Through the window, everyone clearly saw what was happening outside. A black-haired man with refined features merely raised his hand, and countless ice blades gathered around him before shooting out at incredible speed. The dozen or so Highgods surrounding him burst apart in an instant.
"Too weak." Ren looked at the dozen or so dead Highgods and shook his head. His body transformed into a streak of blue light and sped away. He didn't even notice the nearby Metal Lifeform belonging to the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
After all, there were all kinds of Metal Lifeforms in Hell. He never would have expected to come across one belonging to the Four Divine Beasts Clan so casually.
"My god! He's so strong! The direction he went in looks like Liang'an City. Could he be going to compete for Hundred-Battle Victory too? He doesn't seem any weaker than the elder..."
Inside the Metal Lifeform, a young man from the Black Tortoise Clan couldn't help muttering.
"What nonsense are you talking about? The elder is definitely stronger!"
A blue-haired youth beside him nudged him hard, then cautiously glanced at Emmanuel. Seeing that the latter didn't look too pleased, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
"That kid looks pretty strong, but he's still no match for me. If he really is going to compete for Hundred-Battle Victory, then he'll only end up as another loser at my hands."
Emmanuel glanced coldly at the younger members of his clan and spoke in a frigid tone.
Emmanuel was in a foul mood. His younger clansmen, who had all been full of admiration for him, were now starting to doubt whether he could win, all because Ren had appeared. He couldn't accept that.
Only moments ago, he'd boasted in front of everyone that winning Hundred-Battle Victory would be easy for him. Then, a moment later, a powerful figure who might be competing for it appeared, as if he'd come specifically to make a fool of him.
Fine. You'd better not show your face in Liang'an City, brat. If you do, I won't let you off! Emmanuel cursed inwardly.
Meanwhile, Ren had no idea that Emmanuel had taken an interest in him. Traveling at full speed, he reached Liang'an City the next day.
"As expected of the city where the Prefect resides. It's much larger than the cities governed by the other City Lords."
Ren looked at the city, whose area far exceeded that of Iceblood City, and flew straight toward the entrance.
At that moment, large crowds were lined up outside the city, waiting to enter. Each person had to pay one Inkstone as an entrance fee.
Ren ignored the queue and walked straight in. The City Lord's Mansion soldiers glanced at his Demon Badge and then looked away.
In Hell, ordinary Gods had to pay an entrance fee to enter a city. Prefecture Army soldiers, Demons, and the Chief God Army, however, could enter directly. It was a convenience granted to them.
"Though every city is different in size, their internal layouts are generally much the same."
Ren walked along the city streets, taking in the various shops around him as he made sense of the place.
Cities were generally divided into residential districts, commercial districts, and Battlefields. The residential districts were where people lived after buying homes in the city. The commercial districts were filled with restaurants, service businesses, and other places for enjoyment. The Battlefields existed for combat.
The Battlefield was also one of the two ways to challenge a Prefect. In Hell, only those who had won Hundred-Battle Victory in the Battlefield, or those who had just become Seven-Star Demons, could choose whether to challenge an Asura.
When Ren had first become a Seven-Star Demon two million years ago, he'd been eligible to challenge an Asura too. But his strength hadn't been enough at the time, so he'd given up.
In Hell, a person could challenge an Asura only during the ten thousand years after becoming a Seven-Star Demon. After that, the right to challenge would automatically expire, and they'd have to prove themselves again by winning Hundred-Battle Victory in the Battlefield.
Otherwise, if the right to challenge were permanent, a Seven-Star Demon who had lost his strongest Divine Clone and was left with only an ordinary Highgod Divine Clone could still challenge an Asura.
But a Prefect couldn't stay in his prefecture at all times. If a Prefect went into seclusion without knowing what was happening outside, and a Seven-Star Demon who had lost his strongest Divine Clone challenged him using his Five-Star Demon clone, the Prefect might not respond in time. After ten thousand years, the Prefect would be deemed to have failed to accept the challenge in time, and his position would automatically pass to a Five-Star Demon. The whole thing would become a joke.
Legend had it that countless eons ago, on the Kaluosha Continent, a Seven-Star Demon had lost his strongest Divine Clone and seized the chance to challenge a Prefect while he was in seclusion. After claiming the Prefect's position, he used the Prefecture Army to gather a huge fortune for himself, then simply fled.
The story had only been passed along by word of mouth, and so much time had passed that its truth could no longer be verified. But the methods of challenging a Prefect had remained unchanged throughout the ages: become a Seven-Star Demon or win Hundred-Battle Victory to prove one's strength, then challenge the Prefect within ten thousand years.
The Battlefield was in the southwestern part of Liang'an City. It covered an area of more than a hundred miles and was divided into three sections for Lowgods, Mid-Gods, and Highgods. Of these, the Highgod Battlefield was the most popular.
At the center of the Battlefield stood a circular platform more than five miles across. Tiered rows of seats packed the surrounding stands. At a glance, the spectator stands could hold at least a million people.
Green-clad members of the Bifu Army could be seen here and there around the stands. Their duties were to keep the shockwaves from the battles from hurting the spectators and to stop anyone in the audience from interfering with the fights.
"Waaah!"
The deafening cheers reached them from hundreds of yards away, giving a sense of how intense the battles in the Battlefield were.
Ren paid ten Inkstones to enter the Battlefield and headed straight for the registration desk without stopping.
"I'd like to compete in the Highgod Battlefield," Ren said to the silver-haired girl handling registrations.
"All right. Leave your name, and your number is... Hm? Lord Ren?"
The silver-haired girl had been looking down, uninterested. The moment she looked up, her icy blue eyes widened, and the words slipped out before she could stop herself.
"Lord Ren, here's your number. You're number six, so it'll be your turn soon." Ophelia quickly composed herself and respectfully handed Ren the number token.
Ren took it without saying much and went into the waiting area, where he closed his eyes to rest.
"Whew! I can't believe that lord would come here. Could he be planning to challenge the Prefect? That would be a huge event! Maybe I'll even get to see the winner of Hundred-Battle Victory fight an Asura!"
After Ren left, Ophelia let out a breath of relief and immediately began letting her imagination run wild. Her tightly bound silver hair fell loose, reflecting her agitated state of mind.
As the person in charge of registrations for the Battlefield, the silver-haired girl Ophelia held a low-ranking position, but she handled many of the City Lord's Mansion's affairs. She had once been fortunate enough to see the records of Ren, the newly risen Seven-Star Demon known as the Iceblood Fiend, who had emerged only two million years ago.
Never mind. This isn't something a nobody like me should be worrying about. Whether Lord Ren intends to challenge the Prefect or not, just watching him win Hundred-Battle Victory will be worth it.
Ophelia smoothed her silver hair, patted her cheeks, and muttered to herself as she steadied her nerves.
Before you continue