"This is your private room in the War God Palace. No one but you can enter it."
"In the War God Palace, you can order whatever food or drinks you like. There are many delicious dishes here that you can't get in the real world."
"Enjoy your time in the War God Palace."
The electronic voice was devoid of intelligence, its mechanical tones echoing through the room.
As if it hadn't been the one to issue the warning just moments ago.
"I'm enjoying myself."
A faint smile appeared on Li Qingxu's face. Just now, he had briefly activated the Nine Secrets: Jie, instantly boosting the consciousness he had used to enter this place.
He hadn't expected it to trigger an alarm. If he hadn't canceled it immediately, he would have caused the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to collapse.
Standing before the desk, Li Qingxu opened the black-covered booklet on the War God Palace's rules. There was only a single sheet of paper inside.
"Welcome to the War God Palace."
"The War God Palace is the strongest organization of human warriors, jointly established by First Speaker Hong and Second Speaker Thor. All the War Gods and those beyond the War God Level on Earth are members of the War God Palace."
"The War God Palace's leadership, the War God Palace Council, is open only to those beyond the War God Level. Only they are qualified to serve as council members."
"The Council has five Speakers. These five are the strongest humans on Earth."
"There are three ranks within the War God Palace: ordinary member, council member, and Speaker."
"The War God Palace offers many features, including the Mall, Auction Hall, Arena Plaza, and Trial Tower. You'll have to discover them for yourself."
That was all there was to the short sheet of paper.
Li Qingxu smiled and walked over to the wardrobe.
Hong had certainly done a good job. The wardrobe was full of all kinds of clothes.
Li Qingxu put on a white shirt with mid-length sleeves, opened the door, and stepped outside.
He followed the corridor to the outer walkway of the War God Palace. Standing on the walkway, which resembled a city wall, he could look down below.
Below lay a colossal plaza within the War God Palace, with nine arenas.
Rumble!
Waves of darkness crashed again and again against the plaza's protective wall. The immense War God Palace seemed to float like a gigantic palace upon an endless black ocean.
On the other side of the War God Palace lay an endless sea of clouds. This side, however, faced an endless ocean.
"Hello, War God Li Qingxu."
A voice sounded behind him.
"And you are?"
Li Qingxu turned to look.
A man in casual clothes stood there. He looked to be around thirty, and was quite handsome, with an elegant air about him.
"I'm Liu He, an Inspector at our Dojo."
Liu He, the man in casual clothes, extended a hand and introduced himself with a smile.
"Oh, Inspector Liu. Hello."
Smiling, Li Qingxu shook his hand.
The two of them chatted briefly.
"By the way, there was a bit of a situation in the War God Palace just now. They asked me to come in and check things out. Everything seems fine, so they must've gotten senile and made a mistake."
Liu He suddenly changed the subject and said this out of the blue.
The War God Palace's administrators had just called them together, saying Li Qingxu might damage the War God Palace.
They had reported the matter to the Dojo Master but received no reply—only a notice sent to everyone.
"The Dojo Master is in seclusion. All matters are to be jointly decided and handled by Yaorao, Iceberg, Beast, and the Inspectors. In an emergency, Li Qingxu may make decisions on the Dojo Master's behalf."
That short message said a lot. Li Qingxu's standing was above theirs; he really could act as the Dojo Master's representative.
But Li Qingxu himself was the reason for the situation.
So, after a brief internal meeting, they had sent Liu He into the War God Palace to give Li Qingxu a heads-up.
"That's right. With Inspector Liu here, what could possibly go wrong in the War God Palace?"
Li Qingxu immediately understood why Liu He had come and replied.
"Haha, you haven't been to the War God Palace before, have you? Come on, I'll show you around."
Liu He laughed and gestured for him to follow.
"Sure."
They exchanged smiles, understanding each other without another word.
"By the way, I've got a surprise for you later."
"A surprise?"
As they talked, they reached the spiral staircase leading down to the first-floor hall.
They were on the third floor, more than ten meters above the first-floor hall. The hall itself had a ceiling about thirty meters high, and was over a hundred meters long and wide.
The enormous hall was filled with sofas and chairs—at least several thousand seats. Nearly a thousand people were gathered in small groups, drinking and chatting.
"There are quite a lot of people here."
Li Qingxu looked at them in surprise.
Didn't they train? They were all just hanging out in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Hong was the strongest man in the world, yet he was still training hard at this very moment.
"They're usually scattered all over the place, so it's hard for them to run into other War Gods. That's why most of them come to the War God Palace often, to have a drink, chat, and make friends."
Liu He explained beside him.
This was also where all the War Gods on Earth gathered.
As they went down the spiral staircase, they saw that besides the many War Gods chatting in the hall, there were also over a hundred attendants, all exceptionally beautiful and elegant, there to serve them.
A giant display hung on the wall of the hall.
It showed the number "3515."
Thump!
The moment Li Qingxu reached the bottom of the stairs and set foot on the hall's tiled floor,
the entire first-floor hall suddenly dimmed. The soft, comfortable lighting turned gloomy, and the soothing music abruptly stopped.
"This is the surprise you mentioned?"
Li Qingxu glanced at Liu He beside him.
He had forgotten about this.
"What else?"
Liu He smiled and spread his hands in a helpless gesture.
Whoosh!
Nearly all the War Gods who had been talking turned toward the staircase at once. They glanced at Liu He in surprise, then immediately looked at Li Qingxu beside him!
Clang!
A clear, soul-stirring chime rang out, and joyful music filled the entire hall.
Nearly a thousand War Gods from all over the world stood up in the lavish hall. Some even began to clap.
They were the most elite and wealthiest people in human society, standing at the very top of its pyramid.
Whoosh!
A soft beam of light shone down on Li Qingxu.
"The War God Palace welcomes a new War God, Li Qingxu!"
As the voice echoed through the hall, a three-dimensional projection appeared overhead, displaying large, raised characters.
Name: Li Qingxu Nationality: Huaxia Nation Level: War God Level (Advanced)
The three simple lines were each rendered in three dimensions, as if carved from stone, and floated in midair.
"The total number of War Gods in human society has increased by one!"
As the voice rang out, the number on the display changed to 3516.
The joyful music began to fade until it could no longer be heard.
The light shining on Li Qingxu disappeared, too.
Everything returned to normal.
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