Blade Castle

Everyone landed on the ground. After all, they had just gone through a fierce battle, and everyone needed to rest and recover.

Some chatted, some bragged...

Suddenly, a fluctuation of the Heaven and Earth Laws drew everyone's attention.

'It's Korur.' Looking toward where the fluctuation had come from, Jie Ning smiled.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Korur's Divine Spark flew out. Amid the envious gazes of the Low-Gods, it transformed into a Middle-God Divine Spark.

"You lucky brat." Brother Beile appeared not far from Korur. The others nearby hurriedly shifted aside to make more room for him.

The moment Korur opened his eyes and saw Brother Beile watching him, he quickly greeted him. "Lord Beile."

Brother Beile stepped forward and sized Korur up several times. "You really are a lucky brat. You broke through to Middle-God right after the battle ended."

Korur's body tensed slightly. He now knew that Brother Beile before him was no ordinary High-God. "My lord, I was merely lucky."

"Enough." Brother Beile did not mind Korur's nervousness. "Now that you've become a Middle-God, you're qualified to become a member of our Blade Army."

"You don't need to be so formal. From now on, just call me Big Brother as well."

Korur hurriedly replied, "All right, Brother Beile."

Hearing that familiar form of address, Brother Beile nodded in satisfaction and flew away.

Jie Ning stepped forward at this moment. "Congratulations, Korur."

Only then did Korur dare relax. Smiling at Jie Ning, he said, "I only barely broke through. Compared to you, Jie Ning, I'm still leagues behind."

"But Dinar, this time I've completely surpassed you." One moment he was modest before Jie Ning; the next, Korur turned toward Dinar with a smug look on his face.

"I'll catch up to you soon." Dinar's expression did not change much, though a trace of unwillingness could be heard in his voice.

"Hehehe, no matter what happens in the future..." Korur wore a wickedly smug grin. "For the time being, you should call me Lord Korur."

"By the way, Jie Ning, Korur, there's one more thing." Brother Beile suddenly appeared beside them again, freezing Korur's smile on his face.

Jie Ning watched Korur's changing expression with delight.

"B-Brother Beile..." Korur's expression twisted for a moment.

"Please speak, Brother Beile." Jie Ning answered normally. After all, he had sensed Brother Beile's movements.

Brother Beile looked at the two of them. "I told you before that official members can each have two personal Reserve Armies, but..."

As he spoke, Brother Beile pointed at Korur and said to Jie Ning, "Now that Korur has become a Middle-God, he can no longer count as your subordinate."

"Jie Ning, you can choose another one from among these people."

Then he looked at Korur. "You can choose two as well."

Jie Ning had no intention of standing out, so he chose another Fire Element Low-God named Mondoka from the crowd. Korur also selected two from among them.

"Congratulations, you three lucky fellows." Brother Beile gave the three chosen men a mysterious smile.

Then, ignoring their confusion, Brother Beile shouted, "Everyone, listen up! Rest for another hour. We depart in one hour."

"Yes!"

Before long, the group reached the end of their journey.

Looking at the enormous, towering city before him, its entire body a deep blue-green, Jie Ning could not help feeling awed.

As everyone approached the city, from this angle, the city walls seemed to stretch endlessly beyond sight, as though the entire city had wrapped itself around the other side of the world.

It was morning in Hell. Blood-red light shone upon the blue-green city walls, filling the entire city with a grim, killing aura.

"Hehe." Kala nudged Jie Ning's arm with his elbow. "Magnificent, isn't it? This is the headquarters of our Blade Army..."

At that moment, Brother Beile, who had been at the very front of the group, turned around and looked at everyone. "Everyone, welcome to Blade City."

Everyone stopped and looked at Brother Beile. Clearly, what came next would depend on his arrangements.

Brother Beile looked at Jie Ning and the other two.

"Jie Ning, Mosang, Korur, the three of you, bring your respective Reserve Armies and come with me."

"Yes, Brother Beile." *3

Jie Ning and the others walked over to Brother Beile.

"As for the rest of you," Brother Beile said, looking at Kala, "Kala, take them directly to the reserve camp."

"Got it. Leave it to me, Brother Beile." Kala answered readily.

Brother Beile led the group of nine through the streets of Blade City, where buildings of every style continually came into view.

In Jie Ning's eyes, nearly every building could be called a work of art.

"All right, we're here." Not long after, Brother Beile led everyone to the center of the city. Two enormous castles stood before them. Pointing at one of them, he said, "This is Blade Castle, and it is where we're going next. As future members of the Blade Army, you'll come here often."

"Now, follow me inside to register."

The group followed closely behind Brother Beile as they entered Blade Castle.

Jie Ning slightly turned his face and glanced at the other castle. Carved upon it was a giant face with a 'Red One-Eye.' Is that the Demon Fortress? Jie Ning thought.

Clearly, there was no time to think further. In an instant, Jie Ning had followed Beile into Blade Castle.

After entering the castle, an exceptionally vast hall appeared before Jie Ning's eyes. It could basically be said that, aside from two staircases leading up and down, the entirety of the castle's first floor was occupied by the hall.

At the center of the hall stood a circular row of counters, behind which several people seemed to be chatting.

"Brother Beile..." People continuously greeted Beile politely along the way. Clearly, Beile possessed considerable prestige within the Blade Army.

Beile's face was wreathed in smiles as he warmly responded to everyone who greeted him.

"Befona, it really is your shift today." Arriving at the counter, Beile looked at a Blue-Haired Woman within. Jie Ning could sense that she too was a Mid-level God. Beile greeted her with a smile.

"Oh, our 'big brother' Beile, you're back." Befona, the Blue-Haired Woman behind the counter, raised her eyes to look at Beile, a teasing smile appearing on her face. "Did you make a special trip here just to hear a few more people call you 'big brother'?"

Rarely, Beile did not accept the title of 'big brother.' He repeatedly waved his hands in surrender. "No, no, no. I wouldn't dare answer if you called me big brother. I still want to live a few more years, you know?"

With a faint smile, Befona gave up teasing Beile and turned to look at Jie Ning's group. "Looks like you got lucky this time. You actually managed to recruit three newcomers at once this year."

"Ah..." Beile put on a troubled expression. "This time, my luck actually wasn't all that good."

"Heh, so that's why you came to the castle hall," Befona sneered, seeing Beile's affected manner and knowing his nature well. "Go on, then. What glorious accomplishment have you achieved this time? Let us see it."

Jie Ning noticed that the gazes around them were beginning, more or less, to turn toward their group.

"You're no fun at all." Beile looked somewhat disappointed by Befona's reaction.

"Then are you going to say it or not?" Befona had no intention of indulging him.

"Fine, fine, fine." Beile put on a surrendering expression. "I'll say it right away."

"On our way back after recruiting these 'newcomers,' we were attacked by Black Dragon Fortress." Beile's expression returned to normal as he spoke seriously. "I need you to report this to the Army Lord for me."

"Black Dragon Fortress?" Befona frowned. "Those lunatics actually dared to take the initiative and attack the Blade Army!"

"Did we suffer any losses?"

"Of course not." Beile smiled proudly. "This time, not a single person on our side died. We nearly wiped out everyone from Black Dragon Fortress too, but unfortunately, one of them got away."

Hearing this battle record, Befona grew curious. "Who led Black Dragon Fortress's team? As I recall, their standard lineup for going out to raid others always includes at least one High-God."

"There were two this time: Qiukadi and Mubale." As he spoke, Beile raised one finger. "Mubale escaped, but Qiukadi is dead through and through. I killed him."

The hall began to fall silent.

Hearing the latter half of Beile's words, Befona's eyes immediately lit up. "Are you sure?"

Beile nodded. "I tried it. His Space Ring can be bound to an owner."

In an instant, the entire castle hall erupted.

"My heavens, 'Blood Frenzy' Qiukadi really died."

"Brother Beile is too powerful..."

Listening to the cries of astonishment coming from all directions, Beile's face immediately blossomed into a grin. His personal trip here with the newcomers had not been in vain.

"Alright." Befona gave Beile a deep look. "I'll report it to big brother."

Jie Ning had originally thought that no matter how quickly such a report was made, it would still take some time. Yet in the very next moment, Befona said to Beile, "You're lucky. Big brother isn't cultivating today. He said for you to go find him at Despair Ridge later."

"Thank you." Beile thanked Befona, then finally pointed at Jie Ning and the others, who had been ignored for quite some time. "Next, I'll have to trouble you to register these newcomers as well."

Befona nodded indifferently. "Who's first?"

"Jie Ning, come over." Beile called to Jie Ning.

"Hello, Miss Befona." Jie Ning stepped forward and greeted her politely. Clearly, the woman before him had an unusual relationship with the Blade Army's Army Lord.

"No need to be nervous." Befona was accustomed to Jie Ning's respectful manner and spoke casually. "State your name, strength, and element."

"Jie Ning, Earth-element Mid-level God." Jie Ning answered truthfully.

"Oh, right," Beile suddenly said from the side. "For this Jie Ning and that kid named Mosang."

Beile pointed at Jie Ning and Mosang. "Register ten Blade Points for each of them."

Befona looked at Beile in surprise. "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"

"I'm sure." Beile nodded. "They each killed a Mid-level God from Black Dragon Fortress. According to the rules, killing a Mid-level God from an enemy force earns ten Blade Points."

Befona examined Jie Ning and Mosang. "Looks like these really are two good seedlings."

"Take these. Both need to be bound to an owner with a drop of blood." Befona lowered her head, took out two black badges, and handed them to Jie Ning. "Then you can control the words displayed on them, leave your name, and give one back to me."

Jie Ning finished the process, then handed one of the badges back to Befona.

"Next." After finishing her task, Befona directly called out.

Mosang and Korur completed the process in turn.

After registering the three men's information, Befona looked at Jie Ning and the others. "Alright. First of all, congratulations. From this moment onward, you officially belong to the Blade Army."

"In the future, you can earn Blade Points by completing internal Blade Army missions. Missions can be accepted at the counter on the second floor. The points you earn can be used directly on the second floor of Blade Castle and above. One point is worth roughly ten thousand Ink Stones."

"Ahem, ahem." Beile coughed twice and said somewhat awkwardly, "I haven't told them about points and Ink Stones yet."

"Heh, you've really got some nerve." Befona shot Beile a sidelong glance.

"You only need to know that Ink Stones are the common currency in Hell. As for their approximate value, a Demigod Divine Spark is worth around a hundred Ink Stones, while a Middle-God Divine Spark is worth ten thousand Ink Stones. Of course, that's the standard buyback price on the market." Befona gave a rough example. "Blade Points, meanwhile, count as the internal currency of the Blade Army."

Jie Ning subconsciously guessed, Has the High Gods already begun collecting Divine Sparks for the Supreme God?

No, that's not right. There isn't even a High God Army yet. Even if the High Gods wanted to collect Divine Sparks, how would they do it?

"Divine Sparks can be bought back? Are they going to sell them? Who would even want them?" Mosang suddenly asked curiously. "Anyone wealthy enough to afford one should already look down on Divine Sparks of this level, right?"

Nicely done, Mosang. Jie Ning silently gave Mosang a thumbs-up.

Beile explained, "Every hundred years, Overgod's Envoys publicly buy them back in the major cities of Hell. This price is the purchase price those Overgod's Envoys have always offered, and it has never changed."

"Each city has different Overgod's Envoys assigned to it."

"Only when a city is powerful enough will an Overgod's Envoy come."

"If none has come, then it only means this is some insignificant little city." Beile gave his assessment.

Mosang still had a small question. "Then what are Ink Stones used for? Why is everyone willing to trade with them?"

Befona looked Mosang up and down several times, and her tone turned strange. "This is a rule set by the High Gods. What do you think of that reason?"

Mosang promptly shut his mouth.

"You two currently have ten points each." Having put a stop to Mosang, the question machine, Befona continued as she looked at Jie Ning and Mosang. "Points can only be used in Blade Castle. Once you go outside, you must use Ink Stones—but conversely, Ink Stones can also be used inside the castle."

"So you can also exchange your points for an equivalent amount of Ink Stones, if you're stupid enough." Befona said venomously.

Beile reminded them from the side, "When buying goods in Blade Castle with points, you'll receive more favorable prices. You can even buy some items that are completely unavailable outside."

"Alright, that's basically everything I needed to tell you." Befona tapped the table as she summed up. "A few more things: you should have noticed that the badges you were given also contain a space."

"There's a book inside detailing the rights and obligations of Blade Army members. Remember to read it yourselves when you return."

"Also, each of your badges contains two Subsidiary Badges. Remember to have your two Reserve Army members refine them and wear them."

"Otherwise, ordinary Demigods aren't qualified to wander around Blade City." Befona glanced at the several Demigods.

Jie Ning looked inside his badge and, sure enough, found two badges within. They were essentially identical to the one he wore, except they were white.

Taking out the badges, Jie Ning handed them to Dinar and the other man. After refining the badges, the two directly pinned them to their chests.

"Alright." Seeing that matters here were settled, and that Befona seemed to be growing impatient, Beile hurriedly led Jie Ning and the others away. "Next, I'll take you to where you'll be staying."

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