Now That I've Transmigrated into Coiling Dragon, Who Still Needs to Live Off a Woman? Part 23

"I've decided. Once we enter the city this time, I'm signing up for the Fiend assessment. Fanny, are you coming with me?"

"Hmph~ Simon, are you itching for a beating again? If you're going, then of course I'm going too. I promised to protect you."

"Hehe, then thank you, Lady Fanny."

Laughing and chatting, the two paid two Inkstones and followed the crowd into Timbu City.

Applying for the Fiend Assessment

"What a huge city, Fanny."

After entering the city, Simon looked around in astonishment. The largest city he had ever seen in a Material Plane could only hold tens of millions of people.

Yet as Simon looked over Timbu City before him, he could not see its boundaries at all. The streets were packed with people, Highgods were merely ordinary passersby here, and flying was prohibited.

"Haha, Simon, why are you making such a fuss? Timbu City is just an ordinary city. Once you reach Fenglan City, where our clan is located, you'll understand what a truly massive city looks like."

Fanny burst into laughter at Simon's reaction.

"Hehe, it's my first time seeing so many gods. Especially since there are so many whose auras I can't detect at all. They must all be Highgods."

Along the way, Simon discovered that Highgods truly were commonplace here. Even many of the patrolling soldiers were Highgods, likely serving as patrol captains.

This also kept order within the city exceptionally good. Not a single person dared to cause trouble.

"Simon, let's find a hotel and rest first. I'll also take you to try Hell's unique delicacies."

"Sure. I've been wanting to see just how delicious the food you're always bragging about really is."

Although one no longer needed food or drink after reaching the Saint Realm, experts who lived too long still needed to find some entertainment. Fine food and wine were among the most popular pleasures.

Following Fanny, he arrived at a hotel occupying a vast area and decorated with extraordinary luxury.

"Ridley Hotel. It looks pretty good. Let's choose this place."

After following Fanny into the hotel, Simon learned that lodging requirements in Hell were rather unusual. The minimum stay was one year. However, neither Simon nor Fanny planned to stay long, as they intended to take the Fiend assessment soon.

After looking around, Simon spent a thousand Inkstones to rent a two-story building with a courtyard for one year. He then took the number plate marked 203 from the front desk and headed with Fanny to the hotel dining area.

Fanny took the menu and, without even looking at the prices, ordered every signature dish in the restaurant. Black Dragon Heart and Phoenix Liver were merely drinking snacks, while Simon had never even heard of many ingredients listed in the names of the other dishes.

According to the menu descriptions, many ingredients had been shipped from other planes. After crossing such vast distances, their prices were easy to imagine.

Several hours later, all the dishes had been served.

"Let's eat, Simon."

With that, Fanny immediately began stuffing herself impatiently.

Seeing Fanny's adorable way of eating, Simon began eating as well.

"Mmm~ So delicious..."

Simon, tasting Hell's cuisine for the first time, was completely conquered.

He had never expected ordinary Saint Realm Black Dragon Heart and Saint Realm Fire Phoenix Liver to be so richly flavored when stir-fried. After one bite, Simon could not stop eating.

Yet these two dishes were merely drinking snacks to Fanny.

The main dish was said to come from a Divine Beast from the Life Divine Realm. After it was slain, it had been sold to a planar merchant, then purchased by the restaurant and carefully prepared by its chef.

After only one bite, Simon felt that coming to Hell had truly been the right choice.

This really was a foodie's Heaven. Even someone like Simon, who did not care much for indulgence in food, kept crying out over how delicious it was.

Besides those three dishes, the entire table was filled with all kinds of food: steamed Spirit Fish, secret-recipe salad, charcoal-grilled Little Fire Dragon, and more.

After devouring everything like a whirlwind, Simon and Fanny finished all the dishes on the table. They burped contentedly and enjoyed some specialty fruit from the Heavenly Realm.

It resembled grapes from Simon's previous life, but tasted countless times better.

After eating and drinking their fill, Simon and Fanny paid the bill and left the hotel. The meal had cost several hundred thousand Inkstones. Simon was still clicking his tongue in amazement as he paid; that amount of money was wealth many Midgods would never possess in their entire lives.

Even Highgods would not dare eat so extravagantly whenever they pleased.

Only Simon, who had come into a windfall, did not care, while Fanny, the little rich girl, found it entirely ordinary.

But Inkstones were actually very difficult to earn in Hell.

Simon had opened the Spatial Rings of so many bandits, yet the most he had ever found in a Midgod bandit's Spatial Ring was only eighty-five Inkstones.

And that had only happened once.

It was easy to imagine how difficult it was for ordinary God-Level beings to accumulate wealth in Hell.

When they passed a clothing store, Simon pulled Fanny inside and carefully selected a gorgeous long dress for her. Its price was exactly ten million Inkstones. According to the shopkeeper, the feathers used in the dress had been shipped from the Fire Divine Plane. Its defensive power had reached the level of a Highgod Artifact, and it was even more effective for Fire Element experts.

Fanny could not refuse him and tried it on. Finding that it truly looked good on her, she accepted it with a smile.

After eating so many of Fanny's Soul Golden Beads, Simon finally felt a little better after returning the favor with a piece of clothing.

Although Simon knew that this dress might have been the cheapest one in Fanny's Spatial Ring, seeing her wear it and look like a fairy amidst flames, he felt it had been worth buying.

The two continued wandering and shopping, soon arriving at the Fiend Castle.

The ancient Fiend Castle was entirely purplish-black. At its very center was carved a blurry giant face and a bewitching crimson eye. Once seen, the sight could never be forgotten.

The Fiend Castle was also a building found in every city. It was where Fiend missions were issued and accepted, as well as where one registered for Fiend assessments.

Before coming here, Simon and Fanny had agreed to take the Fiend assessment together. After becoming Fiends, they would travel through Hell and temper themselves through adventure.

Since they had already wandered here, they naturally had to go inside and take a look.

The first-floor hall of the Fiend Castle was quite empty, with only a few hundred people coming and going.

Several hundred people in such a vast hall made it appear sparse. Clearly, not many people came here, nowhere near as many as the Black Sand Castle next door and similar places dedicated to shopping and trade.

The moment Simon and Fanny entered, they spotted a counter in the center of the hall labeled "Fiend Assessment Applications."

A beautiful woman with jade-green hair and violet eyes sat behind the counter, listlessly flipping through a book. Simon glanced at it.

The title was clearly <Reborn as a Seven-Star Fiend, Crazy in Love with Me>...

Obviously, this woman also dreamed of being reborn into a romance with an overbearing CEO.

Seeing someone approach, she immediately put down her book. "Hello. Are you two here to apply for the Fiend assessment?"

"Yes. The two of us would like to apply for the nearest Fiend assessment. May I ask what requirements there are?" Simon replied.

"There are no particular requirements. Each person only needs to pay ten thousand Inkstones and leave a contact address."

"Alright, here are twenty thousand Inkstones. We're staying in Courtyard 203 of the Ridley Hotel."

"Very well. Please wait a moment."

The green-haired, violet-eyed beauty accepted the Inkstones, recorded their address, and continued.

"The nearest Fiend assessment cannot be determined for now. You will need to wait around a month. Once enough people have gathered, you will be notified that the assessment has begun. The specific mission details will likewise be announced then."

"I see. Then we'll wait."

The green-haired, violet-eyed beauty then handed Simon two Fiend Badges. "These are your proof of participation in the Fiend assessment. Once you succeed, you will be issued official One-Star Fiend Medals."

"Thank you."

Simon accepted the badges and thanked her, then headed with Fanny toward the second floor of the castle.

The second floor of the Fiend Castle sold a vast number of books. Simon intended to buy a book recording the latest information on Hell's various powers to get a rough idea of the current time period.

If the Four Divine Beasts Clan still stood tall in Hell and had not been besieged by the Eight Great Clans, then this period was before Linley's birth. If they had been besieged, then it was after Linley's birth.

Only by roughly determining the time period could he better arrange his future plans.

Thus, Simon bought several books. After confirming matters with Fanny, he learned that the Four Divine Beasts Clan's base camp was still standing strong in Bluecliff Prefecture on the Bloodridge Continent. There was not the slightest sign of decline, nor had the Eight Great Clans besieged them.

This allowed Simon to roughly determine that he had transmigrated to a time before Linley's birth. That meant there were far more things he could plan for.

Insight, Greatly Increased Strength

Simon bought several books. After confirming matters with Fanny, he learned that the Four Divine Beasts Clan's base camp was still standing strong in Bluecliff Prefecture on the Bloodridge Continent, without the slightest sign of decline.

This allowed Simon to roughly determine that he had transmigrated to a time before Linley's birth. That meant there were far more things he could plan for.

Of course, it was also possible that Timbu City's information had not been updated quickly enough, and they happened to be in the period after the Four Divine Beasts Clan had been besieged but before the written records were updated. After all, Fanny had spent a million years in a Material Plane as an overseer, and even major information in Hell was only updated once every million years.

If Linley had already been born by then, that much time would have been enough for him to achieve Transcendence several times over...

The possibility was small, but not impossible. Simon planned to keep asking around in the future.

In the Coiling Dragon World, whether the Four Divine Beasts had died was an important dividing point in time.

Only after they died would the subsequent chain of events be triggered, creating the opportunity for Linley's birth.

I need to determine the specific time period as soon as possible, Simon murmured inwardly.

There was no helping it. The time span of the Coiling Dragon World was simply too vast, measured in Epochs. If there were still dozens or hundreds of Epochs before the Four Divine Beasts died, how long would Simon have to wait?

To figure it out, his current strength was still insufficient. At the very least, both his elements had to reach the Highgod level, and he had to touch the threshold of an Asura.

At that point, through Fanny's grandfather, he could enter the circle of Commanders, where much information would become clear at a glance.

So strength was still the most crucial thing.

Without strength, even the most heaven-defying opportunity could not be grasped. One would not even have the qualifications to participate.

After returning to the hotel with Fanny, the two went back to their respective rooms to rest.

Most hotels in Hell followed an extremely minimalist style. The entire bedroom contained only a bed, table, and chairs, without any other decorations.

The courtyard, however, was arranged quite elegantly.

Simon sat cross-legged on the bed, immersing his consciousness into the Ocean of Laws.

His progress in the Law of Wind had always been steady. The four Profound Mysteries he had comprehended were already compatible, and the Profound Mystery of Wind Element, Profound Mystery of Speed, and Profound Mystery of Slow had even reached the final step of complete fusion.

The consecutive battles from before had seemingly allowed Simon to grasp an opportunity for a breakthrough in the darkness, and he had vaguely gained some insight.

Now that he had calmed down, Simon carefully analyzed it.

The Profound Mystery of Wind Element was the foundation of the Law of Wind. All Profound Mysteries were derived from the most fundamental wind element.

Through his long observation and comprehension, Simon had also discovered that when wind elements moved at extreme speed, what they revealed was the Profound Mystery of Speed. When wind elements were nearly stagnant and motionless, what they revealed was the Profound Mystery of Slow.

Likewise, when wind elements arranged themselves in a particular sequence, they created an obvious compression and binding effect upon space. At a higher level, what they revealed was the Profound Mystery of Wind Space.