Chapter 2731: Chapter 2732: Malice Abounds
"What, do you have a problem with what I said?" Seeing that Dox hadnât spoken for a long time, Angel asked.
Dox looked up at Angel, exhaled deeply, and remained silent.
His eyes were complex, with various emotions swirling, so much so that even Angelâs hyper perception could hardly discern Doxâs exact emotions.
Dejection and suspicion, excitement and distraction, helplessness and amazement, sorrow and anticipation.
These opposing and intense emotions flickered in and out of existence like bubbles in a short span of time.
Angel couldnât accurately gauge Doxâs mood, and even Dox himself didnât know how to describe his current feelings.
It was as if there were two "selves," tugging at each other. Which one was the true self, and which was the real self? Dox only felt his mind was in chaos.
His thoughts were like a small boat drifting in the sea, at times pushed to the deep sea, and at times pushed to the shallow.
After a long silence, Dox finally murmured, "...no problem."
Angel: "If thereâs no problem, then thatâs good. You keep this one-time spatial capsule for now, consider it a benefit Iâm giving you in advance. Of course, it also contains your portion of the labor fee."
Angelâs words subtly hinted that for the foreseeable future, Dox would be working for him. Otherwise, there wouldnât be any talk of benefits.
Dox didnât say anything but did put away the spatial capsule as Angel had suggested.
Whether Dox understood or not, at this moment, he opted to give up struggling.
Angel didnât say anything further, instead, he looked towards the Sunlight Sanctuary, where Grey Merchant and his followers were gradually emerging.
Undoubtedly, even if they tried hard to keep their expressions in check, the joyful aura around them was hard to conceal. From Grey Merchant to the apprentices, they all carried a sense of relief and joy.
The Sunlight Sanctuary had brought them massive change. Usually, such internal amplifications are hard to feel unless the amplification reaches its ultimate limit. But the Sunlight Sanctuary achieved this; even the apprentices could sense the monumental changes in their Spirit Sea, changes positive enough to influence a lifetime.
With such an opportunity, how could they not be happy?
As for the virago, she was severely injured and needed time to heal, so she hadnât yet emerged from the Sunlight Sanctuary. However, judging by her blissful expression, and the rapid healing and restoration of her withered body, it was clear she had no dissatisfaction with the sanctuary.
"Since both participants are in place, the second duel is about to begin." At this moment, the voice of the Wise Sovereign came from above.
The virago had already been eliminated, so even if she was still in the Sunlight Sanctuary, it didnât matter. Grey Merchantâs side would definitely have Grey Merchant himself in the second duel.
As long as Grey Merchant was present, nothing else mattered.
Upon hearing the refereeâs voice, Grey Merchant calmed his excited emotions, temporarily setting aside the positive changes the Sunlight Sanctuary brought to his body, and walked step by step towards the center of the arena.
With Grey Merchantâs entrance, naturally, it was time for someone from Angelâs side to enter.
Grey Merchant was curious as to who would show upâDox? Dox was currently unscathed, but he was naturally restrained by Grey Merchant. Unless there was another trump card similar to the Sunlight Sanctuary, Doxâs likelihood of entering was low.
Excluding Dox, the only other one who seemed capable of entering was the mysterious red-haired, golden-eyed Wizard.
No, perhaps that stone-nosed person could also enter. If that nose indeed came from the family Grey Merchant suspected, the duel would be challenging.
While Grey Merchant speculated, he was unaware that his opponent had already been determined.
According to "her" request, Angel had to enter the match no matter what. Since Dox battled the virago, Angel had to go this time.
Regarding Angelâs participation, aside from Vay and Kaierâs encouragement through the Mind Ribbon, neither the Black Earl nor Dox had much of a reaction.
Dox at least said, "Try to defeat him before he activates his bloodline."
The Black Earl, however, made no comment. In the Black Earlâs view, since Angel could even produce the Sunlight Sanctuary for Dox, he surely had other trump cards?
Earl Mi alone was a force the Black Earl couldnât quickly overcome personally, and if Earl Mi cooperated with Angel, even the Black Earl himself would have to retreat.
Therefore, there was nothing to worry about.
Victory was assured; it was just a matter of which trump card Angel would show "her," lurking in the shadows.
Angel indeed felt no pressure. Before stepping into the match, his only words werenât about the duel but a self-directed murmurâ
"Following oneâs heart isnât a bad thing, and freedom isnât limited to a single definition. Constraint is a cocoon. Within the perceived confinement, it is protected, growing safely. When it finally breaks free, thinking it will soon embrace anticipated freedom, in reality, it may face a storm."
"Thus, you choose to stay within a tree hollow that shields from the storm, even in its narrow confines, feeling free."
"But in truth, itâs merely a leap from one cocoon to another Ivory Tower."
"With only one aperture to view the outside skyâthis is the Ivory Towerâs perspective. Like a frog at the bottom of a well, the sky it sees is only as wide as the wellâs opening."
Angel seemed to be speaking to himself, but everyone understood who his words were intended for.
Previously, Angel had said similar things, but they were merely his opinions without analysis. Now, having noticed Doxâs distracted expression, he elaborated further.
To the Black Earl, Angelâs words contained deviations and were somewhat naive.
But he wasnât wrong in asserting that simply looking up at the sky from the bottom of the well would never reveal true freedom.
Ignoring existing classes or predetermined perspectives, in a completely new framework, everything seen is different, including oneâs understanding of freedom. Thus, Doxâs blind pursuit of so-called freedom had led him astray.
Angel didnât care if Dox was listening. After speaking, he stretched lazily and headed to the arena.
At any rate, he didnât name anyone specifically, so Dox could completely ignore those words... However, if Dox truly did, Angel would choose to give Dox the freedom he desired. As for any price, in Doxâs world of freedom, there would certainly come a day for settlement.
Angel stepped onto the arena, walking steadily towards the center.
He didnât take large strides, but every step was firm, quietly activating his hyper perception.
His focus wasnât on Grey Merchantâs emotions but on sensing "her" in the shadows.
Since she specifically named him to enter, she would undoubtedly watch from the shadows once he appeared.
As long as she cast her gaze upon him, and as long as her presence remained within the underground aqueduct range, even through an other-dimensional space, Angel believed he could detect her location.
Angelâs slow steps attracted many gazes, from Grey Merchantâs side and from people like Dox. The emotions wrapped within each gaze were different.
Through Hyper Perception, Angel could vaguely sense their emotions at this moment, even deciphering their general thoughts.
However, Angel didnât have enough computing power to read everyoneâs thoughts. He simply categorized all perceived emotions into three major types: benevolence, indifference, and malice.
Basically, the emotions of Dox and others towards him were benevolent. As for the people on the opposite side like the Grey Merchant, apart from the Grey Merchant showing slight benevolence, the others were generally indifferent, holding neither benevolent nor strong malicious intent.
As for malice... it was originally what Angel was most concerned about. In his mind, "she" would certainly harbor malice towards him, so if he could trace the source of the malice, he might locate her traces.
However, Angel didnât consider things thoroughly.
The "malice" he perceived on the arena exceeded the total of all benevolent and indifferent feelings combined.
And all this malice came from the Void Magical Creatures. They were howling, roaring, staring greedily at everyone on the arena, drooling.
So much malice left Angel momentarily bewildered.
He thought malice would be the least, so if there was any, it would be the most obvious. But unexpectedly, his Hyper Perception encompassed even the malice from these creatures.
This was quite beyond his expectations.
As Angel walked forward, he contemplated his strategy.
Undoubtedly, the malice from these Void Magical Creatures was a chaotic evil. Most of them lacked intelligence, driven only by instincts for slaughter and devouring.
"She" might want him to take the stage possibly for the purpose of observation, but would it lead to murderous intent?
This was uncertain.
But "she" shouldnât want to devour him, right?
He hadnât heard the Wise Sovereign say that she was a cannibal.
Thinking of this, Angel filtered out all malice associated with devouring, viewing him as a snack and food.
After filtering out this portion of malice, the malice from the void instantly decreased by seventy to eighty percent, leaving primarily pure murderous intent.
They may consider humans too small, not even a mouthful, so instead of devouring, they preferred to follow the rules set by the original master, killing anyone who left the arena.
Angel pondered for a moment and decided to filter out another batch of malice, this time choosing "extreme malice."
"She" might have malice or murderous thoughts toward him, but Angel believed he wasnât on her must-kill list yet; he was in the malice area but not the extreme section.
Therefore, Angel filtered out extreme malice.
With this filtering, the malice from the void diminished further, leaving just under a hundred. A cursory glance could almost pinpoint the sources.
The less intense malice was mostly from smaller magical creatures; they werenât the main force of slaughter, so their murderous intent wasnât as strong.
Notably, one whale-shaped magical creature with horns on its head, massive even among void creatures, had very faint malice, almost none, yet externally behaved much like the others, incredibly excited, howling and roaring, looking utterly ravenous.
If not for its drooping eyelids now and then, looking as if it would fall asleep any moment, Angel would have found it hard to differentiate it from other extremely malicious creatures.
"Itâs still quite the actor..." Angel mused inwardly.
Not only talented in acting but also well-versed in the art of hiding oneâs strengths. Undoubtedly, this whale-shaped magical creature had awakened Spirit Intelligence; otherwise, it wouldnât have such contrasting emotions.
Angel sighed internally and shifted his gaze away.
Although malice still lingered thickly, he had memorized these sources of malice, with nothing unusual except that acting emperor.
Perhaps... she hadnât set her sights on him yet?
As Angel pondered, he had already reached the center of the arena.
Perhaps because Angelâs expression was so solemn, appearing very "respectful to his opponent," even though he moved slowly, causing some impatience, no one mentioned it.
When Angel stood still, the Grey Merchant very gentlemanly gave a nod of acknowledgment first and gave a brief self-introduction. He didnât mention his real name, using the alias Grey Merchant instead.
One could call it polite or cunning.
For even though the Grey Merchantâs self-introduction concealed some truths, the information was essentially genuine. If Angel were to reciprocate, he would likely do the same kind of introduction.
Thus, even if Angel only mentioned his alias, the other side could deduce his identity. And this was the Grey Merchantâs aim.
Of course, Angel could choose not to respond, and the Grey Merchant wouldnât mind.
However, Angel did reciprocate. Yet, as he introduced himself, the shadow on the ground started to churn incessantly until a humanoid black shadow crawled out from the ground, clinging onto Angelâs body, halting all the abnormalities.
As the dark shadow adhered, Angelâs appearance transformed dramatically. He became almost a size larger, though the enlargement was not of his real body but of ghostly shadows resembling black flames.
Covered in these shadows, Angelâs features became indistinguishable, leaving only those eerie green eyes visible.
Besides that, the most eye-catching aspect of the shadow was the faintly glowing "Blue Lantern Flower" atop his head, swaying gently with the breeze, occasionally releasing small bubbles.
And after the "transformation," Angel, using a hoarse, deep voice, introduced himself: "... Earl Mi."
No matter the Grey Merchantâs reaction, Dox and others were dumbfounded.
Unexpectedly, Angel used this method to introduce himself, claiming to be Earl Mi via Earl Miâs possession, which somehow... wasnât wrong?
The self-introduction was merely a minor episode; what truly surprised them was Angel immediately unveiling Earl Mi... Did this mean Angel had a trump card more powerful than Earl Mi?
While everyone speculated, the Grey Merchant gazed at his opponent in confusion.
Earl Mi? Was that his name?
Or was this another alias?
The Grey Merchant searched all his memory but found no similar name. However, soon the nameâs authenticity became insignificant to him.
For his opponent had now expanded into a three-meter-tall Shadow Giant.
If it were merely the shadow expanding, it wouldnât be an issue, but as it grew, his opponentâs aura became increasingly profound, even... vastly surpassing the Grey Merchantâs understanding!
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