"Mr. Bai Ye, we need to report back. If there's anything, feel free to find me."
Kamado Tanjiro bowed politely to Bai Ye, then left with Inosuke and Agatsuma Zenitsu.
Bai Ye, on the other hand, began to wander alone in the ancient town.
Currently, the ancient town didn't seem to have many people, with only sparse figures on the streets.
However, this was not representative, as it was already late at night. Most people in the world were accustomed to being active during the day and sleeping at night.
This was also why Bai Ye was unwilling to consume demon blood and turn himself into a demon.
Indeed, there were conveniences to being active at night, but there were also many inconveniences.
Most importantly, when necessary, Bai Ye could be active at night, but after becoming a demon, he would be unable to be active during the day when necessary.
After a brief stroll, Bai Ye found the summoned ones' market in the neutral zone.
It was naturally deserted in the middle of the night, not a soul in sight.
Bai Ye merely confirmed the market's location and then found an inn to sleep.
As for money, Kamado Tanjiro had given Bai Ye some when he left.
The Japanese-style inn had an open courtyard, with wind chimes hanging by the window and a small bridge over flowing water within the yard, giving it a unique charm.
It was just that the snoring sounds that occasionally echoed in the room were truly disruptive.
The night passed without incident!
The next morning, Bai Ye was woken by a cacophony of noise.
Blinking his eyes groggily, Bai Ye leaned against the window, pulled it open, and looked outside. He then saw the deserted streets from the previous night now bustling with activity, with crowds of people coming and going as far as the eye could see.
Bai Ye was not too surprised by this scene.
The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was a very popular neutral zone.
The reason was similar to that of the Great Wall.
The Great Wall could accept a large number of missions, hunt bandits, barbarians, and demon seeds, allowing them to venture into dangerous areas to search for treasures and accumulate merit to enhance their strength through these missions.
The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was the same; a large number of missions were also released here.
However, the targets of hunting had changed from bandits, barbarians, and demon seeds to...
Demons!
Killing demons also earned merit, and one could receive rewards from the Demon Slayer Corps, or even directly join the Demon Slayer Corps and become a demon slayer.
In addition, the tier of this area was clearly lower than that of the Great Wall.
The Great Wall had not yet activated any forbidden zones because everyone's skill level was not high enough to trigger them.
However, this area was different; forbidden zones had already been activated, and Mount Natagumo was right there. Therefore, it was naturally more favored by the summoned ones.
If the Great Wall was considered a high-level map, and everyone pouring into it was preparing for the future, then the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was a normal map that could cater to most summoned ones, and it was very suitable for exploration at the moment.
After watching for a while by the window, Bai Ye stretched and then got up to leave the inn.
To seek transactions, one naturally had to go to the summoned ones' market.
As a result, upon entering the market, Bai Ye couldn't help but be astonished.
Compared to the deserted scene in the middle of the night, where not a soul was to be seen, the market at the moment could be described as a sea of people.
Various stalls, various standing signs.
In fact, market order had already been established, and even transaction categories had been divided into zones.
Upon entering the market, the area near the entrance was filled with stalls, mostly selling small items. Further inside, small bidding auctions had formed.
Bartering was the primary method of transaction, but the items here were better, and many people wanted them, so they could bid, and the seller would ultimately decide with whom to trade.
There were even two methods: open bidding and blind bidding. In open bidding, people competed. In blind bidding, the seller did not want people to know what they had received, so everyone wrote their offers on paper, and the seller ultimately decided on the trading partner.
Further inside the area, there were many standing signs.
This was no longer a place for trading items.
It was mainly for acquisitions and recruitment.
Acquisitions were easy to understand, but recruitment was more complex. The most common example was when Jin Sha asked Bai Ye to play death football last time.
If no one approached, then one could recruit people in the market through this method.
Usually, the rewards were calculated per person, with no room for conflict or dispute.
Thus, they could cooperate with each other.
To put it bluntly, there was a natural relationship of killing among the summoned ones, but as long as there were benefits, and the benefits did not conflict, cooperation was not impossible.
Bai Ye browsed slowly, not in a hurry to make a transaction, and then...
Bai Ye suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed ahead.
The Evil Spirit Group!
"The Evil Spirit Group..." Bai Ye murmured, "Has the Evil Spirit Group started to be established?"
Bai Ye's thoughts drifted.
After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Bai Ye had some new ideas.
Originally, the unlucky gacha machine had thrown Bai Ye back to the beginning of the World Battlefield's opening. For Bai Ye, after accepting this fact, the only thought in his mind was to become stronger!
To continuously become stronger, to quickly become stronger, and to once again stand as one of the top summoned ones.
And then...
It would be nothing but killing!
To await the arrival of the final battle, so that he could still break through the encirclement, enter the central area, ascend that tower, and see who was standing behind the World Battlefield.
However, the sudden appearance of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit gave Bai Ye some other thoughts.
Ten years!
A full ten years!
In his previous life, Bai Ye had struggled desperately in this damned place for ten years!
Would he still have to stay in this place for ten years in this life?
Bai Ye was unwilling!
Perhaps...
He could give it a push from behind and accelerate the progress of the World Battlefield?
The thought uncontrollably appeared in Bai Ye's mind.
Bai Ye knew the development history of the World Battlefield very well. Knowing this, could he artificially interfere and speed up the process?
Bai Ye really did not want to stay in this damned place for another ten years!
Sometimes, some ideas were just flashes of inspiration.
But once a flash of inspiration appeared, it was difficult to suppress it.
Bai Ye knew that it was very difficult to push the progress of the World Battlefield with his own strength, but it was only difficult, not impossible.
Since that was the case, why not try?
Bai Ye looked at the standing sign of the Evil Spirit Group and fell into deep thought.
First, he needed to confirm one thing: was the progress of the World Battlefield driven by a certain event? Or by regional exploration? Or by a certain person? Or, more accurately, by a certain master?
No, no, no...
Bai Ye knew very well that this was wrong.
The progress of the World Battlefield was like a book, but this book could not be opened by just anyone!