Chapter 6 — The Spirit Beast I Adopted Is the Baby Demon Lord

The force of that throw shattered my ribs, sending a wave of agony so sharp my vision blurred into darkness. I nearly vomited blood on the cold stone floor. With a metallic clang that vibrated through my aching bones, the iron door slammed shut. The heavy thud of the lock sliding into place sounded like a death knell.

Speak! Where did you get that wretched beast?

Elder Tu stood with his hands behind his back outside the bars. Under the flickering, sickly yellow lamp, his face looked even more grim and severe. Behind him, two disciplinary disciples stood like statues, their expressions devoid of all human warmth or mercy.

Elder, please... I... I bought it at the Myriad Beast Market.

I struggled to speak through the searing pain, my words coming in broken, ragged gasps.

It was a... a street stall run by an old man. It cost me thirty-five low-grade spirit stones. It was already badly wounded when I found it... I just thought it looked pitiful...

Thirty-five low-grade spirit stones?

Elder Tu let out a cold, sharp laugh that cut through my explanation. A creature capable of repelling an elder of my standing with nothing more than a single glance is worth only thirty-five spirit stones? Fang Hannuan, do you take me for a child of three?

I... I would never dare to lie to you!

I tried to pull myself up, but the movement tugged at my wounds, forcing me to hiss as I inhaled the stale, damp air.

At the time, I truly did not know! I only saw it as an ordinary, injured young spirit beast. The owner of that stall can bear witness to my words!

That merchant vanished without a trace long ago!

Elder Tu barked, his voice booming against the walls. Speak! Have you been practicing forbidden demonic arts? Is that vicious creature a demon spawn that you refined with dark sorcery?

No! I am innocent!

I denied it instantly, though a deep, freezing dread settled into my marrow. The merchant is missing? Is it a coincidence, or... could Mo Yu have done it? The moment the thought surfaced, a shudder ran down my spine.

Innocent?

Elder Tu’s eyes were as sharp and predatory as a hawk’s. On the training grounds, that monster’s malice erupted; it intended to devour a fellow disciple! Its demonic aura was overwhelming, bone-chillingly cold! No righteous spirit beast would ever possess such power! If I had not intervened just in time...

He paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face as he recalled his own humiliated retreat, his features hardening further as his pride was wounded. If I had not shouted to stop it, would Zhao Mang still be alive? A demonic creature of such cruelty hiding within our sect, and you dared to keep it? What exactly was your scheme?

Elder, please examine the facts!

I pleaded frantically. Mo Yu... it is usually very quiet! It has never harmed anyone! Today... today, it was only because I was beaten and injured that it... it...

I choked on my words, unable to explain the sudden, terrifying explosion of Mo Yu's hidden strength and the suffocating pressure it had exuded.

Only what? Only eager to protect its master?

Elder Tu sneered with disdain. Protecting its master? That was clearly the nature of a demonic beast whose bloodlust had been ignited! It is a creature of carnage and violence! Do not bother with your pathetic excuses.

He whipped his sleeve through the air with a forceful gesture.

I will give you until tomorrow to reflect. Either you confess the true origin of that beast and your connection to the demonic path, or... hmph!

The cold, implicit threat hung in the air, chilling me more than the stone floor.

At this hour tomorrow, if you remain stubborn and refuse to confess, do not blame the iron laws of the Disciplinary Hall for being ruthless.

Without another word, he turned his back on me and strode away, his disciples following in his wake. The heavy sound of their boots echoed down the dungeon corridor, growing fainter until silence reclaimed the space. I was left alone in the dark, cold, and absolute stillness. The pain in my chest throbbed with every heartbeat, but the cold settling in my heart was far worse.

Mo Yu... what exactly are you? A demonic beast? Elder Tu’s words felt like poisoned needles pricking at my mind. That bone-chilling aura, that destructive pressure, the power to force back a Foundation Establishment elder with a single gaze... all signs pointed to a terrifying conclusion. But it had given me the finest spirit core. In the Black Wind Valley, it had saved my life time and again in the shadows. On the training grounds, it had lost control only because it saw me wounded... and ultimately, at the sound of my voice, it had forcibly suppressed that world-ending malice. Would a true demon be capable of such things?

My thoughts were a tangled, chaotic mess. Exhaustion and the severity of my injuries eventually pulled me into an uneasy, feverish sleep. I do not know how much time had passed when a faint rustle, like a feather brushing against the ground, roused me.

I snapped my eyes open. Through the gloom, crouching just beyond the iron bars, was a small, shadowy figure. It was Mo Yu. I had no idea how it had managed to bypass the layers of restrictions and the guards of the Disciplinary Hall to reach the deepest level of the dungeon. It looked... disheveled. Its coat, usually sleek, was ruffled, and its aura felt unstable and erratic.

It sat behind the cold bars, watching me in silence. In those ink-black eyes, the murderous fire of the training grounds was gone, replaced by a bottomless depth that seemed to pull at my soul, along with a trace of fatigue and... concern?

How did it get in? What about the wards? Where were the guards? A thousand questions flooded my mind, but looking into those eyes, I could not bring myself to speak a single one. The turmoil in my heart was overwhelming. Fear? Yes. Confusion? Even more so. But beneath it all was an inexplicable sense of relief at seeing it safely here.

A soft, low whimper escaped its throat, like a wounded animal. Then, it stretched out its right paw, sliding it through the gap in the bars as if trying to reach me. Instinctively, I recoiled.

The motion caused Mo Yu’s paw to freeze in mid-air. The darkness in its eyes seemed to deepen. That tiny flicker of concern was replaced by a stillness so absolute it felt like death. Slowly, it withdrew its paw. It looked at me no longer, turned, and just as it had arrived, it dissolved into the shadows of the dungeon, vanishing without a sound as if it had never existed at all.

I was left alone facing the cold iron bars and the empty void, my heart feeling as frayed as a broken thread. The way it had pulled its paw back, that look of deadened, silent resignation in its eyes... it felt like a tiny, heavy needle piercing straight into my heart. The interrogation by the Disciplinary Hall was proving to be far more harrowing than I had ever dared to imagine.