CHAPTER 318: THE SMARTEST RAT IN THE PIT

The girls sat up straight as they heard the next part.

Savra blinked. "So the final trial was a death match?"

"Did you win?" Velra asked, leaning in.

Zain smiled a little. "Not really."

Zelia frowned. "What do you mean, not really?"

Zain leaned back and looked at the ceiling.

"The trial didn’t say I had to win. It only said ten would survive. That was the real test."

Savra crossed her arms. "So what did you do?"

"I waited," Zain said with a smirk. "I just sat on the edge of the pit and watched them kill each other."

All three girls stared at him.

"You didn’t fight?" Zelia asked.

Zain shrugged. "Not until I had to."

"Tell us the full story," Velra said.

Zain nodded. "Alright, listen up."

---

The twenty children stood still at first.

No one moved after the guard left.

Then the loudspeaker above the pit crackled again.

"MOVE! Or you all DIE!"

That was when it began.

One of the older boys let out a scream and rushed at another with a broken blade.

The others followed. They used anything they could get on.

Small rocks, wooden sticks, short knives, and even metal shards.

Mo Tianheng stayed near the wall, watching carefully.

Then he saw something that surprised him, a long sword.

It gleamed even in the low light.

"Someone got lucky," he whispered.

It seemed some of the small cave rooms had better gear.

Mo Tianheng had only gotten a small dagger and an old manual.

He saw a boy holding the sword rush into another kid and slice down with shocking speed.

Tianheng narrowed his eyes. That boy had cultivated the Demonic Body Art.

Another boy nearby used a burst of dark mist. Demonic Qi.

Tianheng gritted his teeth. Some of them had already mastered both arts.

And they were all going wild.

Bodies started falling fast.

Screams echoed inside the pit.

Dust and blood filled the air.

Tianheng crouched lower, trying to stay unnoticed.

He wasn’t the strongest. Not yet.

But then a boy noticed him.

He ran straight toward Tianheng, eyes wide, holding a sharpened piece of bone.

Tianheng moved quickly, ducking under the swing and stabbing his blade forward.

It hit the neck.

The boy gasped and collapsed.

Tianheng pulled back, shaking slightly.

His first kill.

He didn’t enjoy it, but he knew it was needed.

High above, the guards watched from behind a stone window.

One of them laughed loudly. "Look at them go! Like rats in a barrel."

Another guard nodded. "This batch is crazy. Four down already!"

"Place your bets!" one shouted, holding up a small scroll.

"I got ten on that tall one with the sword!"

"You always bet on the ones with swords," another said.

"Because they live longer, idiot!"

More laughter.

Back below, Tianheng wiped the blood from his blade and moved to a corner, away from the main fight.

He crouched there, staying low, breathing slowly.

He watched.

Waited.

One by one, the others died.

Some screamed. Some fought in silence. Some begged.

Tianheng didn’t move until only twelve were left.

Then one boy spotted him again.

"YOU! Still hiding?!" the boy yelled.

He rushed at Tianheng.

This time, Tianheng didn’t back away.

He focused, letting Demonic Qi flow into his legs and arms.

He stepped forward and deflected the attack.

Then he twisted, slashing across the boy’s ribs.

Blood sprayed.

The boy fell, clutching his side.

Eleven left.

The last few survivors now noticed him.

They had seen he was still alive, still standing.

They moved slowly now, worn from the fight.

One of them took a step toward Tianheng.

But then another boy stabbed him from behind.

Down to ten.

Then, without warning, a loud horn blew from above.

BOOOOOM.

The remaining children froze.

The heavy gate at the top began to open.

The same guard from before looked down at them.

"Well, well! Looks like we’ve got our final ten!"

He clapped.

"Congratulations, survivors! You made it!"

No one said anything. They were too tired.

Too broken.

Too numb.

The guard grinned. "Come on up. Your training begins now."

---

Zain took a deep breath as he finished.

He looked at the girls.

"That was how it started."

Savra blinked. "So you didn’t win by strength..."

"You won by not dying," Velra added.

Zelia nodded. "And by being smart."

Zain smirked. "Exactly."

Velra reached for another snack. "Alright, Demon Lord. Keep going. What happened after that?"

Zain smiled. "That... was when the real nightmare began."

---

The ten surviving children were taken out of the pit.

They didn’t get rest. They didn’t even get time to clean up.

Guards dragged them straight to another place, an underground hall with black walls and burning torches.

There, ten people stood waiting.

Each one looked terrifying.

Their eyes were cold, and their bodies were full of scars.

Their presence made it hard to breathe.

One of the instructors stepped forward. His voice was deep.

"You are the final ten. That means you get to train in the Heavenly Demon Art."

The children looked at each other. None of them spoke.

Mo Tianheng frowned. Heavenly Demon Art? He had never heard of it before.

Another instructor added, "This art is the strongest in the Demonic Sect."

"It combines body and qi cultivation. It turns you into a true demon."

One of the kids raised a hand. "Is... is it dangerous?"

The instructor laughed. "Of course. If you fail, you die."

The children stiffened.

"Then why teach us this?" another child asked.

"Because this is your trial," the first instructor said.

"Only those who survive this training can become something great."

Tianheng whispered to himself, "So this is the real test..."

Another instructor spoke. "Even our Sect Master didn’t master this."

"He took the second-best, the Supreme Demonic Art. It’s weaker, but safer."

They let that sink in.

"You want to live?" the instructor barked. "Then survive this training. If not, then die like trash."

And so, the brutal training began.

From the first day, the children were pushed beyond their limits.

Their bones cracked. Their muscles tore. Blood was spilled every session.

If someone passed out, they were kicked awake.

If someone screamed, they were hit harder.

Torture became a normal thing.

The guards and instructors didn’t care.

"Train or die," they said every day.

And so, they trained because they had no other choice.