We Grew Up Together

In the conference room, Quentin and Victoria casually chatted about some of the changes that had taken place in the Gate of Purgatory in recent years.

Reed followed Belinda and quickly completed the tour, gaining a general understanding of the Gate of Purgatory, before returning to the conference room where Quentin was.

"How did you feel after walking around?" Quentin asked Reed with a smile.

"It seems completely different from what I expected." Reed was initially worried about Gu Ding's condition, but after seeing the various facilities and configurations of the Gate of Purgatory, he finally felt a little relieved. "However, this prison is too clean; there isn't even a single fallen leaf on the ground."

"That's because we use..." Belinda was about to tell the truth when Victoria interrupted her.

"That's because I knew our Grandmaster was coming today, so I made sure everyone stayed up all night cleaning. It's not usually this clean..." Victoria covered her mouth and laughed, then secretly glared at Belinda.

"Oh, I see." Reed could tell from Victoria and Belinda's expressions that there must be more to the story, but he didn't dwell on such details.

"We've talked so much, girl, you're my grand-disciple, so I won't hide anything from you. Let me tell you the purpose of my trip..." Quentin said, glancing at Belinda.

Victoria immediately understood. "Belinda, go and guard the door. Don't let anyone in without my permission."

"Yes." Belinda bowed, turned and left the conference room, closing the door behind her.

This conference room is protected by arrays to prevent detection and eavesdropping; once the door is closed, it becomes a self-contained miniature world, completely isolated from the outside world.

Seeing that Quentin didn't let Reed leave, Victoria immediately understood that Reed held an extremely important place in Quentin's eyes.

"Little girl, it's like this. I've come here not to do any investigation, but to visit that senior on the Eighteenth Level. I've reached the critical point of breaking through to the True God Realm, and I'm just a tiny bit away from breaking through, so I urgently need that senior's guidance." Quentin explained his purpose. Victoria was his grand-disciple, one of his own, so there was no need to hide it from her.

Victoria was taken aback at first. Then her face turned bitter, and she stammered, "Grandmaster, that senior... it seems he's already escaped from prison..."

"What?!" Quentin thought he had misheard and asked with wide eyes, "You mean that senior escaped from prison?!"

Victoria then recounted what had happened to Gu Zang that day. She had never actually been to the Eighteenth Level. However, she could sense that the oppressive aura that followed was different from the previous ones. She had also heard Gu Zang shouting about escaping, leading her to guess that Gu Zang had already successfully escaped.

"How could this be..." Quentin was immediately distraught. He never expected that after spending more than a month working hard to win the position of first in the House of Representatives, he would receive such news.

"Senior Quentin, the warden just said that the person imprisoned on the Eighteenth Level seems to have left something behind. I think you shouldn't rush. You can go to the Eighteenth Level and take a look. Maybe that person left some other opportunities," Reed advised, seeing Quentin's expression.

"Yes. Maybe there are other opportunities. Girl, take me to the Eighteenth Level!" Quentin turned to Victoria immediately after hearing Reed's words.

Victoria nodded first, then looked at Reed with some hesitation, "Master, the lower the level, the stronger the pressure becomes. I'm afraid, young brother Reed..."

With her strength, she could tell at a glance that Reed's strength was not yet at the level of a true god. She was afraid that Reed would not be able to withstand that pressure if he fell below the eighth level.

"I won't go with them..." Reed said, looking at Quentin. He was hesitant to bring up the matter of seeing Gu Ding, but with Quentin's help, things would be much easier.

Quentin was in such a hurry that he almost forgot about Reed, so he said, "Reed and that little guy named Gu Ding are friends. He came along this time to see Gu Ding. Girl, can you help arrange it?"

"Although this is against the rules, since Brother Reed has this need, I will make an exception and let you see him this once. Anyway, no outsiders will know." Victoria agreed readily. There has never been a precedent for Gate of Purgatory, but as the warden, no one dared to say anything when Victoria allowed a visit.

"Thank you, Warden." Reed knew that if it weren't for Quentin's influence, even if he and the others had entered the Gate of Purgatory, Victoria would have had little chance of agreeing to this.

"Also, girl, if I don't return within three days, just arrange for Reed to leave. After all, this is a prison, and it's not suitable for him to stay here for long." Quentin made the arrangements for the rest of the time.

"That's no problem either. Brother Reed can stay a few more days if he wants." Victoria readily agreed to this.

"Let's go then." Quentin was eager to enter the Eighteenth Level, wanting to see what the Gu Zang was.

Victoria nodded, pushed open the conference room door, whispered a few words to Victoria Belinda was guarding the door, and then left with Quentin.

After watching the two leave, Belinda walked towards Reed.

"Gu Ding is currently on the Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory. Come with me."

"The Sixth Layer? I just heard the warden say there's an Eighteenth Level. Is there only eighteen levels in total at the Gate of Purgatory? What are the differences between each level?" Reed couldn't help but ask.

"The Gate of Purgatory have only eighteen levels in total, with the Eighteenth Level being the lowest, where a terrifyingly powerful being is said to be imprisoned. Within the Gate of Purgatory, different levels represent different levels of Combat Strength. Levels one to four correspond to Low-rank God to Peak-rank God, respectively. Levels five to Seventh Layer correspond to Half-Step True God. Eighth Level and above imprison true god powerhouses. Among them, the seventeenth level imprisons the Strongest King of the Tenth Sequence."

"In the Sixth Layer where Gu Ding is located, the prisoners normally have Combat Strength between Four-Star Half-Step True God and Six-Star Half-Step True God. However, those imprisoned in the Gate of Purgatory are basically monstrous geniuses, and their actual Combat Strength is slightly higher, roughly between five-star and eight-star Half-Step True God."

Belinda explained it in great detail.

"Before Gu Ding was captured, his Combat Strength should have been around Four-Star Half-Step True God. It seems that his strength has improved again in the past two months." During this month or so, Reed was not idle. He carefully sorted out the information about Gu Ding Team during his time in the Outer Domain Battlefield, and knew what level Gu Ding's Combat Strength was at that time.

"His cultivation has now reached the fifth-star Half-Step True God level, and his Combat Strength is roughly equivalent to the Six-Star Half-Step True God level." This Epoch Monster, Gu Ding, is not only being watched by Victoria, but also by many other Order Keeper. Belinda has also seen some of Gu Ding's combat videos from this period.

"Looks like you've made quite a bit of progress." Reed's lips curled up slightly. He had made such great progress in the past few months because of his special encounter.

In the Outer Domain Battlefield, he stumbled upon the True God Ruins, not only obtaining the inheritance of that Ninth Sequence Conferred King but also all of that Conferred King's treasures. Therefore, within a few months, his cultivation directly leaped to the Peak-rank God, and his strength also increased dramatically. However, in the past two months, Gu Ding, in a place like the Gate of Purgatory, continuously broke through four minor ranks in his cultivation, and his strength also increased by two levels.

Of course, what Reed didn't know was that Gu Ding had also had an encounter within this Gate of Purgatory. He had directly boosted his cultivation level through a Cosmic Fruit.

Even the Order Keeper were unaware of such matters; they never concerned themselves with what these prisoners had gained on the Outer Domain Battlefield.

"Gu Ding basically crushed the first five levels. Now that he's on the Sixth Layer, there are many people stronger than him, so he goes to the arena every day to compete. It seems there's a match going on right now," Belinda told him about Gu Ding's recent situation.

"Then let's go over and see what happens to that guy. It would be a good thing to see him make a fool of himself," Reed couldn't help but laugh.

Belinda led Reed along the way, and halfway there, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Reed, what is your relationship with Gu Ding?"

"We grew up together. We were both five years old when we first met him." Reed looked up at the blue sky.

"I remember it was a gloomy, drizzly day. I got lost and wandered into the Red Light District Red Light District. In that kind of place, the adults were actually okay, but it was the kids around ten years old who liked to bully people. I was surrounded by a group of kids, robbed of my money, and beaten up. Gu Ding ran into me. That guy was clearly even thinner than me, but I don't know where he got the courage, he stood in front of me. I thought he was tough, but he ended up getting beaten up along with me..."

"Later, we studied together and got into military academy together. But when it comes to fighting, I never won against him." Reed grinned as he said this.

"Until last year, when our Long Teng Universe Country and the Fei Me Universe Country opened a direct passage, that kid Gu Ding dropped out of school and became Interstellar Pirate. Since then, we haven't seen each other directly for more than half a year now."

The thought of seeing Gu Ding again soon made Reed's lips curl into a smile.

"It sounds like you two have a really good relationship. But now that you're working for the Federal Government, doesn't that make you an enemy of Gu Ding?" Belinda found it somewhat incomprehensible.

"I wouldn't call him an enemy, but more like a rival. Although we have different positions, our friendship will never change." Reed and Gu Ding have always shared the same view: even though their positions differ, friends remain friends because friendship itself is pure and untainted.

Belinda found it increasingly difficult to understand. Knowing the other party's relationship with Gu Ding, she didn't ask any more questions and led Reed to the lower level.

"We've arrived at the Sixth Layer. He's on Arena Number Eight in the arena."

~~~

[Sorry, I was so confused last night that I got the chapter number wrong. It should be chapter 582, but I can't change the title, so I'll just leave it as is.] (To be continued~^~)