A Waste of Time

Chapter 131: Glimmering Solace

Daemon stayed quiet for a few breaths, his black eyes half-lidded as though weighing something. Then he asked, calm but pointed:

“How exactly does the competition between slaves work? How are the winners decided—and how does the struggle between your Comb and the Applicants’ Barracks determine who gets promoted?”

These were the details he needed. If he could trace every step of this ladder, he could see the bigger picture. With that knowledge, he could carve a path, join Su An as an Inner Disciple, and maybe even enjoy the game along the way.

“But how are you even planning to join the Sect-Competition tomorrow?” he added, brows knitting. “There isn’t enough time for you to fight your way up, get promoted to Applicant or Outer Disciple, and still enter the competition.”

Fa Mei’s lips tightened. She was the one who answered, though her voice carried the weight of restrained frustration. “Even if we outnumber everyone else in the Mountain, not every slave is strong enough—or willing enough—to risk it. Injuries that never heal, bodies crippled in the attempt… those are the risks. Too many are afraid to climb.” Her tone betrayed the pressure gnawing at her, the doubt threatening to blunt her edge.

Sun Kai gave her a quick side-glance before adding what she had left unsaid. “The Sect-Competition only begins once the Combs are filtered. The strongest rise from the slave combs to challenge the Applicants’ Barracks. Once those battles are settled and the promotions are decided, the Barracks fight their own wars. And the victors are pushed against the Outer Disciples.” He nodded toward Daemon. “After that, the winners and losers trade places, and the main competition begins. You already know the rest.”

Daemon tilted his head, his expression sharpening. “So you’re saying the battles in the Outer Circle are decided in a single day. And in that same day, the ones promoted from slaves are immediately thrown against Outer Disciples—and if they survive, they’re forced to face Inner Disciples at the end of it. All without pause?”

An eyebrow arched, the faintest edge of disdain curling his lips. Whoever set these rules was ruthless. It wasn’t just a competition—it was a grinder, made to bleed out the weak and crush their bones into stepping stones for the strong.

No wonder she spoke of crippling injuries.

His eyes slid toward Luo Han, noting the way the man’s fingers unconsciously scratched across the old scars lacing his arms again and again.

The three at his table nodded in unison. Around them, the rest of the slaves in the hall nodded as well, though most followed the gesture with weary sighs. They weren’t willing to gamble their lives—not when their strength left them uncertain of even surviving the first clash.

“Tell me then,” Daemon said, returning calmly to his meal. “What do you have in mind? I want to hear everything.” He gestured toward the woman behind the counter for another tray.

His slave token already carried a few dozen Contribution Points from the tasks he had finished earlier, and he didn’t hesitate to spend some on food.

The woman hurried over a moment later, setting down a tray stacked with meat and rice before swiping her identity slip against his. She smiled faintly—it was rare for her to see slaves pay for second helpings. Her own wages were meager, but she earned extra whenever someone bought more. Most slaves preferred to hunt or forage in the woods during their breaks, unwilling to waste precious points on what the hall offered.

And for good reason. The meals here, though of higher quality than what they scrounged outside, were still a pale imitation of what the Sect gave its Applicants for free. A cauldron of meat and broth might hold one or two low-grade medicinal herbs, but by the time it was divided into portions, a slave received nothing more than a few thin slices of meat. The rest of the stew, the real substance, went to the Barracks.

The bitterness of that difference was hard to swallow for most. But Daemon felt nothing of it. Compared to what Ippo was eating right now—top-quality cuts from Ferocious Creatures, cooked by specialists who blended Spirit Herbs for flavor and effect—this was little more than filler.

Luo Han answered first, voice gruff and casual. “We three were going to visit the other Combs to recruit members for our team. But now that we’ve met you… we’ll just follow you instead.” He shrugged his broad shoulders as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

Daemon paused mid-bite. He raised his eyes slowly, swallowed, and asked flatly: “That’s it?”

“Yes.” Fa Mei nodded quickly, her cropped hair slipping across her cheek as she tried to soften her expression with pleading eyes, wide and puppy-like.

Sun Kai glanced between them, suspicion flickering in his gaze. Something felt off—but he didn’t want to be left out. He nodded too.

Daemon let his chopsticks fall from his fingers and dragged a hand down his face, muffling a groan.

Finally, he propped his elbows on the table, resting his cheeks in his palms. His black eyes narrowed in exasperation. “Don’t you think it might have been a good idea to… oh, I don’t know… think things through? Plan each step? Prepare for the hurdles you might face?” He gave a long, tired sigh. “That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

For a moment he considered smacking all three on the back of their heads just to knock some sense into them. They looked like they deserved it.

“Bfft…”

A little girl couldn’t help herself, snickering at the sight of three grown slaves sitting stiff and tongue-tied before a boy younger than herself.

“Hahaha…” An old man followed with a belly-deep laugh, his amusement shaking the rafters. But in his gaze was a flash of regret as it dropped to his missing leg—everything gone from the thigh down, a wound he had earned in the same reckless arrogance he now saw mirrored in Luo Han, Fa Mei, and Sun Kai.

The hall erupted with laughter.

The three at Daemon’s table shifted uncomfortably under the storm of mocking grins and chuckles. Irritation flared in their faces, their bodies tense, their pride fraying as ridicule chipped at it from all sides.

Daemon leaned back and tilted his head. His black eyes swept them with calm disdain. “What? Can’t endure a bit of ridicule?”

His voice cut through the noise, stilling the laughter as easily as snuffing a flame.

“At least here, their amusement comes without malice,” he continued, gesturing to the ring of slaves surrounding them. “But once you’re standing before the Applicants’ Armies, their ridicule won’t be harmless. It will be venom. Mockery meant to strip your will before the battle even begins.”

His gaze sharpened. “Will you surrender to anger then? Swing blindly because your pride can’t take the hit? Fight as if the world can burn for all you care?”

His words rolled over them like a tide, pulling them from the noisy hall into the battlefield their minds dreaded: surrounded by Applicants, united, ruthless, pressing them down like an avalanche.

“Are you even confident you can win?” Daemon pressed. “If you are truly strong—so strong you don’t have to care about their ridicule—then why do you need me at all?”

The three froze, his words piercing deeper than any jeer.

It was as though he had punctured their swelling anger like a waterskin, releasing the pressure without wasting the container itself.

“Thank you for your guidance!” Sun Kai was the first to recover. He stood abruptly, bowed low, and cupped his fists. The realization struck him clear: This is why I felt something was wrong earlier.

Fa Mei and Luo Han followed, cheeks flushed with shame, bowing and voicing their apologies.

Daemon nodded once, resuming his meal. “Like I said before—I will not carry you unless you prove you’re worth carrying. I don’t mind if you take advantage of me, but if you try to do so without proving your worth, then remember… I am also your worst enemy.”

He chewed another mouthful of meat slowly, washing it down with a swig of water before continuing.

“I’ll give you until the challenge between the Combs and the Barracks. Show me what you can do, how you’ll recruit others to your side. But you’re forbidden to mention me while doing it.”

Luo Han and Fa Mei perked up at first, excitement flashing in their eyes—until his final words crushed the hope flat. They scowled in frustration, realizing the boy had deliberately saddled them with a handicap.

Sun Kai’s silence stretched, but then his eyes brightened with understanding. This is his test. He wants to see our worth.

He bowed again. “I’ll return before sunrise. Where can I find you, young master Daemon?”

“Oh? You know my name?” Daemon arched a brow. His slave token had never been turned outward for others to read.

“Hahahaha…” The crippled old man laughed uproariously, wiping tears from his eyes. With a grunt, he rose, leaning on his crutch, and gestured theatrically around the hall.

“Youngster, don’t sell yourself short. Everyone in this Mountain knows your name—Daemon, the boy Elder Ping Xueling herself had to subdue after six Inner Disciples failed!” His voice rose with a mix of mirth and awe.

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room.

“Some say even a Core Disciple at Foundation Establishment would have failed—because the only reason you lost was holding back to protect your friends.” His eyes gleamed as he listed each rumor. “Some say if you’d fought from the start, with all your trump cards, Elder Ping would have been defeated too, even after you’d already fought six opponents in the High Qi-Gathering Realm, two of them at Peak-Perfection!”

The laughter faded, replaced by silence heavy with revelation.

“The Elder Council itself was summoned to judgment by the Disciplinary Chief. They debated your fate because your potential outweighed your crime. You must know it by now, boy—this is a test. A game. They want to see your worth, to watch you bare your fangs and prove yourself worthy of their trust.”

The crippled man’s smile turned sly as he jabbed his crutch toward Luo Han, Fa Mei, and Sun Kai.

“I wonder, though. Will these juniors pass your test and stand with you? Or will you climb the path alone?”

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