It was unclear whether the rules of the 'Mortal Cup' world suppressed Demons too harshly or if Li Ming's current strength was simply overwhelming, but the Demons crawling out of hell seemed no more threatening to him than a bunch of weaklings with a combat power of 5.
Like now, Li Ming was casually choking one Demon while interrogating it, completely ignoring the other Demon that had foolishly pushed open the car door of the police vehicle, rolled its signature white eyes, and charged toward his left side.
Well, this idiot clearly couldn't see him. The corner of Li Ming's mouth twitched upward as he casually raised a barrier in front of the charging Demon.
Thud~
Watching the Demon faceplant into the barrier and rebound onto the ground, utterly dazed, Li Ming winced in sympathy and sucked in a sharp breath. With a wave of his hand, he trapped both Demons in a mirror dimension before dropping his invisibility and sneering, "Judging by your charging style, the last human you possessed must've been a football player—one who liked headbutting people, huh?" He paused, then asked in mock confusion, "Is headbutting even legal in football?"
The Demon being choked glanced at its unlucky companion on the ground, its eyes rolling back as it prepared to reveal its true form and fight back—until Li Ming casually remarked, "This pocket dimension can even sever your connection to hell. Oh, and the fire in my hand? It's hellfire—the kind that burns souls. Think carefully before you decide to resist."
The mention of hellfire clearly terrified both Demons, especially the one on the ground. After a nervous glance at Li Ming's palm—confirming he was indeed a ruthless wielder of hellfire—it instinctively scooted backward, as if distance could save its life, and rasped, "Who are you? What do you want from us?"
Though the Demon spoke in a deep, masculine voice, Li Ming's mind inexplicably conjured the tone of a wronged young wife.
You bastard, are you a Demon from Brokeback Mountain or something?
Li Ming shuddered in disgust and immediately flung the Demon away to avoid further nausea. "With strength like yours, you dare ask me questions? And two at that? Where's your sense of fairness and justice?" He scoffed. "Besides, I asked first. Shouldn't you be answering my questions?"
The two Demons exchanged glances: Since when do Demons need to understand fairness and justice? What's next—angels needing morals?
One of them took the opportunity to discreetly scan the crystalline walls trapping them while attempting—and failing—to reconnect with hell. Realizing escape was impossible, it immediately bowed its head in deference. "Great one, we don't know where Valentine is right now."
"You don't know?" Li Ming scratched his head, then pulled out a scythe from his shoulder bag. Igniting it with hellfire, he rested it on his shoulder and bared his teeth menacingly. "If you're this useless, why shouldn't I just feed you to my pet?"
Terrified by the sight of the scythe, the Demons gulped in unison, trembling as they lowered their heads. "Great one, we pledge ourselves as your slaves."
One of the slightly smarter demons added, "My lord wishes to know Valentine's whereabouts. I'll go search for him right away. I still have some connections in the human world, so I believe we can find Valentine soon."
Connections and gathering information? Li Ming thoughtfully stroked his chin.
Initially, Li Ming had just been bored and hungry, simply wanting to pass the time by toying with these two little demons.
But now, their words reminded him—he didn't know how many factions existed in the world of the 'Mortal Cup.' He only knew from the films that werewolves, vampires, witches, Warlocks, and Shadowhunters made appearances.
Moreover, all these supernatural creatures seemed to gather in Brooklyn.
Just how vast was this magical world?
Suppressing the temptation to plunder the entire world, Li Ming took a few deep breaths to calm his excitement, pondering whether his penniless self could craft some items to sell in Brooklyn.
With his skills and craftsmanship, he believed he could amass a fortune and reach the pinnacle of life within two years.
Since he planned to open a business, the more connections he had, the better.
And from the tone of these two demons, they seemed to be doing quite well in the human world, likely with plenty of lucrative opportunities.
Thinking this, Li Ming smiled inwardly but feigned hesitation on the surface, disdainfully saying, "My subordinates are never as weak as you two. But since you have some connections, I'll reluctantly let you be my lackeys."
As he spoke, Li Ming carved a slave contract onto the demons' foreheads, forcing the pitiful creatures to swear the oath using their true names.
After subduing the two 'officers,' Li Ming exited the mirror dimension and signaled for them to leave quickly. Meanwhile, he activated his invisibility and whispered, "While searching for traces of Valentine, also gather magical materials or leads for me. Remember, I prefer transactions. If you bring me magical materials, I'll reward you."
"Also, I'll be opening a shop in Brooklyn soon. If you can bring me customers, I'll give you benefits too."
The two 'officers' nodded slightly, then fled into their police car as if escaping a plague, speeding away with a screech of tires.
Not long after, Simon came running up to Li Ming, panting heavily with a bag full of bread and drinks. He looked around cautiously and whispered, "Austin, are you here?"
"Right here," Li Ming replied, rolling his eyes as he deactivated his invisibility. He took the bread from Simon, tore open the packaging, and began eating.
At that moment, Clary rushed out of Luke's house, her eyes brimming with tears. Without a word of greeting, she turned and dashed into a nearby alley. Seeing this, Simon quickly shoved the bread and drinks into Li Ming's arms and chased after Clary into the back alley. Scratching his head in confusion, Li Ming reached out to stop Lance, who was also about to run into the alley, and asked, "What's going on? Weren't they watching a comedy at Luke's place? Why did she run out crying?"
"Do you cry during comedies?" Lance snapped irritably. "Luke was kidnapped by Valentine's men. While they were interrogating him, Clary overheard that this uncle who'd been so kind to her all her life actually never cared about her or her mother. Luke was just pretending to be nice to get close to Clary's mother for the Mortal Cup."
Hearing that Valentine's men were at Luke's place, Li Ming suddenly felt like he'd lost hundreds of millions, lamenting, "Are they still there now?"
"Not sure."
Before Lance could finish speaking, Li Ming stuffed the bread in his mouth and transformed into black mist, flying straight into Luke's house. Damn it, if I'd known Valentine's men were at Luke's place, I would've starved rather than miss this lead!
But when Li Ming barged into Luke's home, there was no trace of Valentine's men—not even a ghost remained.
"Bad luck," Li Ming muttered gloomily, his head drooping as he flew out of Luke's house to find Clary and the others hiding in the back alley, crying their eyes out in the rain.
Seeing Li Ming listlessly chewing on his bread, Lance assumed he was disappointed about not finding Valentine and asked curiously, "Do you have some grudge against Valentine?"
"Nah, no grudge," Li Ming shrugged, making up an excuse on the spot. "Just from how you guys talk, he sounds strong. I kinda wanna spar with him."
"Sure, whatever," Lance shot Li Ming a look that clearly said "I don't believe you," muttered under his breath, and led the group back to the Institute.
After a subway ride, Lance finally relaxed once they arrived safely at the Institute. At least nothing went wrong, and Austin didn't show any hostility.
As Li Ming curiously examined the Institute's decor, Lance walked up to him and whispered, "Wait here for a bit. I'll go get Hodge to talk to you."
Before Lance could finish, a male Shadowhunter approached from a distance, his face lighting up with joy at the sight of Lance. Glancing at Clary and the others, he asked with a hint of jealousy, "Who are they? Why are they here?"
"I suspect she might be part-angel, part-human," Lance explained casually, pointing at Clary and Simon. "Eric, take them to rest. I need to bring this gentleman to see Hodge."
Eric, who had been overjoyed to see Lance return safely, gave Li Ming a puzzled look before nodding slightly. He gestured for Clary and Simon to follow him, leading them toward the guest rooms while glancing back every few steps.
Watching Eric's resentful demeanor, Li Ming shuddered, goosebumps rising all over. What the hell? Is this guy a man or a woman?
Still baffled, Li Ming was led by Lance to an office door. "Thud Thud Thud~"
Lance knocked on the door and called out, "Mr. Hodge, there's a guest here to see you."
"Come in," came a weathered voice from inside the office.
Lance pushed open the door, gesturing for Li Ming to enter first. After Li Ming stepped into the office, Lance casually closed the door behind him and stood guard-like in front of it, his muscles subtly tensing as he said, "Mr. Hodge, this is Mage Austin. He wishes to engage in academic exchange with our school."
Behind a broad desk, Hodge turned his head and politely stood up, motioning for Li Ming to take a seat while discreetly assessing his strength. With a smile, he said, "Hello, Mage Austin."
"Hello, Mr. Hodge," Li Ming ignored Hodge's scrutiny and casually sat down in front of the desk. "I've heard your institution has extensive research on 'Rune' script, so I'd like to exchange knowledge with you."
Li Ming didn't bother with formalities—nor did he need to—because he had the strength to back it up. He could clearly sense that Hodge lacked the power to refuse his request.
Hodge furrowed his brow slightly. While he appreciated Li Ming's straightforwardness, the fact that he couldn't gauge the other man's strength was troubling.
Is he that much stronger than me? Hodge thought with concern.
As Hodge pondered how to politely decline without provoking Li Ming, he saw the mage pull a spellbook from his pocket and flip to a page inscribed with the "Key of Solomon" spell.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to force a deal. I prefer fair exchanges," Li Ming said, sliding the book toward Hodge with a grin. "So before you reject me, you might want to see what I'm offering in return for knowledge on 'Rune' script."
Hodge glanced at Li Ming, then down at the spell on the page, before suddenly standing in shock. "These are angelic spells?!"
Li Ming nodded with a smile. "Let me study the texts containing 'Rune' script, and these spells will be yours."