Gate of Purgatory, Sixth Layer

In the Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory, in the arena, Gu Ding, slightly out of breath, glanced at his fallen opponent not far away, feeling quite pleased.

"The winner Gu Ding!" The referee, clad in black armor, quickly announced the result of the battle.

This is the seventy-third day that Gu Ding has been at the Gate of Purgatory, and also the third day since he entered the Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory.

The first to fourth levels of the Gate of Purgatory correspond to imprisoning Low-rank God to Peak-rank God. Upon reaching the fifth level, the weakest of the imprisoned prisoners possesses the Combat Strength of Half-Step True God.

For the first four levels, Gu Ding only took eleven or twelve days to complete the challenges of the Outer Realm and the Arena. However, for the fifth level, Gu Ding, who used to solve the Arena challenge in just one day, took a full thirteen days to complete it.

The fifth level should normally house powerful individuals with cultivation levels between One-Star Half-Step True God and three-star Half-Step True God. However, in reality, there are also quite a few super- Prodigy Experts with cultivation levels below the Half-Step True God. Moreover, there are quite a few individuals with strength exceeding three-star Half-Step True God.

The strongest being on this level was a prodigy with the cultivation of a one- One-Star Half-Step True God, possessing the Combat Strength of a seven—and -Half-Step True God. Gu Ding had to use almost Trump Card to win that battle.

In the first five levels, due to multiple 1,000-win streaks and a large number of challengers, Gu Ding accumulated more than 4.5 million points, which can be considered as being in the wealthy class.

Upon entering the Sixth Layer, Gu Ding discovered that there were many beings more powerful than himself.

Although theoretically, the Sixth Layer is a lingering level for those Four-Star Half-Step True God and Six-Star Half-Step True God, the Gate of Purgatory are filled with monstrous geniuses. Even the weakest of those at the Four-Star Half-Step True God level possess the Combat Strength of a seven-star Half-Step True God.

Gu Ding arrived at this level. His strength was now at the very bottom, so he didn't rashly enter the Outer Domain Battlefield. Instead, he chose to fight in the arena.

As usual, his arrival drew challenges from tens of thousands of people.

Fortunately, there were also quite a few people on this level who had come down from the upper levels and whose cultivation level was not yet at the level of Four-Star Half-Step True God.

Over the course of three days, Gu Ding played fewer than thirty matches, losing more than he won, with fewer than ten victories. Even so, he still earned the recognition of many powerful figures on the Sixth Layer. Considering he only possessed the cultivation of Low-rank God, his performance was already quite remarkable.

After stepping off the stage, the sky had already darkened.

Gu Ding returned to his prison cell. He had gained a lot from the three days of fighting. In addition to a deeper understanding of martial arts, his clashes with powerful opponents had given him a faint feeling that he was about to break through to the level of Mid-rank God.

The Gene Shackles within him made each breakthrough to a higher level extremely difficult. Those shackles were too strong; if he were to rely on his own slow accumulation of energy to break through, it would take an unknown amount of time. He needed powerful external assistance.

"What's the news today?" Gu Ding lay on the bed, his consciousness communicating with the Sea Emperor.

"There's some interesting news, related to Reed." Sea Emperor was also somewhat surprised when he saw this news.

"What happened to Reed?" Upon hearing news about Reed, Gu Ding sat up abruptly and asked immediately.

"The House of Representatives of the Federal Government elected a new Chief Justice today, a guy named Quentin. He used to be the Warden of the Gate of Purgatory. He was that old man Yoland's teacher, and he's over six million years old now."

"What does this have to do with Reed?" Gu Ding asked, somewhat surprised.

"When he ran for chief, his advisor was Reed, and he only used Reed." The Sea Emperor paused for a moment, then continued, "It seems that Reed's future career is very bright."

"Isn't the House of Representatives where senior Federal Government officials go after they retire? It doesn't seem to have much real power, does it?" Gu Ding had also heard of the House of Representatives, and he was somewhat puzzled by the Sea Emperor's statement.

"You don't understand this. Although the House of Representatives doesn't have real power individually, it collectively has the greatest authority in the entire Federal Government. They can issue laws and even veto some decisions made by the federal leader. The Chief Speaker of the House of Representatives is, in a sense, on par with the federal leader, only with less personal power. However, those old guys in the House of Representatives were all high-ranking officials in the Federal Government in the past, and their protégés and grand-protégés all hold important positions in the Federal Government. No one in the Federal Government dares to disrespect them."

"It can be said that Reed has really latched onto a powerful patron this time. Even if he only gets a hair off his leg, it will be enough to propel him to new heights."

While the Sea Emperor's description was crude, it was largely true. The premise, however, was that Quentin remained the top dog.

"Reed has always been smart; I knew he'd make it." Gu Ding knew that Reed had been sidelined by the Federal Government for a while because of his own situation. Hearing this news now, he was happy for Reed.

"I really don't know what this guy is so happy about. He's clearly a prisoner now, and he doesn't even know when he'll be able to leave the Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory..." The Sea Emperor didn't say these words aloud, but just muttered them to himself.

"Huh?!" Suddenly, another message caught the Sea Emperor's attention.

"What's wrong?" Gu Ding couldn't help but ask after hearing the Sea Emperor's voice.

"The Federal Government just released a news report saying that this guy named Quentin is coming to the Gate of Purgatory tomorrow. He said the Gate of Purgatory is his mission, so he wants to come back and take a look..." Sea Emperor was somewhat surprised when he saw this news. Quentin had only been in office for one day, and he was already coming to the Gate of Purgatory the next day. Clearly, it wasn't just a simple visit. It was very likely that there was something within the Gate of Purgatory that was attracting him.

Even Gu Ding noticed the problem. "He takes office today and comes to the Gate of Purgatory tomorrow. Something seems off. I've heard that the people in the House of Representatives are usually quite idle. But usually, newly appointed officials should focus on doing their jobs well first. Why would someone take office and then run around everywhere? Could that guy be after that treasure on the Eighth Level?!"

"You don't need to worry about that. Don't forget that there are three powerful Order Keeper Leader inside the Gate of Purgatory. None of them have made a move on the treasure on the Eighth Level. Either they can't take it, or they are bound by some special rules. I suppose Quentin won't make a move either. I suspect he has another purpose for coming here."

The Sea Emperor didn't believe that the other party was after the item on the Eighth Level. However, even with his detection abilities, he couldn't break through the spatial limitations of the Gate of Purgatory to see what was on the other floors.

Inside the First Level of the Gate of Purgatory, the warden and many of the Order Keeper soon received the news as well.

"Grandmaster is still alive, and has even become the chief of the Council of Elders?!" Victoria had heard her master mention Grandmaster before; he was said to be a super strongman who had killed many of the Strongest King of Alien Race. However, she had never met him, and she was quite uneasy. "Grandmaster is coming to the Gate of Purgatory tomorrow; I must make sure to leave a good impression on him."

"Belinda, have someone clean the first seventeen floors tonight, make sure they're spotless! Council of Elders important people visiting tomorrow."

"Yes, Warden!" Belinda and the other Golden Armor Order Keeper and left immediately.

Inside the Gate of Purgatory, the reserve Order Keeper quickly received their notice and began to get busy.

Victoria also posted high-scoring cleaning tasks to attract incarcerated prisoners to take them on.

"What's going on? The points for cleaning have increased from 1 point per hour to 100 points per hour. Is there a system error?"

Many players, lacking real strength and relying mainly on completing tasks to earn points, quickly noticed the change in points and immediately accepted tasks, joining the cleaning effort.

"Everyone hurry up and accept the cleaning task! The Gate of Purgatory system is malfunctioning. Take this opportunity to make some money!" This news quickly spread, and many people who didn't usually accept tasks joined in after seeing the generous points rewards.

Gu Ding had noticed this change long ago, but he simply rolled over in bed and closed his eyes to continue sleeping. He already had over 4.5 million points; there was absolutely no need to waste time gaining more. He'd rather rest and prepare for the arena match the next day. For him now, improving his strength was the most important thing.

Gate of Purgatory, a blond-haired boy also saw the news that Quentin was going to the Gate of Purgatory the next day. He raised an eyebrow and dialed a number.

"My little advisor, is there anything I can help you with?" The man's voice on the other end still sounded languid.

"Are you going to the Gate of Purgatory tomorrow?" Reed asked, getting straight to the point.

"That's right. Now that I've taken this position, it makes no difference whether I go to the Gate of Purgatory sooner or later, so I might as well go sooner. Ascending to Godhood is my lifelong dream, and I'm not willing to wait any longer..."

Before Quentin could finish speaking, Reed interrupted him, "Take me with you tomorrow, I want to see Gu Ding."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the communicator.

"What? You can't do it?" Reed frowned slightly when he didn't hear a reply.

"It's not that I can't do it, it's just that I don't know how long I'll be cultivating there this time. But it's not a big problem, because the current warden of the Gate of Purgatory is my grand-disciple. I can talk to her and ask her to wait for me for three days. If I haven't returned to take you away after three days, my grand-disciple will send you away." Quentin hadn't expected Reed to make such a request. The Gate of Purgatory was a forbidden area that outsiders would avoid at all costs, yet Reed was asking to enter it voluntarily.

"Thank you very much." Reed finally felt a little relieved. He also found it hard to imagine what Gu Ding would become after being imprisoned for more than two months.

"Come wait for me at the Council of Elders entrance at 8:30 tomorrow morning. We'll leave at 9:00." Quentin told Reed the time and place before hanging up.

~~~

[The third update might be a little late~] (To be continued~^~)