Blood Nether City

"We're here."

Looking at the city built across the entire mountain, Ailin directly put away the Metal Lifeform. Now that he had a Space Ring, he naturally stored his weapons inside it as well.

The portion of this mountain exposed above the Nether Sea alone exceeded ten thousand meters in height. Yet the city was not limited to the area above the sea; the region beneath the surface was also part of Blood Nether City.

For God-level Life, living underwater was no different from living on land.

Ailin flew directly toward what appeared to be a city gate.

Long lines of lives were entering and leaving the city here. All manner of creatures could be seen, while those with purely human appearances were actually in the minority. However, High-Gods were clearly uncommon. Even when one occasionally appeared, they were followed by several Mid-level Gods, looking like high-ranking members of some tribe.

"Line up!"

The soldiers guarding the city gate were High-Gods. Simply standing there was enough to ensure that no one dared cause trouble. Everyone entered the city obediently.

Soon, it was Ailin's turn.

The soldier collecting Nether Stones gave Ailin an extra look when he saw that Ailin was a High-God. After confirming that he was not wearing a Demon Medal, he said, "One Nether Stone to enter the city."

Generally, a fairly formidable Mid-level God could become a demon. Even a High-God who had merely fused with a Godhead could become a four-star demon if he was willing to take some risks.

High-Gods who were not demons were also rare.

Either they were people who had devoted themselves to cultivation and had only recently become High-Gods, or they were people afraid of danger who had never taken a Demon Mission. The latter would be ridiculed.

Ailin casually took out his only Nether Stone, handed it to the soldier, and entered the city.

Demon Missions?

Ailin naturally knew about them and understood how they worked. For most people newly arrived in a Divine Plane to gain experience, Demon Missions were usually the best choice.

However, he had no interest in taking Demon Missions one rank at a time. To him, that was far too much of a waste of time. Some Demon Missions could take decades simply because of the waiting involved.

Others required traveling to other prefectures, which was likewise an enormous waste of time.

What he wanted was battle, especially battle against those who cultivated the Death Law. If he took Demon Missions, he had no idea how long it would take to rise from one-star Demon Missions to a level where he might encounter suitable opponents.

Thus, from the very beginning, his goal had not been these Demon Missions, but the Blood Battle Stage!

Every city had a Blood Battle Stage, respectively for Low Gods, Mid-level Gods, and High-Gods.

If one could achieve a hundred consecutive victories, one could even challenge the City Lord.

And if one could become the City Lord, one could directly become a Seven-star Demon. After all, the City Lord was also responsible for managing the three castles within the city. Preparing a Seven-star Demon badge for himself would not be difficult.

As long as he became the City Lord, everything would become simple.

As Ailin walked through the streets of Blood Nether City, the crowds were immense, and all kinds of shops lined the roads.

Anyone who could own a shop in a city was no ordinary person.

Aside from the crowds, Ailin occasionally saw some "soldiers." These soldiers were in no hurry to patrol. Most merely chatted in certain areas, and their jobs were rather easy. Normally, no one dared fight within Blood Nether City.

Ailin walked directly toward three soldiers.

Noticing Ailin's approach, the three soldiers paused their conversation and looked at him, scrutinizing him slightly.

"Do you need something?"

One of the soldiers spoke first.

Ailin did not beat around the bush and asked directly, "I'd like to ask where the Blood Battle Stage is."

"The Blood Battle Stage?"

The soldier smiled, instantly concluding that Ailin had come to Blood Nether City for the first time. "Just head toward the mountaintop. You'll see the Demon Castle then. The Blood Battle Stage is not far from the Demon Castle."

"Thanks."

Ailin nodded, then headed toward the mountaintop.

"I wonder whether he's going there to watch or to fight."

After Ailin left, one soldier remarked with a smile.

"Fight? There aren't many who dare fight at the Blood Battle Stage."

Another soldier spoke up as well.

"Still, I heard that a master appeared at the Blood Battle Stage some time ago. His name is Bens, and he's already won fifty straight battles. He has a chance to become a new hundred-battle victor in the past several thousand years."

The first soldier sounded somewhat admiring.

"Bens? I watched one of his battles. He was incredibly strong. That Aro couldn't even last ten moves before he was killed."

"Even the City Lord seems to be paying attention to Bens."

"..."

Before long, Ailin reached an area near the summit. At a glance, he saw three castles standing ahead: the Demon Castle, the Blood Nether Castle, and an Undead Castle.

To one side of the three castles, the only relatively large structure was the Blood Battle Stage.

Although the Blood Battle Stage was beside the three castles, that was merely because they could be seen from each other. They were not on the same peak. The mountain where Blood Nether City stood had several sizable smaller peaks.

The Blood Battle Stage was built alone atop one such smaller peak.

All kinds of protective Magic Arrays surrounded it. They could not only prevent battle energy from leaking out, but also block outside views. Unless one was inside the Magic Array, one could not see what was happening within.

In fact, Magic Arrays protected not only the area around the Blood Battle Stage, but the entirety of Blood Nether City. If someone tried to silently bypass the city gates and fly directly into Blood Nether City, they would trigger the Magic Arrays and draw the city's army.

Because of these Magic Arrays, everyone entering or leaving Blood Nether City could only go through the city gates.

Ailin did not head straight for the Blood Battle Stage. After pausing briefly, he decided to visit the Blood Nether Castle first.

He planned to sell the Godhead of the Mid-level God he had killed in exchange for Nether Stones.

Since he intended to challenge the Blood Battle Stage, he naturally would not leave Blood Nether City. But to reside in Blood Nether City, he needed Nether Stones.

Both the Blood Nether Castle and the Undead Castle were places to buy and sell goods. The only difference was that one was "official," while the other was the "black market." In the Undead Castle, he might be able to sell a Mid-level Godhead for a better price. It was even possible for the difference from the Blood Nether Castle to amount to several thousand Nether Stones.

However, setting up a stall in the Undead Castle required paying a certain fee, and Ailin had no extra Nether Stones to pay it.

Furthermore, if he sold the Mid-level Godhead himself in the Undead Castle, who knew when it would actually sell? He had no interest in wasting time here. In the Blood Nether Castle, however, he could sell it directly to the castle, which had a dedicated area for purchasing all kinds of goods.

Lastly, although Ailin could not produce any Nether Stones right now, he did not care about a difference of a few thousand Nether Stones.

There was even more foot traffic before the Blood Nether Castle than elsewhere. Here, there were also "soldiers" dressed in the uniforms of the Blood Phantom Army. These soldiers were completely different from the patrol soldiers Ailin had encountered on the streets. They were the Blood Phantom Army, a true Overgod army.

Moreover, the Blood Phantom Army members here were all High-Gods. Clearly, even within the Blood Phantom Army, they were considered "elites."

Ailin followed part of the crowd toward the rear entrance of the Blood Nether Castle.

Those selling items had to enter through the rear entrance.

Only after walking several miles did Ailin see the rear entrance of the Blood Nether Castle, which showed just how enormous the castle was.

This rear entrance was a full hundred meters wide, and Ailin entered along with the bustling crowd.

Although many God-level beings came to the Blood Nether Castle to sell things, the place suddenly seemed spacious once one entered. The first-floor hall alone was two thousand meters wide.

With a single glance, one could see that the first-floor hall primarily dealt in items such as Low-grade Divine Artifacts and Low Godheads.

To sell a Mid-level Godhead, one had to go to the second floor.