"Mr. Bai Ye, we need to report back. If there's anything, feel free to find me."
Kamado Tanjiro bowed respectfully to Bai Ye, then left with Inosuke and Agatsuma Zenitsu.
Bai Ye, on his own, began to wander through the ancient town.
Currently, the ancient town didn't seem to have many people. Only sparse figures could be seen on the streets.
However, this was not very 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, being active at night had its conveniences, but it also had many inconveniences.
Most importantly, when necessary, Bai Ye could be active at night, but after becoming a demon, he could not 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 to be seen.
Bai Ye merely confirmed the market's location and then found an inn to sleep in.
As for money, Kamado Tanjiro had given Bai Ye some before he left.
The Japanese-style inn had an open courtyard, a wind chime hanging by the window, and a small bridge with flowing water within the yard, possessing a unique charm.
It was just that the occasional snoring sounds from within the room truly disrupted the atmosphere.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Bai Ye was awakened by a cacophony of noise.
Blinking his eyes open groggily, Bai Ye leaned by the window, opened it, and looked outside. He immediately saw that the street, which had been deserted last night, was now bustling with activity, filled with crowds coming and going.
Bai Ye was not too surprised by this scene.
The headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps 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, hunting bandits, barbarians, and demon beasts. It allowed one to venture into dangerous areas to search for treasures and accumulate merit through these missions to enhance one's strength.
The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was similar; a large number of missions were posted here as well.
However, the targets of the hunt had changed from bandits, barbarians, and demon beasts to…
Demons!
Killing demons also yielded merit, and one could receive rewards from the Demon Slayer Corps, or even directly join the Demon Slayer Corps and become a Demon Slayer.
Furthermore, the caliber of this area was clearly lower than that of the Great Wall.
No forbidden zones had been activated in the Great Wall area yet, as the participants' standards were 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 people flooded into it to prepare for the future, then the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was a normal map that could currently cater to most Summoned Ones, making it ideal for exploration.
After watching by the window for a while, Bai Ye stretched, then got up and left the inn.
To seek trades, one naturally had to go to the Summoned Ones' market.
Upon entering the market, Bai Ye could not help but be taken aback.
Compared to the deserted emptiness of midnight, where not even a ghost could be seen, the market now could be described as a sea of people.
There were all sorts of stalls and display stands.
In fact, order had already been established in the market, with different categories of transactions clearly demarcated into zones.
Upon entering the market, the area near the entrance was filled with stalls, mostly selling small items. Moving inward, smaller bidding auctions had formed.
Bartering was the primary mode of transaction, but the items here were relatively good, and there were many interested parties. People could then make offers, and the seller would ultimately decide with whom to trade.
It was divided into open bidding and blind bidding. In open bidding, people competed. In blind bidding, the seller did not want others to know what they had received, so people wrote their offers on paper, and the seller would ultimately decide the trading partner.
Further inside the area were many display stands.
This was no longer a place for trading items.
It was mainly for acquisitions and recruitment.
Acquisitions were easy to understand. Recruitment was more complex, with the most common example being Jin Sha's request for Bai Ye to play death football last time.
If no one approached, one could recruit people in the market through this method.
Usually, the rewards were calculated per person, without any room for conflict or dispute.
Thus, they could cooperate with each other.
To put it bluntly, there was a natural relationship of conflict among the Summoned Ones, but as long as there were benefits, and those benefits did not clash, cooperation was not impossible.
Bai Ye strolled slowly, not in a hurry to make any transactions, and then…
Bai Ye suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed ahead.
The Evil Spirit Group!
"Evil Spirit Group…" Bai Ye murmured. "Has the Evil Spirit Group begun to establish itself?"
Bai Ye's thoughts drifted.
After obtaining the Goro Goro no Mi, Bai Ye developed some new ideas.
Originally, the unlucky gacha machine had thrown Bai Ye back to the very beginning of the World Battlefield's opening. After accepting this fact, Bai Ye's only thought was: get stronger!
Continuously grow stronger, rapidly become stronger, and once again stand among the top Summoned Ones.
Then…
It would inevitably be a battle of survival!
To await the final grand battle, allowing himself to still break through the encirclement, enter the central area, and ascend that tower, to see who was truly standing behind the World Battlefield.
However, the sudden appearance of the Goro Goro no Mi gave Bai Ye some new thoughts.
Ten years!
A full ten years!
In his previous life, Bai Ye had struggled in this damned place for ten years!
Would he have to spend another ten years in this place in this life?
Bai Ye was unwilling!
Perhaps…
He could give it a push from behind and accelerate the progress of the World Battlefield?
Such a thought uncontrollably arose in Bai Ye's mind.
Bai Ye knew the development trajectory of the World Battlefield very well. With this knowledge, could he artificially interfere and speed up the process?
Bai Ye truly did not want to spend another decade in this accursed place!
Sometimes, an idea was just a flash of inspiration.
But once a flash of inspiration appeared, it was very difficult to suppress it.
Bai Ye knew that it was extremely difficult to push the World Battlefield's progress with his own strength, but it was only difficult, not impossible.
Since that was the case, why not try?
Bai Ye looked at the display stand of the Evil Spirit Group, lost in deep thought.
First, he needed to determine one thing: was the progress of the World Battlefield driven by a specific event? Or by the exploration of regions? Or by a certain person? Or, more accurately, by a certain expert?
No, no, no…
Bai Ye knew that this was incorrect.
The trajectory of the World Battlefield was like a book, but this book could not be opened by any single person!