Yun Aoxue and the others all stared anxiously at Ye Xuan.

If this golden Demon King became enraged, Ye Xuan would surely be in danger.

In the tense atmosphere, the golden beast fixed its cold gaze on Ye Xuan.

"Hmph, I was wondering who it was. So, it was you who destroyed this Demon King’s Restriction. Hmm, although that Restriction contained less than ten percent of my power, it’s quite impressive that you were able to break it. This Demon King has always admired a human genius like yourself."

Jin Lin said with great appreciation.

It was incredibly excited. ’His Highness is truly His Highness! He broke the outer Restriction in an instant. This must mean His Highness will have little trouble removing the Restriction on my body!’

The stronger Ye Xuan’s ability to break Restrictions, the more excited Jin Lin became.

Huh?

Jin Lin’s words made everyone’s jaws drop. Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

’Hey, you’re a Demon King! Just a moment ago you were roaring furiously about who destroyed your domain, and now you’re being this friendly to the person who broke your Restriction? Have you lost your mind, or are we all seeing things?’

Xuu Xin Hua, who had been planning to frame Ye Xuan, was so furious he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

’You’re a mighty Demon King, yet you’re admiring a human Martial Artist? Is there any Demon King more ridiculous than you?’

Xuu Xin Hua probed, "But, Lord Demon King, this kid destroyed your resting place."

"What? Human, are you trying to teach this Demon King how to do things?" Jin Lin glared at Xuu Xin Hua.

’This human keeps trying to aim me at His Highness. He wants me to attack him! This man is rotten to the core.’

"I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare!" Xuu Xin Hua stammered, his head covered in cold sweat.

"I should think not." Jin Lin gave Xuu Xin Hua a cold glance.

"Alright, this Demon King can’t be bothered to waste words on you," Jin Lin huffed coldly, sitting imposingly on the altar. "Speak. You’ve disturbed my rest. How do you plan to compensate me?"

Hearing Jin Lin’s words, Zhu Tianlan and the others, who had been terrified, showed a flicker of joy in their eyes.

’From the way this Profound Beast Demon King is speaking, it doesn’t want to kill us all? It just wants compensation?’

If this Profound Beast Demon King really let them go, they would consider it a net gain even if they had to hand over some treasures.

After all, aside from the few who had fallen, everyone who entered this area had their Soul Power increase by almost a full tier. That alone was more precious than any treasure.

At this thought, everyone grew excited. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Lord Demon King, these are some humble treasures from my person. Please, accept them." Xuu Xin Hua shot a look at the vice president from his Fire Crow Kingdom. The man understood immediately, stepped forward cautiously, and took a large number of treasures out of his Storage Ring.

Spirit Medicines of various grades, some Lower Grade Profound Stones, Pills, and a few other strange items were placed one by one before Jin Lin.

These were all things the vice president of the Fire Crow Kingdom had accumulated, but he hadn’t taken out any of his truly valuable treasures. After laying everything out, he cautiously observed Jin Lin’s expression.

The rest of the crowd held their breath, watching with anxious hearts.

Suddenly, Jin Lin’s expression changed drastically.

"Brat, what is this pile of garbage you’ve brought out? Are you trying to fool me?"

The golden beast sneered, its golden pupils constricting. It then lashed out with a vicious kick. With a BANG, the vice president of the Fire Crow Kingdom spat out a mouthful of blood. He didn’t even have time to scream as he was sent flying like a broken rag doll, landing hard in front of the crowd. He collapsed into a heap of mangled flesh, completely still. He couldn’t be more dead.

HISS!

Everyone present sucked in a cold breath. They all recognized the vice president of the Fire Crow Kingdom. He was a Tier Five First Layer Martial Sect, and he had even broken through to become a Fourth Grade Soul Refiner within this sealed land.

Yet, such a powerful expert had been kicked to death by this golden beast in a single blow. Only now did everyone realize that they were standing before a Tier Seven Profound Beast Demon King. Trying to be clever in front of it was just asking for death, wasn’t it?

Jin Lin sneered. With a flick of its hoof, it pulled the vice president’s Storage Ring over to itself and tilted it upside down in mid-air.

CLATTER! CLANG!

A huge pile of treasures tumbled out—dozens of Mid Grade Profound Stones, ten or so Tier Three and Tier Four Soul Beads, and some Tier Five Spirit Medicines. This hoard was vastly more precious than what he had willingly offered.

After collecting all the treasures, Jin Lin smiled coldly. "I won’t waste any more words. If any of you dare to pull any more tricks in front of this Demon King, I guarantee you’ll regret it. You. You hand over your treasures first."

Jin Lin pointed at Xuu Xin Hua.

"I..."

Xuu Xin Hua’s heart sank, but under Jin Lin’s gaze, he had no choice but to brace himself and walk forward.

"Lord Demon King, these are the treasures I offer you as a tribute."

Gritting his teeth, Xuu Xin Hua handed over the vast majority of the treasures in his Storage Ring. Except for a few of his most important items, a mountain of various Spirit Medicines, Profound Stones, Pills, and materials was piled up.

No one noticed the golden beast’s gaze casually flicker toward Ye Xuan.

As if it had understood some silent message, a glint of killing intent flashed in the golden beast’s eyes.

WHOOSH!

A thick golden hoof lashed out like a bolt of lightning.

"Not good!"

Xuu Xin Hua had been watching Jin Lin’s every move. When he saw the change in its eyes, his heart sank. "Lord Demon King, wait!" he yelled desperately. "I have something to say! Let me explain—"

As he spoke anxiously, a small, palm-sized golden shield appeared in his hand. The shield grew with the wind, instantly expanding into a half-man-high light shield that blocked his path.

At the same time, a hammer-like Tool Martial Soul materialized above Xuu Xin Hua’s head, with four star rings pulsing around it. He frantically poured his immense Martial Soul power and his Soul Power, which was approaching the Fifth Grade, into the light shield.

After doing all this, Xuu Xin Hua’s body shot backward in an instant.

He did all of this in a single instant, but the golden beast gave him no chance to explain. Its thick hoof had already slammed violently into the light shield he had deployed.

With a BANG, the golden light shield before Xuu Xin Hua was instantly shattered. The terrifyingly powerful hoof then slammed into his chest, punching a hole straight through his torso.

THUD. Xuu Xin Hua’s corpse fell before the crowd, mouth agape and eyes wide open, completely devoid of life.

Taking Xuu Xin Hua’s Storage Ring, Jin Lin once again tipped it over.

CLATTER! CLANG!

Several Tier Six Spirit Medicines, dozens of Soul Beads, and a few other treasures tumbled out.

Jin Lin sneered at the crowd without saying a word, but its silence was more shocking than any words could have been.

By now, no one dared to doubt Jin Lin’s strength. Both the Tier Five First Layer vice president of the Fire Crow Kingdom and the Tier Five Second Layer Xuu Xin Hua were dispatched by the golden beast with a single kick. Before it, they were as fragile as ants, utterly powerless to resist.

Everyone’s hearts were filled with despair. At first, they thought this golden beast was reasonable, that it didn’t see humans as mortal enemies like other Profound Beasts and had even given them a chance to speak.

Only now did they realize that they had been the idiots for trying to play tricks. The beast could kill them whenever it pleased.

"Now, whose turn is it? Let this Demon King think about it." Jin Lin’s gaze swept over the crowd as it sneered. After a moment, it pointed to Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi. "Yes, you two."

Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi’s hearts jumped.

Zhu Tianlan quickly reminded her, "Qixi, take out all your treasures! Don’t hold anything back..."

"Yun Aoxue." Dongfang Yanyu and the others also looked at Yun Aoxue, their meaning clear: don’t hold anything back.

The two women nodded and couldn’t help but glance at Ye Xuan.

"Don’t worry, it’ll be fine."

Ye Xuan’s gentle voice echoed in their minds, setting their hearts at ease.

"Lord Demon King, here are our treasures."

Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi walked up to the altar, gritted their teeth, and handed over their Storage Rings directly, not holding a single thing back.

Under everyone’s nervous gaze,

Jin Lin glanced at the contents of their Storage Rings, then tossed them aside with disdain. "What is this garbage? You have the nerve to bring out so little?"

The expressions on Zhu Tianlan and the others changed drastically, while all the color drained from Yun Aoxue’s and Xia Qixi’s faces.

’They handed over their entire Storage Rings, and the golden beast is still not satisfied? Was it all a game? Are we all going to die no matter what?’

Amidst their terror, Jin Lin’s disdainful voice rang out again. "What are you two still standing there for? Take your things and get to the teleportation array."

Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi, who had been on the verge of despair, were stunned.

The golden beast was letting them go.

Exchanging a look, the two women hurriedly picked up their Storage Rings and stepped into the pillar of light behind Jin Lin.

As soon as they entered the pillar, a faint white light flashed. When the light faded, Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi were gone, clearly having been teleported away.

Before they vanished, Jin Lin glanced at them one last time. As they met the golden beast’s gaze, the same absurd thought surfaced in both their minds: ’That look... it’s so familiar. It feels like we’ve seen it somewhere before.’

Seeing Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi safely teleported away, the remaining people grew excited.

The fate of Xuu Xin Hua and the other man had made them think the golden beast was just toying with them. But Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi’s safe departure proved that the beast wasn’t joking. If they satisfied it, they could truly leave this place.

It hadn’t even taken Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi’s treasures.