Gate of Purgatory, Second Level
On the Second Level of the Gate of Purgatory, Gu Ding stood in the arena, and many people looked at him. Judging from the expressions on their faces, it was clear that many of them had already recognized him.
Each level of the Gate of Purgatory is accessible through an arena. As a prisoner, you must defeat three gatekeepers to gain permission to proceed to the next level.
Gu Ding had already eliminated three of the more than ten thousand challengers who were guarding his path. These challenges, regardless of who challenged whom, were all recorded. Therefore, Gu Ding didn't need to challenge the three again; he directly gained access to the next level.
Guided by the Order Keeper of Order, Gu Ding passed through the spatial passage between the two levels, descending from the First Level to the Second Level of the Gate of Purgatory.
He had anticipated being noticed, so even with a group of people staring at him, he remained focused and walked straight out of the arena.
"Is this kid Gu Ding?" someone asked, somewhat uncertainly.
"That's right, it's him. Didn't the news of him being imprisoned in the Gate of Purgatory make headlines more than ten days ago? He even claimed that he would escape from the Gate of Purgatory within three years. I've seen that video, it's that face." Someone immediately gave an affirmative answer.
"What an arrogant brat. No one has ever successfully escaped from the Gate of Purgatory. The legendary powerful figure on the Eighteenth Level was imprisoned for over a hundred epochs without success. Yet a Low-rank God dares to boast like this." Clearly, news of previous escapes from the Gate of Purgatory had been Order Keeper Leader. Even the eighteen Order Keeper were unaware of it, let alone these prisoners.
"The Federal Government is praising him so much, but we don't know how capable he really is."
Gu Ding's reputation was known to most people within the Gate of Purgatory. However, most were unimpressed, believing him to be a paper tiger deliberately promoted by the Federal Government, and that the Federal Government had imprisoned him in the Gate of Purgatory simply to intimidate other Interstellar Pirate.
After all, most of those who enter the Gates Gate of Purgatory are unruly individuals who, before entering, had enjoyed considerable influence in the Universe Sea, some even with higher bounties than Gu Ding. Furthermore, Gu Ding's cultivation level before entering prison was only One-Star Low-rank God, while the vast majority of prisoners on the Second Level of the Gate of Purgatory are Mid-rank Gods. Therefore, it's understandable that they look down on Gu Ding.
Gu Ding heard everything they were saying. Far from being angry, he was quite pleased. Judging from their reactions, there were likely many who would challenge him on the Second Level. And these challengers were the source of Gu Ding's points.
Just as Gu Ding was about to leave the arena, a short-haired man with a Scarface on his face blocked Gu Ding path, his expression fierce. Behind him followed more than a dozen menacing-looking henchmen. In the ordinary world, being blocked by such a group usually meant trouble, and the person blocked would typically have no choice but to obediently hand over their money to avoid further trouble. However, in the world of cultivation, the degree of ferocity in one's appearance is usually unrelated to strength.
Gu Ding also stopped and looked at the Scarface.
"So you're Gu Ding?" Scarface asked with a cold expression.
"That's right. Is there something you need?" Gu Ding readily admitted his identity.
"I challenge you!" Scarface pointed at Gu Ding with a cool expression.
Behind him, a group of henchmen wore expressions of pure admiration. "Boss is so cool, a real man!"
"Oh, for something like this, you can just press the challenge button on your watch, right? Or is there something else you want to do by blocking my way?" Gu Ding raised an eyebrow and asked.
"No... nothing else." Scarface scratched his head sheepishly.
"Alright, since you're blocking my way, uncle, then do me a favor." Gu Ding didn't wait for the other party to agree before continuing, "Help me spread the word and tell everyone that if you want to challenge me, you have eleven days to sign up. I will be there on time after eleven days. After the challenge is completed, I will go to the Third Level of the Gate of Purgatory, so those who want to challenge me should hurry up, because there will be no second chance."
"Uncle?" Scarface's lips twitched slightly.
"Thank you," Gu Ding said, brushing past the other person, walking to the front desk to register for the arena challenge, and then stepping out of the arena.
He stood there with Scarface and a group of his underlings.
"Boss, Gu Ding is gone." One of the underlings poked Scarface with his finger.
Scarface then snapped out of his daze, turned his head and asked, "Do I look like an old man?"
"This..." The underlings all turned their faces to the sides, not daring to look directly at their boss.
"Kevin, you speak!" Scarface looked at a baby-faced young man.
"Boss, please don't make things difficult for me..." Kevin, with his baby face, looked troubled. "You should ask Uncle Bruce instead."
"Bruce, you tell him!" Scarface still didn't seem to realize what this excuse meant.
"Boss, a man's face isn't important," Bruce said very seriously.
"Then what's important?" Scarface still didn't realize the other person's intention in saying that, and pressed for an answer.
"Body shape is what matters, boss. Your body is practically a fighter jet among men." Bruce realized that although his words hadn't gotten his boss's meaning, it was good that he had successfully changed the subject.
"Of course!" Scarface's face lit up with excitement. He ripped off his shirt, revealing his muscles, and struck a few bodybuilding poses. "I, Barite, am the man with the best physique in the entire Gate of Purgatory!"
After he had been showing off for a few minutes, one of them couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Boss, um... should we help Gu Ding with the thing he just asked us to do?"
"What did he just say? Kevin, let me test your memory. Can you repeat it?" Barite hadn't heard anything after hearing the word "uncle".
"I clearly didn't hear it..." Kevin thought to himself, but he still obediently repeated Gu Ding's words verbatim.
"Are you sure he said 'thank you'?" Barite asked, looking troubled.
"Absolutely, definitely, and without a doubt!" Kevin nodded very seriously.
"Alright, then we'll take the job." Barite was silent for a moment, but finally nodded.
"But boss, aren't you unhappy with that kid? Why should we help him?" Kevin couldn't help but ask.
"Because he said thank you, it would be very impolite not to accept it," Barite gave a ridiculous reason, but his face remained serious. His underlings knew that when he wore that expression, it meant he was serious.
"Alright then..." Kevin felt that he would have been better off not asking the question at all; this answer was more troubling than no answer at all.
Outside the arena, Sea Emperor heard everything those people had said clearly. "That guy actually agreed to help you. That really surprised me."
"Looks like that uncle is actually a nice guy." Gu Ding grinned, revealing his white teeth.
"You've got this wrong," Sea Emperor said, revealing information about Barite. "That Scarface, named Barite, is a true violent maniac. He was imprisoned in the Gate of Purgatory for no small crime, but because he slaughtered eight star systems and killed hundreds of the Federal Army personnel in his quest for revenge."
"Although he is only a Five-Star Mid-rank God now, before he was imprisoned here hundreds of years ago, when his cultivation was only Three-Star Low-rank God, his strength was comparable to One-Star Half-Step True God. Now his strength is at least Four-Star Half-Step True God, and he is recognized as the strongest guy in the entire Second Level of the Gate of Purgatory."
"He is also a genuine Mei Race, which currently ranks second among the top ten combat races in the human Universe Sea. From Ancient Era to the present, this race has provided the Human Race Camp with many powerful talents and has a good relationship with the Federal Government. He is also one of the most Combat Strength prodigies among the Nami race in this era."
"However, he has always been described as a man whose brain is all muscles. He advocates using violence to solve problems, and his brain seems to be completely superfluous to him."
"He sounds like a very interesting older man." After hearing the Sea Emperor's introduction, Gu Ding gave him a very high evaluation.
"I'd forgotten that you're sometimes the same kind of person as him..." the Sea Emperor said, somewhat speechless. It's no wonder that Gu Ding found the other party interesting, because Gu Ding was unwilling to use his brain to solve problems unless absolutely necessary.
However, unlike his opponents, Gu Ding was actually quite intelligent. While not as intelligent as Reed or Miko, Gu Ding IQ was still above average for an average person. At the Federal Basic Military Academy, among his classmates, he consistently ranked second only to Reed in academic assessments. Because of his superior Combat Strength, his overall performance sometimes even surpassed Reed 'Reed.
"I could tell he was strong just now, but I didn't expect him to be the strongest guy on this Second Level." Gu Ding also judged from the opponent's aura that his Combat Strength should be at the level of Half-Step True God, but perhaps due to the influence of his bloodline, he couldn't determine the opponent's exact Combat Strength. He only roughly sensed that the opponent was at least a three-star Half-Step True God, and possibly even stronger. "In that case, the entire Second Level should know about my acceptance of the challenge soon, right? Looks like I can accumulate points quickly again."
"Then let's stick to the original plan and go to the Outer Domain Battlefield to collect ten days' worth of points!"
~~~
[I spent over two hours eating dinner... typing in an internet cafe...] (To be continued~^~)