Seclusion

This is absolutely earth-shattering news!

Don't think that just because Linley later encountered Seven-star Demons and even Asuras, it means the Infernal Realm is overflowing with experts—that Seven-star Demons are as common as dogs and Asuras are everywhere.

That's just an illusion of high density.

Where did Linley later appear? The Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, Nether Mountain, and the Plane Battlefield.

Especially the Plane Battlefield!

That place gathers the essence accumulated over trillions of years from endless planes.

Not just trillions of years—Six-star and Seven-star Demons might possibly be experts built on a trillion years of accumulation.

But a Prefect Lord-level commander? That could never be just a trillion years of accumulation.

That's countless years of accumulation.

So, if you narrow it down to a specific city, a Five-star Demon would often be a star-level celebrity there.

Bamer, and Salif before him, were both extremely famous Five-star Demons in Yilan City.

That's exactly why everyone reacted so strongly.

This is a Five-star Demon!

Aside from the elusive Lord of Yilan City, the strongest expert an ordinary Star Demon at the Demon Castle could ever hope to see was someone like Bamer.

"No way, no way!"

"Lord Salif isn't really going to follow a Middle God, is he?"

"No, no—we should call him Lord Bamer now!"

Muttered discussions continued.

"I'll handle the mission procedures for Lord Hermes right away. Please hand over your Demon Medal."

Susimita had worked at the Demon Castle for centuries; no matter how outrageous the matter, she could keep her composure.

But her trembling hands still couldn't fool Hermes.

"It's fine. Take your time. I'm not in a hurry."

Hermes handed over his freshly minted Demon Medal, then waited quietly, showing no impatience even though the fusion of the Earth Element and the Mysteries of Power was nearing completion.

Unbelievable!

A man with such a brutish appearance actually possessed this kind of patience.

"Points recorded!"

Once the initial panic passed, Susimita's professional skill kicked in, and she quickly finished processing Hermes' mission settlement.

"Congratulations, Lord Hermes, on your promotion to Five-star Demon!"

A record had been set!

The fastest promotion to Five-star Demon in Yilan City—and even the entire Purple Thorn Continent.

"Good!"

Hermes simply nodded.

He took the Demon Medal Susimita handed him and responded with a smile.

"Bamer, first take me to your residence in Yilan City."

Hermes turned around, and Bamer immediately stepped ahead of him to lead the way.

"So... he really just got promoted straight to Five-star Demon, huh?"

A Star Demon who had been watching everything muttered under his breath.

"What else did you expect?"

"I've heard that some super experts are even directly granted Seven-star Demon status by the Demon Castle, with someone personally delivering their Demon Medal."

"Heh heh, you said it yourself—those are super experts! But this Hermes is just a Middle God."

"And a Middle God who just passed the Yilan City Demon Assessment."

There will never be a shortage of controversy anywhere. Whenever something is controversial, countless participants are bound to show up.

And that's how the discussion gets going!

Only a very few Star Demons with a business sense quietly slipped out of the Demon Castle.

Barring any surprises, the topic of Hermes was bound to top Yilan City's 'hot search' for decades, even centuries to come.

At the same time, countless intelligence dealers would profit from this.

Information that the Demon Castle overlooked or didn't care about would always find someone to fill the gap.

A few days later, or perhaps half a month later, the name Hermes would spread across billions of miles around Yilan City.

Watching Hermes disappear through the Demon Castle's entrance, Susimita felt a wave of loss surge within her.

But she was helpless.

Leaving the Demon Castle, Hermes headed straight for Bamer's residence in Yilan City.

"Bamer."

On the way, he said to Bamer, "After this seclusion ends, I'll head to the Purple Crystal Mountain Range. Will you follow me or stay here?"

A follower was not a slave!

Even if a follower took the interests of the one they followed as their own, the one being followed had to give respect in return.

In fact, before the Four Supreme Planes descended Sovereign Sparks, this kind of Follower Ritual was quite common.

Ever since Sovereigns—beings above all gods—existed, the Follower Ritual had lost its ground for survival.

Damn it, wasn't being a dog for a Sovereign more comfortable than following a super expert?

With Sovereigns, Sovereign Power, and the even rarer Sovereign Artifacts, the world had lost its simplicity and purity.

"Of course I'll follow you, milord. I'll put the property up for sale right away."

Leading Hermes to his residence in Yilan City, Bamer was about to return to the Demon Castle.

But Hermes called him back.

"Don't rush!"

"I don't know how long this seclusion will last. What's the hurry in selling just one house?"

Indeed!

A city residence that was out of reach for ordinary gods meant nothing to a Five-star Demon.

The reason Bamer was in such a hurry

was merely to show his determination to follow unto death; he didn't really care about the few billion Ink Stones from selling the house.

Even Hermes didn't care.

Though he had devoured quite a bit of Ink Stone wealth earlier, killing Fort Master Zhe Lan had let him recoup everything in one go.

"Yes, milord!"

Bamer remembered every detail of Hermes' battle with 'himself.'

Invincible in material aspects, at least at the Seven-star Demon level, and his soul defense could withstand the assault of a Death Law Five-star Demon.

In Bamer's eyes, his lord was a Hexagonal Warrior.

But that was only because he hadn't seen Hermes' pitiful speed.

Only in a closed environment like Blocking Castle.

If it were somewhere else, if Hermes couldn't defeat Fort Master Zhe Lan, he probably wouldn't even be able to escape.

Material attack at Seven-star, material defense at Six-star, but speed only at the level of an ordinary Middle God—Bamer never imagined there could be such an odd expert.

"Bamer, your attack power is definitely among the best of Five-star Demons, but your soul defense is too poor. Doesn't the Fire Element Law have a Profound Mystery dedicated to the soul?"

Hermes had some understanding of the Fire Element Law.

"Yes, milord!"

Bamer felt a bit ashamed. "The Soul Profound Mystery and the Burning Space Profound Mystery both have soul defense capabilities, but I haven't managed to integrate them into my techniques."

What he meant by 'integrating into techniques' was, of course, fusing Profound Mysteries!

"Actually, I've already found the point of convergence between my Profound Mysteries."

"Perfect timing. We can go into seclusion together this time, and once we come out, we'll head straight for the Purple Crystal Mountain Range."

Hermes made the final call.

"Yes, milord."

Bamer nodded.

In the blink of an eye, several thousand years passed.

Generally speaking, Hermes didn't like the overly comfortable environment within the city, but he had to admit that a stable environment was greatly beneficial for cultivation.

"Boom~!"

During the first century of seclusion, Hermes finally fully integrated the Earth Element and the Mysteries of Power.

His combat strength received a major boost.

Although Mist Shadow Heavy was also a technique that fused power with Gravity Space, Gravity Space focused on controlling the enemy; within the range of Mist Shadow Heavy, Hermes could fight as he pleased.

By expanding Mist Shadow Heavy to its maximum, guided by gravity, he could experience the joy of extreme speed while fighting freely.

If he could also integrate the mysteries of the Earth Walking Technique into Mist Shadow Heavy, Hermes would surely be even happier.

This book is on the verge of death. Everyone, if you think the chapters are too few, please click and follow the reading data. I can't burst out chapters during the new book period. Those who have read Old Bull's books know that bursts happen during the release phase. This book can't even make it past the first round right now. I'm begging you!!!