Chapter 327: 326

The room was immense, spanning over five hundred square meters, with a seven-meter-high arched ceiling adorned with various painted depictions of dueling beasts. The entire room was dominated by colors of gold, white, and red, displaying a lavish and majestic decor.Behind a large wooden desk, which emitted a faint fragrance, stood a member of the Monsters, back turned to them. The window it faced overlooked the Grand Animal Fighting Arena, and although the audience was still leaving the venue outside, none of the noise could be heard here, signaling exceptional isolation.

From the back, this member of the Monsters had white, jade-like antlers—a Deer Demon. Its lavish clothing and the place where it stood clearly indicated that it was the master of this domain.

"Owner, I've brought them in," said the Bloodthirsty Devil Ape with utmost respect.

"Hmm, you may leave now," a melodious voice responded.

"Yes," the Bloodthirsty Devil Ape bowed and quickly exited, never once glancing back at Tang San and his companions from beginning to end.

The Deer Demon man slowly turned around and looked at Tang San and the four others.

He had a handsome countenance that appeared middle-aged, his aura contained but with a hint of divine light flickering in his eyes. His presence naturally carried a unique charm.

Tang San immediately identified the creature's race. He had once devoured the bloodline of this same race: a Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast. Moreover, this was a Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast of God Rank Cultivation base.

Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beasts possessed formidable Spiritual Power. Their Spirit Rhinoceros Eyes could see through elements. They had encountered such an opponent in previous team battles, where Elemental stripping had caused Wu Bingji considerable trouble. He hadn't expected the owner of the Grand Animal Fighting Arena to be a Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast.

"Welcome, please have a seat," the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast said with a smile, gesturing them to sit.

Only then did Tang San and his four companions sit on the sofa. Aside from Tang San, the others sat either on guard or uncomfortably out of place.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Ying Jie, patriarch of the current generation of Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beasts. The Grand Animal Fighting Arena in Jiali City is owned by our race. Or to be precise, it's an industry we manage on behalf of the City Lord."

Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King! The words flashed through Tang San's mind. So it turned out that the owner of the Grand Animal Fighting Arena was indeed him.

Previously, Tang San had heard that the Spirit Rhinoceros and the Golden Deer Demons served as the left and right arms of the Peacock Demon King. Despite Jiali City's remote location, it was exceptionally wealthy because of the intelligent business acumen of these two great deer demon clans. Economically, Jiali City had risen from the bottom to a mid-ranking city, thanks to the significant contributions of the two Deer Demon Kings. Especially the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast clan, they were naturally talented in business affairs.

The highly coveted Seven-colored Deer Demon Emperor Bloodline that stirred up a bidding war at the great auction originated from this lineage.

The gaze of the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King Ying Jie fell on Tang San, and he smiled, "You must be the real mastermind of your little team, aren't you?"

With his observational skills, it was natural for him to discern the true core of the Shrek squad. This could easily be inferred from the looks in the eyes of the team members. Besides, in the last match, Tang San had emerged prominently by overpowering the Red-crowned Crane Demon at the final moment.

Tang San replied tangentially, "May I know why the Arena Owner has summoned us here?"

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King smiled, "Humans are always very clever, especially vassals like you who can cultivate to such extents. You should know why I called you here."

Tang San had used "invite," while he used "called," already introducing a subtle pressure. Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Tang San said indifferently, "I only know that the Grand Animal Fighting Arena is a very fair place. It holds the utmost respect for competing warriors in particular. We just want to win, to take the prize, and perhaps even achieve noble status in the future. That's all. As for anything else, I'm not sure."

The other party was exerting pressure, while he was calling their bluff. "Aren't you known for fairness? Then it has to be fair! Bringing us here alone doesn't imply fairness." Both Tang San and his teammates could naturally guess that the reason the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King summoned them was about the Array Plate.

The Spirit Gathering Array was still acceptable, but the Teleportation Array had already been enough to arouse envy. Now, the display of the Melting Spirit Formation finally made the Grand Animal Fighting Arena unable to continue its restraint. The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King personally took action.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King said with a smile, "There's a saying, 'An innocent man carries a gem at his peril.' I'm sure you understand this principle. Moreover, the origins of some things are quite difficult to trace. For things with unclear provenance, it is necessary for the authorities to investigate. Here in the Grand Animal Fighting Arena, of course, everything is fair, but if the Jiali City officials were to examine you, that wouldn't be something the Grand Animal Fighting Arena could intervene in."

Tang San also smiled, "So, are you saying that if we hand over the array plates to the City Lord, the Grand Animal Fighting Arena could protect us?"

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King gave a reserved smile. "The Grand Animal Fighting Arena should indeed have that capability."

"Fine." Tang San agreed without hesitation and turned to Du Bai, "Senior brother, give them to me."

Du Bai glanced at him but still took out three array plates and handed them to Tang San.

Tang San stood up, brought the three array plates to the desk of the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King, "Can we go now?"

With the immense Spiritual Power of the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King, a single glance was enough to confirm the authenticity of the three array plates. It was somewhat surprised as it looked at Tang San. The fact that the other side handed them over so readily was completely unexpected.

"You're giving them to me just like that?" the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King asked.

Tang San said, "There is a saying that 'A wise man submits to circumstances.' You mentioned the authorities might make things difficult for us, so of course we want to be smart about it. Besides, I assure you, there are only these three array plates. You can also have your subordinates search us to verify that I'm telling the truth. So, after this time, I hope you won't disturb us again. We just want to compete peacefully."

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King nodded with a smile, "I will ensure they take good care of you. It is indeed a pleasure to converse with intelligent humans. Please show our guests out!"

The door opened, and the Bloodthirsty Devil Ape was already waiting outside.

Tang San, with his somewhat perplexed teammates, walked out. Led by the Bloodthirsty Devil Ape, they collected their prize money and quickly left the Grand Animal Fighting Arena.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King picked up the three array plates and laid them out in front of itself, inspecting them one by one. Soon, a look of amazement spread across its face.

Each array plate, only the size of a palm, was etched with intricate patterns, and the route for the energy flow within was something it had never heard of before. To engrave a magic array on such a small plate to produce effects was definitely an extraordinary feat.

After it had examined all three array plates, it quickly realized that it had made a mistake. It hadn't asked the Shrek squad about the methods of using the array plates and their origins.

It was very confident in itself. The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast was reputed to be one of the smartest among the Monsters, and it had great confidence in its divine consciousness and knowledge, considering itself worldly and well-informed. It believed that as long as the array plates were in its hands and given a cursory examination, it could unravel their mysteries.

But now, it understood that it had overestimated itself. Not asking was a grave mistake. The intricacy of the formations on the array plates far surpassed any magic array it had seen before, and it couldn't even identify the material of the array plates themselves, which should be a specially forged alloy. As for the exact materials, it couldn't say.

It tried to activate the array plates with its divine consciousness but had no effect. Clearly, this wasn't something that could be figured out in a short time. No wonder the young man handed them over so readily, as if he was laying a trap waiting for him.

After the Shrek squad left the Grand Animal Fighting Arena, they quickly blended into the crowd and disappeared from sight.