Lionheart City

The Aoyu Empire was divided into seven provinces based on its seven cities.

Double Moon Town was located in the Southeast Province, while Lionheart City, the capital, was in the Central Province, the closest to all other provinces.

This time, it was purely a journey, traveling along the main roads, which made everyone much faster. It took only half a month to reach Lionheart City.

As the capital of the Aoyu Empire, ten li away from Lionheart City, there were all kinds of stalls.

There were those selling ferocious beast mounts, minerals, food, and weapons—a dazzling variety that left Guen, who had never been to a city before, utterly amazed.

The others were much calmer.

Though they had never been to Lionheart City, most had at least visited Leiquan City.

At this level of cultivation, it was rare indeed to have never set foot in a main city.

"Tonight, I'll arrange lodging for you first. Rest up. Someone will come find you later." Tom left them with that remark and walked away, leaving the group standing at the hotel entrance exchanging bewildered looks.

Ganlan stepped forward without hesitation: "Everyone, find a room and rest first. The entire hotel has been booked for us. Everyone here is part of the trial, from all provinces—the most elite. No one will dare disturb us here, but you may face challenges from people of other provinces. Whether to accept them is up to you."

With that, Ganlan strode into the hotel first. People beside him, clearly led by Ganlan, followed him inside.

"Let's go."

Guen and his three companions shrugged and walked in as well.

The lobby was already crowded with people.

The Southeast Province had only forty-seven people in total. Apart from the Eastsea Province and the Central Province, the other provinces hovered around the number fifty.

The Eastsea Province had one hundred and twenty-three people, even more than the Central Province's eighty-nine.

Out of a total of four hundred and ninety-seven, the Eastsea Province occupied a quarter of the slots—all of them warriors with a Force Multiplier exceeding three times.

"The Eastsea Province is a part of the Aoyu Empire that juts out into the sea. The entire province is long and narrow, but it has many special resources. At the same time, it's attacked by ferocious beasts from the ocean. With the sea as a barrier, those beasts attack and hide as they please. That's why the warriors of the Eastsea Province are best at one-hit-kill burst attacks," Setti explained, looking at a group of cold-faced warriors in the corner of the lobby. "But don't be too afraid. There are far more ferocious beasts on land than in the sea. It's just that the special nature of sea beasts forces them to aim for a single lethal strike. Rumor has it that the Demon Hunter headquarters is in the Eastsea Province."

Demon Hunter?

Among all Civilian Organizations, the most famous were the Demon Hunters and the Crimson Moon Society.

The Demon Hunters had the greater reputation. They roamed through all the provinces solely to hunt ferocious beasts, and many imperial citizens held goodwill toward them.

Everyone looked at that group.

Sure enough, they all exuded a killing aura, each with an indifferent expression, looking down on people from other provinces.

Guen and his three companions glanced over and then went upstairs.

"Ganlan, Ganlan." As soon as Ganlan entered the lobby, someone waved and called him over.

That group, though dressed in form-fitting attire, adorned themselves with many luxurious accessories. The dining table before them was laden with dishes, making it obvious at a glance that they came from noble or wealthy merchant families.

"You finally joined the trial this year. How is it? Feeling good?" someone greeted amiably.

"Not bad. It's certainly a unique experience." Ganlan replied with a smile.

"In your Southeast Province, you should be the one with the highest Force Multiplier this time, right?"

Ganlan's face stiffened.

Though unwilling to admit it, with Guen's five times Force Multiplier and his own barely reaching four times, he couldn't bring himself to say something like "about the same."

Ganlan shook his head: "No. Our most outstanding this time is someone from Double Moon Town, still very young, who achieved five times Force Multiplier."

Five times!

The group immediately perked up.

Though there were nearly five hundred people here, most had around three times Force Multiplier. For ordinary people, that was already a high point. Reaching five times would likely require a long period of tempering.

"In our Northwest Province, there isn't a single one with five times. There are rarely a few warriors with five times Force Multiplier in each trial, right?"

"Ganlan, could it be that your Southeast Province has performed poorly several times in a row, so you're deliberately lying?"

"Or maybe you're just at the bottom of this group and saying that to save face? Hahahaha."

The group chuckled softly.

Ganlan's anger flared. He glared at the speaker: "Gabulin, do you think I'm like you?"

Gabulin's face immediately darkened.

"Hmph. Then let facts speak. Your Southeast Province was dead last last time, and the time before that, barely second-to-last. Do you think I care about you?" Gabulin said darkly.

Ganlan smiled: "Of course. Ninth Prince, you'd better hurry up. I've heard that His Majesty has already advanced to Super Tier."

"Everyone, excuse me."

Ganlan walked away directly.

"Bastard!" Gabulin gritted his teeth, but there was little he could do.

Ganlan's father was a city lord, one of the few formidable Super Tier experts. Though he himself was of royal descent, he wasn't necessarily much stronger than Ganlan.

Especially with the royal family's rules.

After the previous emperor advanced to Super Tier, he would automatically abdicate.

But to maintain the royal family's competitiveness and prevent the royal children from becoming lazy, there was another rule: the former emperor's offspring would be assigned to defend key border regions. The first prince to gain recognition could return to claim the throne. If none succeeded, it might fall to other members of the royal family.

But those places are all extremely dangerous, with Super Tier ferocious beasts frequently attacking.

Gabulin is only at the Sixth Tier in cultivation, barely managing to pass the trial and come here by relying on his status as a Prince. If he cannot achieve a good ranking in this trial, then when he is assigned later, it will be very dangerous.

The royal family of the Aoyu Empire has never shown mercy to these Princes; otherwise, they would not allow each emperor, whose term lasts at most thirty years, to advance to Super Tier during their reign.

Inside the hotel building, Guen took a room alone.

He first used the Communication Watch given by his parents to initiate a call.

This watch can conceal itself; when not in use, it looks like an ordinary bracelet, but once activated, it can transmit messages over great distances.

In the end, his father simply replied with a brief "Just do your best" and ignored Guen.

Guen smiled helplessly, stretched out his limbs, and lay on the bed, guessing what method would be used to determine the rankings in the final trial.

What Guen did not know was that at this moment, inside "a white cloud" in the sky, his father Kolong and mother Ina were watching Guen's situation clearly through a screen.

Not only was Guen unaware, but none of the many Super Tier powerhouses in Lionheart City noticed either.

"This Native Planet, purely in terms of strength, is just so-so. Forget the rest, but this Ruins might be a Legacy deliberately crafted by some powerful being. At the very least... it's a Domain Lord Level, and a formidable one at that. If it weren't so heavily guarded here, we could go and explore it ourselves." Kolong said with great regret.

There are many Ruins on this planet carefully guarded by the humans of the Aoyu Empire, but Kolong did not care about them.

Those places are merely wreckage of spaceships, yielding only some ordinary mechanical tools. An outer-space battle might have erupted around this planet, causing some ships to crash down.

The people of the Aoyu Empire discovered these spaceship remains, and despite their efforts, they could only barely imitate and produce the simplest basic instruments.

For example, the device used to check participants' identities before the trial, though simple, is still a product of technology.

But this planet has no foundation in technology; this is already the limit of the Aoyu Empire.

However, Kolong looks down on technology of this level. The only things he truly values are those five Star Level powerhouses and this Ruins.

"I'm still a bit worried. Who knows what that powerful being intended by leaving this Ruins? Although Guen has joined the trial and has a chance to enter, there will still be danger." Ina said with concern.

"If he stays safe his whole life, would that be good?" Kolong shook his head. "Steady and stable, with his talent, Planetary Level is no problem. Star Level might be his lifelong limit. But he is our son. That conviction to grow stronger will never be satisfied with just a Star Level result. Yet if he wants to go further, how can he avoid taking risks? Within risk, there is often a sliver of opportunity."

Ina understood this as well.

A Planetary Level, placed in the universe, is just cannon fodder, a hired thug.

A Star Level, in some remote places, counts as the strongest on a planet. On this planet, among the five Star Level powerhouses, only two are Saint Tier of the Aoyu Empire, but their status is supreme.

As for Universe Level, that is a super powerhouse that a galaxy, under natural conditions, can barely produce one of.

A galaxy has over a hundred thousand Life Planets. Out of so many Planetary and Star Level cultivators, how many can give birth to one?

As for Domain Lord Level, one can become a regional hegemon.

Kolong and Ina themselves are only at Planetary Level.

"Guen, you must be careful." Ina worried in her heart.