A few days later, Jie Ning went to Blade Castle again, intending to spend the Points in his hand directly. It would have been even better if he could exchange them for strength.
But after making a round, Jie Ning suddenly realized that he did not seem to have anything he particularly needed. He had yet to encounter any bottleneck in comprehending Mysteries, and he could strengthen his soul on his own.
In the end, Jie Ning only bought some books, including introductions to the current state of Hell and notes on cultivation insights for various elements.
Jie Ning flipped through them roughly and learned one thing from the books: those currently known as invincible among gods were Overgod's Envoys...
There was no agreement among the Overgods that they could only give their own Overgod's Envoys one Sovereign Artifact. Thus, most Overgod's Envoys now possessed a complete set of three Sovereign Artifacts.
Some people might even be granted a Sovereign Artifact if an Overgod took a liking to them. The books recorded such a "fortuitous encounter."
Of course, the protagonist of that "fortuitous encounter" had already become an Overgod's Envoy.
This made Jie Ning's heart tighten slightly. In battles between God-level experts, aside from Paragons, Sovereign Artifacts were weapons of mass destruction. What if, one day during a fight, his opponent suddenly pulled one out...
In the Supreme Planes, it could be said that aside from the Overgods, these Overgod's Envoys were invincible. At the very least, no one else could threaten them.
After leaving Blade Castle, Jie Ning roughly toured all of Blade City. Having just read those books, he felt terribly insecure. He thought that he needed to plan in advance which direction he should flee if trouble arose.
North of Blade City lay an ordinary commercial district.
There were many shops here as well, except these shops were all privately operated.
One had to be more careful when spending money here. Buying things depended on one's own ability, and the chance of purchasing inferior goods was not nonexistent.
Of course, Jie Ning did not need to worry about that. He wore the Blade Army badge; would these shop owners dare use such tricks in front of him?
Jie Ning saw many unusual shops and services here.
For instance, assassins had openly opened storefronts. There was even a sign outside directly introducing the scope of their services, with their main competitive advantage being that they were relatively cheap.
There were also shops opened by earth-element God-level experts, specializing in undertaking all kinds of construction projects, such as Castles and estates.
There were also stores specializing in "curios." Curios were generally formed naturally by Heaven and Earth, and many people had a habit of collecting them.
From time to time, people entered the shop out of curiosity.
Even Jie Ning's attention was drawn to it the instant he saw the store.
He suddenly recalled that the Supreme God Tokens in the original work had also once been treated as Heaven and Earth Curios.
He entered the store with curiosity.
Only after going inside did Jie Ning realize he had been overthinking things.
The store did sell curios. That much was true.
But at this point in time, the number of curios appearing between Heaven and Earth was beyond imagination. Most of them were useless, and the curios sold here basically belonged to that category.
For example, there were stone blocks that automatically condensed earth elements to slowly form Black Jade. After examining one, Jie Ning estimated that it would only produce one cubic centimeter of Black Jade every thousand years on the Bana Continent.
There were also beads that could absorb water-element attacks, but whose upper limit of endurance was merely at the Saint Realm...
Perhaps these things would have some use in the Material Planes, but in Hell, they were not much different from trash. Many people could even make a knockoff Heaven and Earth Curio with their own hands that surpassed the genuine article.
Still, some curios were useless but nevertheless attracted Jie Ning's attention, such as the Stone Sphere before him.
A small plaque stood in front of each curio, containing a simple introduction.
"Gravity Bead. Can cast 'Gravity Space' once per day. Its power can roughly bind an ordinary Low-God for the duration of two breaths."
Unsure whether it would help his comprehension of the Mystery of Gravity Space, Jie Ning bought it with considerable interest. It was not expensive, costing him only eight Ink Stones.
Jie Ning had specifically gone to Kala earlier and exchanged a Middle-God spark for those Ink Stones.
After wandering around for several more days, Jie Ning gained a rough understanding of the layout of Blade City's outer district and formed a simple map in his mind. Then he returned to his immersed cultivation state.
Very quickly, another thirty-odd years passed. Jie Ning spent most of those years cultivating, only occasionally gathering with a few acquaintances. The only surprise during that period was that Dinar had broken through to become a Middle-God some time ago.
One morning, two guests arrived at Jie Ning's courtyard. "So, what do you two want with me?" Jie Ning asked as he looked at Mosang and Korur before him.
The two stared at Jie Ning with mysterious expressions. No one knew when they had gotten together.
"Hehe, Jie Ning, we came to tell you some good news." Korur smiled smugly. "Mosang and I came looking for you the moment we got this news."
"I haven't even told Dinar yet."
"What good news?" Jie Ning asked with a bit of interest as he looked at Korur's strange expression.
Mosang took over, his tone somewhat excited. "Jie Ning, this is truly huge news."
"What huge news? Are you about to become a High-God, Mosang?" Jie Ning joked. "Should I start calling you Lord Mosang from now on?"
"Not that." Mosang smiled awkwardly. "It isn't that kind of news."
"It's Combat Projections." Mosang stopped beating around the bush. "Blade Castle just issued a notice. After some time, a large number of battle Combat Projections will be publicly sold at Blade Castle for a limited period."
"Members of the Blade Army can spend Points to watch the Combat Projections. They say there are quite a few projections of powerful experts fighting, and there are even rumors that some contain Combat Projections of Seven-star Demon experts collected by the Army Lord." Mosang was visibly excited.
They were all certain that none of them featured the Army Lord himself. After all, no one would willingly reveal their own methods. But Combat Projections of other Seven-star Demons were enough to leave them astonished.
Jie Ning was interested as well. Experts of that level had already traveled a considerable distance down the path of fusing Mysteries. Their battles still held great reference value for the current Jie Ning.
"What price?" Jie Ning asked the two.
"That hasn't been announced yet." Korur added, "But every member of the Blade Army has already gone mad."
"Everyone has started frantically taking missions at Blade Castle, completing missions to save Points. They all plan to watch the Combat Projections the moment they are released, afraid of missing this opportunity."
"Even some high-difficulty missions that no one bothered with in the past have been taken by groups."
Mosang looked at Jie Ning with shining eyes. "Let's form a team and do missions together too."
"It would be awful if the Combat Projections came out and we did not have enough Points."
Hearing this, Jie Ning felt that something was off. "Does Blade Castle really have that many accumulated missions?"
"Will there still be any left after everyone scrambles for them?"
At this point, Mosang and Korur also sensed something strange. They looked at each other. "The information we received said that the Castle still has a large number of missions requiring manpower."
Just then, a familiar voice came from outside. "Jie Ning, are you there?"
Jie Ning's expression shifted. Perfect timing. He went out and welcomed the visitor inside. "Kala, come in first."
The moment Kala entered, he saw Mosang and Korur. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "No wonder neither of you was around when I went looking for you. So you were both here with Jie Ning."
"Kala, did you also come because of the Combat Projections?" Jie Ning and Kala had become much closer by now, so he asked directly.
"That is part of the reason." Kala nodded.
Then Kala's expression turned serious. "There is another piece of news, something even more important."
"What news?" Mosang was slightly stunned. He had thought the Combat Projections were already the biggest matter.
"Expansion. The Blade Army is going to expand on a massive scale," Kala said solemnly.
"A massive expansion? Where will they find the people?" Mosang asked in confusion. He remembered that the Blade Army's recruitment requirements were not easy to meet.
"They are lowering the threshold." Kala's tone was uncertain as well. "This expansion will only look at strength. As long as someone is at least a Middle-God, anyone can join the Blade Army."
"The Combat Projections are one of the incentives being released to attract more powerful experts."
Jie Ning was now certain something was wrong. "Kala, is your information reliable?"
"I just came from Brother Beile's place." Kala had gone to Beile for confirmation the moment he received the news.
"Basically every interested person already knows about it."
"Brother Beile also revealed that many missions related to assessing Recruits will appear in the Castle soon."
"Do you know what they are expanding the army for?" Jie Ning's gaze darkened slightly. He hoped it was not one of those major incidents.
"I don't know either. Apparently, the Army Lord went out some time ago and gave the order immediately after returning." Kala knew that this usually meant something major was about to happen, and it was most likely not something good.
Korur asked doubtfully, "Could they be preparing to fight Black Dragon Fortress?"
He still remembered the attack they had encountered on the road to Blade City.
Kala hesitated before shaking his head. "Probably not. Black Dragon Fortress is weaker than our Blade Army to begin with."
"Besides, if they were moving against Black Dragon Fortress, I should have heard some news."
The ominous feeling in Jie Ning's heart grew even stronger.
"All right, that is all for the news." Kala looked at the others. "No matter what happens, strength is the most important thing."
"Speaking of which, aside from the Combat Projections you know about, the Castle will also be selling a large number of High-level Divine Artifacts. All of these could directly increase our strength."
"But all of them require a huge amount of Points. That is why I came—to invite you to do missions together."
"We know a little about each other's capabilities, so cooperating with each other is more reliable."
Korur suddenly thought of something. "Will the Reserve Army be affected?"
Kala glanced at him. "There is no news about that at the moment."
"But based on past experience, if something really happens, the Reserve Army will also have to go to the battlefield," Kala reminded him.
"Go back and have Dinar register quickly." Kala knew Dinar had already become a Middle-God. "No, Jie Ning, you need to take Dinar there yourself."
"He has been living with Korur all this time. I am almost starting to think he is Korur's Reserve Army."
Jie Ning nodded, then directly asked about the missions. "What missions are you planning to take?" During such a major change, he probably could not remain uninvolved. He needed to gather information about the surrounding situation.
Hearing this, Kala breathed a sigh of relief. Jie Ning had clearly agreed, and Kala greatly valued Jie Ning's strength.
He had witnessed Jie Ning's strength before. If their group truly encountered an unexpected situation, Jie Ning could temporarily hold off several people by himself. That might even turn the tide of battle.
"Most of the new missions that appear in the future will focus on clearing out the various bandit forces around Blade City," Kala explained. "Those are our targets."
Mosang found it strange. "Won't those bandits be accepted as potential recruits?"
Otherwise, were they not manpower too?
Kala smiled meaningfully. "The bandits who dare remain within Blade City's sphere of influence basically all have informants in the city. Someone will pass the news to those fellows. By now, this information has probably already reached their ears. I reckon the smart ones are no longer bandits."
"If we act too slowly, we might even see former bosses leading teams to wipe out their current gangs in exchange for Points."
"I agree." Jie Ning was very satisfied with this type of mission.
Kala looked at Korur and Mosang. "Are you two joining as well?"
Korur and Mosang felt a little awkward. Clearly, they had arrived first.
Still, neither of them refused. "Of course we're joining."
"Dinar has to be included too," Korur added.
"That is a small matter." Kala did not care about that. He only cared about safety.
Jie Ning asked, "Then when do we start?"
"Kachishan at the mission desk will directly accept several missions in my name once they are posted." Kala gave them some inside information. "Don't worry, they will all be carefully selected."
Kala once again displayed his connections within Blade City to the three of them.
Over the years, they had long witnessed Kala's astonishing network of contacts.
Mosang could not help but complain, "Kala, how did you manage to become hated by everyone in the Blade Army, yet flourish in the city?"
"Pah, pah, pah. What do you mean, hated by everyone?" Kala said irritably. "Those guys are only targeting me because they are jealous that I have good relationships with several Hundred Guards."
"And the ladies in the city are far more sensible than they are."
Jie Ning could not help but smile. Kala had come to Hell while still in the Saint Realm, yet he was living quite well now. As expected, he had his own unique skills.
"Jealous, aren't you, you lot?" Kala waved his hand smugly. "All right, I will come find you once there is news."
"Don't run around during this time."
After Kala left, Jie Ning went with Korur to find Dinar and handled the procedures at the Castle.
But the situation had indeed changed this time. Aside from being allowed to choose a residence, Dinar was not given the chance to choose his own personal Reserve Army.
From then on, Jie Ning had only Mondoka left as a Reserve Army subordinate.
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