mirror-Managing Elder's gaze fell on the number of the cell Jiang Hanzhou had chosen, and a trace of surprise appeared on his otherwise calm face: "Number 79 of the Bing series?"

"Number 79 of the Bing series?" The gentle-tempered Senior Sister Yuheng heard this, recalled the distribution of the Prison Fighting Valley's cells, and her expression changed slightly. "Is that the... semi-demonized Peak Viscera Burning Realm Martial Artist sent by the Nanhai Branch last year?"

"It's more than just semi-demonized." Another thin-faced Elder said in a deep voice, "According to the report from the Nanhai Branch, this person was originally a Loose Cultivator. To seek a Breakthrough, he secretly practiced the forbidden evil art "Demon Blood Devouring Body Technique" from 'Wan Hai Mountain.' He mixed residual demonic blood with his own essence blood, forcibly attempting to break through to the Dragon Elephant Realm, which failed, resulting in his Physical Body becoming semi-demonized. His sanity fluctuates between clear and mad, and he is bloodthirsty and cruel. He once slaughtered three fishing villages in the South Sea before being captured by Elder Liu of the Branch personally. Because of his special condition, he was sent to the Prison Fighting Valley to be imprisoned and studied."

""Demon Blood Devouring Body Technique"?" Master Xue Mu's brows furrowed even tighter. "That is an evil technique that easily triggers Heart Demons and erodes sanity; practitioners often become neither human nor ghost. Although this person failed to break through, his Physical Body, eroded and modified by demonic blood, is likely several times stronger than an ordinary Peak Viscera Burning Realm, and his attacks carry demonic filth Qi, making him extremely difficult to deal with."

"Indeed." The Mirror-Managing Elder nodded. "Although this prisoner's Foundation was damaged due to the failed Breakthrough and his Lifespan is short, and his sanity is chaotic, it is precisely because of this that he is even more dangerous and crazy. Designating him as a Bing-series prisoner was meant to be a special test for those with firm Heart-Nature and outstanding practical combat ability. I didn't expect..."

He looked at the wisp of calm, pale gold-jade Qi of Jiang Hanzhou in the mirror, then looked at the increasingly thick, blood-red Evil Qi beside the cell number, and shook his head gently: "The timing of this child's choice... is not very fortunate. This prisoner seems to have had several outbursts of madness recently, and the guarding Disciples reported that his Qi is fluctuating violently, fearing there might be an incident."

Senior Sister Yuheng showed a hint of pity in her eyes: "This Jiang Hanzhou has good Heart-Nature and Foundation; he was a promising talent. If he had encountered an ordinary Bing-series prisoner, with his Perfection of the Viscera Burning Realm and calm Heart-Nature, his chances of winning would be high. But to run into this semi-demonized madman... his luck is truly poor."

The other Elders nodded as well.

The prison fight assessment certainly looks at strength, but luck and affinity are also an important part.

If you choose a prisoner who is difficult to deal with, you can only blame your own bad luck.

"Let's just watch." Master Xue Mu was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Blessings and misfortunes are interdependent; perhaps this is also his Opportunity. If he can make a Breakthrough under the pressure of such an opponent, it might not be a bad thing."

Although he said so, there was still a hint of gravity deep in his eyes.

Inside the cell.

The darkness was as thick as ink.

The moment he stepped in, Jiang Hanzhou felt an unusual suppression.

The air was heavy, filled with a pungent fishy smell, a metallic smell, and a kind of... turbid aura like a beast's lair.

Under his feet was rough, cold stone, and ahead was pitch black. With his vision at the Perfection of the Viscera Burning Realm, he could only see vague outlines within about three zhang.

The interior space of this cell was much larger than he had imagined; it didn't seem to be a simple stone room, but more like a hollowed-out cave in the belly of a mountain.

He held his breath and focused, the "Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill" naturally circulating, his Qi and blood flowing slowly, his ears catching every subtle sound in the darkness.

Drip... drip...

It was the sound of water droplets, coming from a corner, slow and rhythmic.

Hooo... haaa...

There was also a low, slow breathing sound, like a bellows, coming from the depths of the darkness.

That breathing was heavy, with long intervals. Every inhalation seemed to suck dry all the air around, and every exhalation carried an uncomfortable damp heat.

Jiang Hanzhou did not rush forward, nor did he make a sound.

He stood where he was, his left hand slightly raised, a wisp of pale gold Heavenly Dipper Precious Qi condensing at his fingertips, like a faint lamp, barely illuminating the surrounding area of about a zhang.

As far as the light reached, there were uneven, damp stone walls with deep claw marks, and some unrecognizable stains that had long since dried and turned black.

Suddenly, the heavy breathing paused for an instant.

Immediately after—

"Hiss!"

In the depths of the darkness, two points of scarlet light suddenly lit up!

That was not firelight, but more like the eyes of some beast, full of violence, hunger, and madness!

"Haa... fre... sh... blood... food..."

A hoarse, broken voice, like sandpaper rubbing, came intermittently. It was human speech, yet twisted and strange, with a heavy guttural sound and a certain inhuman wetness.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils shrank suddenly!

It was not because of the voice, nor because of that pair of scarlet eyes.

It was because the moment those eyes lit up, an aura that he remembered vividly, one that was extremely disgusting and alarming, erupted from the depths of the darkness like a breached dam!

Filthy! Chaotic! Tyrannical! With a faint sweet-fishy scent!

Demonic Qi!

Although it was far thinner and more mixed than the "small demon" he had besieged that day, and it seemed to be strangely fused with human Qi and blood, its essence could not be wrong!

"Demon Martial Artist? Or... a semi-demonized human?"

Jiang Hanzhou instantly understood the special nature of this prisoner.

No wonder Commissioner Yan said the prisoner's identity was not fixed. In this Prison Fighting Valley of Dragon Abyss Palace, there were actually prisoners imprisoned who were related to demonic power!

His heart was solemn, but surprisingly, there was no fear at all.

Instead, a scorching Battle Intent, like ignited firewood, rose from his Dantian's blood pellet, instantly sweeping through his limbs and bones!

Demons...

He had seen the terror of demons, and he had seen the methods of Cultivators when besieging demons.

He also knew from the "East Sea Chronicle" that demonic power was a deadly poison to the living beings of this world, but if one could resist and refine it, it would also have miraculous effects on tempering one's will and honing one's Cultivation Technique.

More importantly—

His right hand lightly wiped the sumeru pouch at his waist.

"Clang!"

A low, deep saber hum rang out, as if a sleeping Vicious Beast had been awakened.

A dark, heavy saber body with natural blood-colored patterns appeared in Jiang Hanzhou's hand. The hilt was slightly cool to the touch, and then a ferocious, domineering Evil Qi that faintly echoed with his own Qi and blood flowed through his arm.

The tiger soul saber!

This saber carried its own Evil Qi and was least afraid of these dark, filthy things.

And in Jiang Hanzhou's eyes at this moment, what was jumping was a different kind of light.

"Heavenly Saber"!

That Heaven Rank saber technique fragment he had obtained for many days but had never been able to truly enter the door!

Previously, he had been practicing hard on the island, having only the form but not the spirit.

But now, facing an opponent who carried demonic filth Qi and whose strength was likely far beyond the ordinary Peak Viscera Burning Realm, under the pressure of life-and-death combat...

"Perfect, I'll use you to sharpen my blade!"