The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　This time, he went straight to Kazel, and after sharing the information he had obtained, he and Ergany helped the professor organize the materials for the ritual.

　The academy had plenty of supplies, and the allotted time was also ample, so none of the three were in a hurry.

　Around 2:30 PM, they had gathered all the necessary materials and directed the magical elves to move them into the secret passage.

　During the transport, concealment measures were naturally used.

　However, it's currently the peak of the Easter Duel Festival, and there's nobody in the castle.

　Even Archbishop Caleb Norris, accompanied by Professor Hoddle Bode, watched the students duel in the open-air dueling arena.

　Surprisingly, Archbishop Caleb Norris was watching quite intently! This was because Evan Pearson, the "Holy Child" who had barely woken up this morning, was also participating in the Easter Duel Festival as a special guest, and had even successfully advanced from the lower grades. He was currently on stage, fiercely battling against first, second, and third-year students from St. Mary's Academy.

　Among the third-year students this year, only Mary Bond and a few other students are relatively strong. With the loss of Dark, Witt, Justin, Diana, and Rose among the second-year students, it has become entirely Sarah and Emma's domain, with Heidi added to the mix.

　There are quite a few impressive first-year students, but they are still a bit lacking in experience. They can barely advance, and it's just a minor achievement.

　Under these circumstances, Evan Pearson demonstrated absolute dominance as soon as he took the stage.

　It seems that he is not far from winning the championship.

　The dueling arena was buzzing with excitement, while the castle remained calm. The two worlds were no longer the same.

　Before entering the secret passage, Dark sent a message to Diana, Rose, and Aurora.

　The three girls quickly got up and tidied themselves before rushing to the entrance of the secret passage.

　Even Eve had already entered the secret passage after handing the shop over to Chris.

　After everyone had gathered, they began to venture deeper into the secret passage. This was a perfect storm of favorable timing, location, and people.

　The ceremony has requirements for heaven, earth, and humanity.

　First, they must find the most suitable location for the ceremony. The secret passageway is always accommodating in fulfilling people's wishes in this regard.

　Professor Cazell led the way and quickly found a specific location in the secret passage.

　Then, at his signal, everyone began to set up the ceremony.

　……

　Yesterday I told myself I had to write 8,000 words, but it's still dragging on... because it's really hard to write. I slept for about four hours in between, took an afternoon nap to catch up, and will write about 4,000 words tonight, trying to post it before 6 a.m. tomorrow.

Chapter 893 Darkdemon's Ritual and Duel (4k)

　The goal of this ritual is very clear: to use the power of the secret passage to restore that drop of "dead blood" into "living blood"!

　The ritual to restore "dead blood" to "living blood" is not simple. Moreover, it is highly likely to be "divine blood" possessing divinity. However, compared to the ritual to remove the Demon King's blood from the "Blood Princess" and the ritual to revive the "God of Wisdom," this ritual is obviously much simpler.

　Following Professor Kazel's instructions, Dak brought the necessary materials to the designated coordinates and began setting up the ceremony.

　On the other side, Diana, Rose, and Aurora were in a group of three. Originally, they only wanted to observe, but Professor Cazell, seeing that there was still plenty of time, assigned them tasks as well.

　If this ceremony is successful, it will be an invaluable experience for Dak, Oro, and others who are deeply involved in it.

　They can clearly learn valuable lessons from this.

　However, this ceremony was arranged differently from ordinary ones. Professor Kazel, in order to increase the breadth and depth of the ceremony while using the same resources, activated the "Dream Machine"!

　Using dream-created objects to assist in setting up and running the ritual, and using the secret passage environment to amplify the effect, can greatly reduce the amount of resources used and can also provide a large number of people for the operation of the ritual, making the ritual more "vivid" and even able to do some things that were originally impossible.

　For example, they set up a near-realistic "blood sacrifice" to drive the operation through "death".

　The entire process of arranging the ceremony is self-explanatory.

　From 3 PM to 5 PM, all the arrangements were completed. Professor Cazell immediately began to check and adjust the entire ceremony. His first checkpoint was the section handled by Diana and her two companions. Although they had been very diligent, their abilities were somewhat lacking, and mistakes were inevitable.

　Professor Cazell provided guidance and instruction as he revised the documents, from which they benefited greatly. Afterwards, the three followed Professor Cazell to the section overseen by Dark.

　Dak had done an extremely thorough job of arranging that part of the ceremony. However, it was still not perfect compared to the entire ceremony.

　Professor Cazell's few words made him realize his shortcomings.

　Then Dak followed Professor Kazel around the entire ceremony site, and then everyone gathered at the center of the ceremony.

　There, the "dream-making machine" is placed!

　Professor Kazel said, "The ceremony setup is going very smoothly, and we can begin it now if needed. Of course, to ensure the best effect, it would be best to wait until 10 p.m. tonight. That was my initial plan, but I didn't expect the setup to be completed so quickly. There are still more than four hours until 10 p.m., so let's dismiss for now."

　Professor Sylph frowned and asked, "And what about the ceremony?"

　Professor Cazell chuckled, “I’ll stay here and keep watch by myself. You can go get something to eat, rest, or continue your research. Come back here at nine o’clock tonight. Just in case.”

　Professor Sylph thought for a moment and then said, "Then we'll be going now."

　Professor Cazell nodded and said, "You can go now. I'll familiarize myself with this dream-making machine."

　The group then left the secret passage together.

　Considering the necessity of concealing their activities, they split into two groups as soon as they emerged from the secret passage.

　Professor Sylph, Professor Jones, Professor Mitya, Professor Lily, and Ophelia traveled together.

　Dark, Aurora, Diana, Rose, Ergane, and Eve all the way

　As for Sister Carlian and Professor Steven Harvey, both were busy at their respective posts and did not come to the secret passage.

　Dak waved to the girls who were with him and then headed straight for the cafeteria.

　On Easter night, students who have finished the Duel Festival usually flock to Traveller's Street in large groups. If you arrive late, you won't be able to get a seat at the restaurants.

　Therefore, it's best to go to the cafeteria during this time. The cafeteria will definitely be quieter than the traveler's street at this time.

　"The cafeteria food is supposed to be more plentiful than usual tonight, and they even offer fruit wine, so why would they spend their credits to have a meal together on Traveler's Street?"

　Ergan asked a seemingly pointless question in a flat tone. Without waiting for Dark's reply, Aurora continued, "The cafeteria is, after all, an academy facility, which naturally creates a sense of constraint for students. They choose to go to Traveler's Street partly to 'let loose,' and partly to experience the atmosphere. Besides, there will be festival activities on Traveler's Street tonight, which can be enjoyed before or after dinner."

　Before Ergane could respond, Diana widened her eyes and said, "Then let's go take a look after we finish eating."

　Aurora then instinctively looked at Dark.

　Dark thought for a moment and said, "Going for a stroll is fine too."

　Diana: "(√)"

　Today's investigation actually went quite smoothly.

　The information on the three items has been largely investigated.

　The remaining tasks are dealing with the contaminants on the scabbard and investigating the origin of the hair on the clothing.

　The other "blood activation ritual" and "fossil biotransformation" are already underway.

　In this situation, rewarding oneself is perfectly fine. However, Dark is a bit more thoughtful, and he always feels a greater sense of urgency.

　After entering the cafeteria, the group received Easter eggs, filled their plates with their favorite foods, and sat down at an eight-person table.

　Apart from Diana, who ordered a lot of meat, everyone else's food consisted of a mix of meat and vegetables.

　After sitting down, Dark tapped the Sorting Card and summoned Impmon.

　Impmon was wandering aimlessly through the Traveler's Town with several magical spirits that could survive for a long time without the "Paradise" providing magic.

　Dark's sudden summons left it momentarily unsure whether to feel joy or sorrow.

　But almost instinctively, it revealed a fawning smile.

　Dark smiled and asked, "Just now in Traveler's Street?"

　The little devil beast nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

　Dark said, "You won't blame me for suddenly calling you here, will you?" Impmon immediately straightened his posture, raised the tips of his wings and poked them at his head, saying, "When the king commands, I will return!"

　Dark couldn't help but chuckle: "Did you watch the Duel Festival this afternoon?" Devimon immediately replied, "The whole thing!" Dark said, "Then tell us what happened." Devimon: "Yas, Ser!"

　So Dark and the others continued eating, while Little Devimon transformed into a "broadcaster," recounting the afternoon's duel in perfect fluent and clear language.

　This year's Easter Duel Festival will continue the rules from last year.

　Eight contestants from each of the lower grades (grades 1-3) and the upper grades (grades 4-6) will emerge from the preliminary rounds.

　That afternoon, the two groups of eight players each engaged in alternating duels. Since the competition used a single-elimination format, luck was also crucial in the random matchmaking process.

　In today's Easter Duel Festival, "The Holy Son" Evan the Outsider Pearson undoubtedly received the most attention.

　Evan Pearson revealed quite a bit during the duel. Unfortunately, his "Guardian Knight," Tommy Smith, didn't participate in the senior tournament. Therefore, Darke couldn't offer an objective assessment.

　Evan Pearson made his debut in the second match of the first round in the lower grades.

　In this round of duels, half of the eight contestants will be eliminated. Evan Pearson was relatively lucky; his initial opponent was a rising star, a freshman.

　The freshman tried his best, but he was no match for Evan Pearson from the start.

　The reason he was able to hold out for several rounds was simply because Evan Pearson was holding back.

　After a fierce competition, Evan Pearson ultimately qualified for the second round.

　In the second round of the competition for the lower grades, only four students remained.

　All the first-year students were defeated in the first round. Of the four students who advanced, besides Evan Pearson, there were Sarah, Emma, ​​and a third-year student.

　Evan Pearson drew the third-year student in the second round! In the duel against the third-year student, Evan Pearson focused and gave it his all, ultimately winning easily.

　After that, Sara Swati and Emma Metis clashed once again!

　As the top students of the Magic Academy and the Knight Academy, every clash between the two is highly anticipated.

　In this duel, both sides displayed strength far exceeding their previous abilities!

　Their growth is faster than imagined.

　If it weren't for "Saint Child" Evan Pearson, the lower-school champion of this year's Easter Duel Festival would undoubtedly have been one of them.

　In this duel where both sides gave their all, Sara ultimately emerged victorious by a narrow margin!

　So, Emma lost again?

　Diana licked the grease from the corner of her mouth and asked.

　Little Devimon nodded smugly and said, "Emma lost again!" "So what are you so happy about when Emma lost?" Dark tapped its head and laughed.

　Little Devimon immediately said, "I'll be happy no matter who loses!" "How can you say that?" Dark said, both amused and exasperated.

　Rose laughed and said, "Go on, who won the championship in the end?" So Devimon continued.

　The final match of the second annual Easter Duel Festival at St. Marian Academy will be between Sarah Swati, a second-year student from the Magic Academy, and Evan Pearson, a second-year exchange student from the Noble Academy.

　This duel attracted extraordinary attention.

　The open-air duel arena is, after all, the home ground of St. Marian Academy.

　No student wanted an exchange student to win the championship on the second day of formal enrollment, even though it was just a lower-grade championship for a festival event.

　However, Evan Pearson, as the only "Holy Son" to be conferred a title in the past decade or so, possessed countless resources of the Holy Church. He had already completed all the content of four years' worth of courses by his second year, and his own strength had long reached the graduation level.

　Under these circumstances, once he gets really serious, it will be very difficult for Sarah to win.

　The final match was fraught with danger.

　Sarah used her powerful technical skills to maneuver and dragged the "Holy Son," who possessed absolute strength, into a quagmire, putting him in a dangerous situation.

　However, they ultimately failed to overcome that barrier.

　In the end, despite the students' disapproval, "The Holy Son" Evan Pearson emerged victorious in the duel.

　But Evan Pearson wasn't happy. The victory had been far too hard-won—it should have been a crushing victory!

　Therefore, when faced with Judy's interview, he said that sentence in a firm tone.

　"During this month as an exchange student, I will keep striving forward and challenge the strongest members of this academy. I hope to learn something from all of you senior students here... Hehehe!"

　The little devil stood on the table, mimicking Evan Pearson's tone and performing vividly.

　What was clearly a provocative statement became hilarious when performed by Devimon.

　Dark shook his head and said, "I thought he would do what he said before and directly challenge the top 16 of the Gold Cup."

　"He said those things too?" Diana asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

　Dark laughed, "He did say that. To defeat all the strong fighters in our academy and prove himself to be a hero surpassing Vit. That's probably one of his main goals."

　“Oh,” Diana responded, then buried herself in her work again. Evan Pearson’s remarks would certainly attract more hostility, but that didn’t concern them much.

　As the meat on Diana's plate quickly disappeared, Dark and the others had also finished eating and drinking.

　Immediately afterwards, they opened the Easter egg, eliciting another burst of laughter. Then, as mentioned before the meal, the group left the cafeteria and, as if taking a stroll, entered the traveler's street, gradually blending into the bustling crowd.