After Allen's repeated insistence, Evelyn finally accepted the Godfall Battlefield pass token.

  "I will still wait until you finish the resource battle before making any plans. If you lose three days from now, this token will have to be handed over to Leah."

  Her tone carried some unease, worried not only that Allen might lose the token but also that he might be injured during the duel.

  Seeing Evelyn like this, Allen could not help but smile.

  For ordinary mages in this world, resources and opportunities often mattered more than life itself. They spent their entire lives chasing stronger mana and more powerful spells.

  Allen naturally found it hard to empathize with Evelyn's sense of urgency in clinging to every opportunity.

  "Don't worry. I will not lose."

  He thought to himself that once this matter was settled, he might ask some of those under the Demon Tribe to help him acquire a few more Godfall Battlefield pass tokens.

  As the Demon King, reallocating such resources was effortless for him and could be a small gesture for Evelyn.

  These days, Allen had been studying the Holy Light Mana Guidance Record given to him by Augustine.

  To his surprise and relief, he could smoothly channel magic while practicing with this Holy Light Mana Guidance Record, though each time he activated it, the force of the energy far exceeded that of an ordinary mage.

  His body seemed like a bottomless vessel for mana. No matter how much free mana he absorbed, it was impossible to fill. Even in the areas of the academy with the densest mana, he could barely maintain stable circulation.

  This forced Allen to frequently venture outside to the forests on the outskirts of the academy, places rarely visited by humans.

  Residual magical fluctuations remained there, and the mana concentration was several times higher than in the academy, ideal for his massive absorption.

  After two consecutive days, he steadily advanced from First-tier Intermediate Mage to Sixth-tier.

  Yet his Sixth-tier Intermediate Mage was on a completely different level from other mages at the same tier.

  Over these days, he had specifically asked Evelyn and roughly measured the mana reserves of academy mages, eventually arriving at an astonishing conclusion.

  The total mana he needed to reach Sixth-tier Intermediate Mage was a hundred times more than what Evelyn had required to reach Sixth-tier.

  Allen felt that this level was already more than enough. Though his rank was Sixth-tier Intermediate Mage, his terrifying mana reserves gave him actual combat power far beyond a Ninth-tier Intermediate Mage, making him fully capable of handling Leah.

  Thus, on the last day before the duel, Allen stopped his magical studies and wandered alone to a nearby town to relax.

  Velo Town lay southeast of the Radiant Magic Academy, the closest settlement to the academy.

  The town was full of magic supply shops and mercenary inns, frequented mostly by academy apprentices and mercenaries.

  At this moment, in a private room on the second floor of a tavern in the town center, a middle-aged man with a dark expression held a cup of warm ale and stared heavily out at the street.

  He wore a black cloak, the hood hiding most of his face, and he toyed with a magic crystal stained with dark red blood at his fingertips.

  As he looked toward the street, a figure at the far end caught his attention.

  The middle-aged man suddenly sat up straight. He examined Allen's figure repeatedly, then looked down to check the bloodstains on the crystal.

  The blood immediately emitted a faint red glow, forming an arrow shape on the crystal that pointed directly toward Allen at the end of the street.

  He stared at the figure and murmured under his breath,"Why lie to me? You said you were going into seclusion, so why are you in this human town?"

  Confusion laced his tone as his fingertips traced over the magic crystal in his palm.

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  As a general under the Demon King, he had never been able to fully understand the Demon King's thoughts.

  Keller let out a soft sigh and withdrew his hand. The bloodstain dissolved into the magic in his palm and disappeared without a trace.

  At that moment, a knock came from outside the room.

  "Enter!" Keller replied coldly.

  An elderly man in a gray robe with a gaunt face respectfully pushed the door open. He bent low at the waist, showing utmost humility.

  "I pay my respects, Lord Keller. I am the Night Demon responsible for monitoring the Radiant Magic Academy. My name is Morgan. May I ask what instructions you have for me?"

  Morgan lowered his gaze, not daring to meet Keller's eyes.

  Keller did not look at him but simply waved his hand, indicating that he should sit in the chair opposite.

  Morgan sat down and followed Keller's gaze toward the window. When he saw the figure walking slowly along the street, he froze and instinctively said,

  "His name is Allen. Are you interested in this student?"

  At these words, Keller finally turned his head slowly, a trace of amusement in his eyes."Oh, you know him?"

  Morgan quickly nodded, his tone tinged with pride."Of course I know him.

  This boy recently climbed the Holy Demon Prison Tower, and for some reason, he can even resist the Shadow Domain talent of our Night Demons.

  Currently, our agent Leah inside the academy is preparing to engage him in a resource battle to test his true abilities.

  If he truly possesses the power to counter us Night Demons, we must eliminate him early."

  Keller listened and nodded slowly, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips."Not bad. Your Night Demon Tribe is brave."

  Hearing this praise, Morgan's face lit up, and he rose, bowing with excitement.

  "Thank you for your compliment, Lord Keller! This is simply our duty as Night Demons."

  Keller chuckled lightly, but the next words struck Morgan like a thunderclap. His face instantly drained of color, and his legs weakened as if he were about to collapse.

  "You have really made progress. In all these years, this is the first time I have heard of someone in our Demon Tribe boldly challenging the Demon King.

  Even if the human and elven races were united, they would think twice before facing the Demon King, yet you dare so boldly."

  Morgan's whole body trembled uncontrollably. In the Demon Tribe, the title Demon King belonged solely to the one ruler of the entire tribe, whose power was unfathomable.

  "He is the Demon King?" Morgan stammered, terror lacing his voice."You… you are not joking with me, are you?"

  Keller said nothing, only shaking his head with a faint smile.

  It was not until Allen wandered down to the tavern and paused to inspect a street stall selling magic potions that Keller rose and approached the window. He opened it and waved to the street below.

  Hearing the sound, Allen looked up. When he saw the familiar face at the window, he froze instantly.

  Was that not Keller, the one who had followed him and served him back at the Demon Tribe castle? How could he appear here?

  Allen's heart skipped a beat, and a flicker of caution passed through his eyes. He feared that Keller's presence might reveal his true identity.

  Allen felt a surge of panic in his heart. This was bad. He had finally managed to get free from trivial matters and was disguised as a human apprentice, secretly infiltrating the Radiant Magic Academy, so how had his subordinates tracked him down?

  He sighed helplessly, forcing down the rising anxiety, and turned to walk up to the second floor of the tavern.

  When he pushed open the private room door, he saw Morgan already trembling on the ground, forehead pressed to the floor.

  "Master of the Abyss, may your might…"

  Allen reacted swiftly, rushing forward to lift him up and forcefully seat him, lowering his voice urgently.

  "Stop shouting! I am disguised as a human apprentice here. My identity must not be revealed!"

  Morgan was pressed back into the chair, his back drenched in cold sweat. His hands gripped his robe tightly, afraid even to take a breath.

  This was the Demon King, ruler of the entire Demon Tribe. For someone under him to dare challenge the Demon King was practically a suicide mission.

  Allen ignored the trembling Morgan and turned to Keller."How did you find me? You weren't following me all this time, were you?"

  Keller looked at him calmly."You left a trace of your essence blood in the castle. You specifically instructed that if you went out, we could sense your location using that essence, so we could remain on standby at all times."

  Allen groaned inwardly. So all his efforts at disguise over the past few days had been for nothing. The moment he left the castle, his subordinates had tracked him with perfect precision.

  He resolved silently that once this matter was over, he would have to return to the castle and completely destroy that strand of essence blood, otherwise he could never rest while undercover.

  For the moment, Allen forced out an awkward smile to smooth things over."Oh, I see. Just playing a little joke on you."

  "Actually, I had some new insights and needed to experience the mundane world to refine my mind. That is why I came to this human academy disguised as a student."

  He deliberately changed the subject and turned to Morgan."And this is?"

  Morgan's body trembled even more violently as the Demon King looked at him. His lips moved, but he could not utter a full sentence, his eyes filled with fear and panic.

  Seeing this, Keller quickly stepped forward to explain."This is Morgan, leader of the Night Demon Tribe."

  "Their tribe specializes in stealth and infiltration, and they have already sent people to infiltrate the Radiant Magic Academy to gather intelligence."

  "I came to find him this time intending to introduce him to you, so you could make use of him in your affairs within the academy."

  "But just now, I learned from Morgan that their Night Demons were busy arranging for infiltrators to initiate a resource battle against you to probe your abilities."

  Allen was left completely confused, while Morgan was terrified beyond measure.

  He knelt to the ground again, bowing repeatedly."Demon King! Your subordinate truly did not know! I had no idea that was your disguise!"

  "I will immediately send a message to Leah to cancel the resource battle!"

  His forehead was red from repeatedly striking the floor, his voice choked with emotion."Demon King, please be magnanimous and do not act like a junior. I am willing to personally bring her to apologize!"