Ek, Glass

Ek, Glass

Not long after Ailin left the Blood Battle Stage, news of "Ailin's ten consecutive victories" began spreading around the Blood Battle Stage.

Many of the God-level spectators inside the Blood Battle Stage had other Divine Clones. One Divine Clone could watch the battles inside while another remained outside, allowing any explosive news to spread immediately.

Ailin arrived at an inn closest to the Blood Battle Stage and walked straight inside.

Beyond the entrance was a hall over a hundred meters across.

Nearly a third of the hall was occupied. This was the city, after all; a decent meal could easily cost dozens or even hundreds of Nether Stones.

"You didn't see it—the expert named Ailin didn't even move his body during all ten challenges! He defeated every opponent in a single move! He's too strong. I think he's even stronger than Bens."

"What rotten luck. I just happened not to go today, and such an expert appeared!"

"I wonder whether Ailin will keep challenging tomorrow."

"That's very likely. Mister Ailin said from the start that he wanted to challenge consecutively. He took on ten challenges in one go today, so there's a good chance he'll continue tomorrow."

"Then I definitely have to go watch tomorrow!"

"..."

Several people were chatting excitedly. They had not deployed their Divine Domains, so nearby diners and servers listened intently as well.

Only after Ailin entered did a beautiful Mid-level God waitress notice him. She wore a long dress, had a fluffy tail, yet possessed a human appearance. She hurried over. "My lord, are you here to dine or stay the night?"

"I'm staying. How much?"

Ailin paid no attention to what the people around him were discussing, instead examining the layout of the hall.

Besides the ordinary dining area, there was also a special area for "artworks," filled with all kinds of stone carvings, paintings, and even small Magic Array models.

Back when he had roamed the Brinia Plane before becoming a god, he had encountered all sorts of artworks. Since he retained memories of the original story and knew that the so-called Flat-Blade Style of carving could train one's spiritual force, he had naturally tried it.

Of course, with no one to teach him, he had failed to learn it. However, he discovered that he had a talent for painting. Whenever he could not calm his mind while cultivating, he relied on painting to regulate his state.

In his eyes, nearly all the artworks in this inn were at the level of grandmasters.

Artworks held great value even in the Divine Plane. Some God-level beings who lacked sufficient talent for cultivation could still accumulate vast quantities of Nether Stones through art.

"Our fee for one stay is five hundred Nether Stones."

The beautiful waitress spoke with a smile. Her voice seemed to carry a seductive quality, and as she spoke, her tail swayed naturally, releasing a faint fragrance.

One stay lasted a year.

"That works. I'll stay once for now."

Ailin nodded and directly took out five hundred Nether Stones.

"Very well. Please wait a moment."

The beautiful waitress swiftly accepted the Nether Stones and handed Ailin a special token. One side bore strange patterns, while the other featured an unfamiliar flower design.

"My lord, this is the key to Courtyard Fourteen," the waitress explained. "Courtyard Fourteen is behind the inn. Would you like me to lead you there?"

"No need. I can go myself."

Taking the key, Ailin headed directly toward the rear courtyard.

However, the Mid-level God who had been relaying news from the Blood Battle Stage suddenly fell silent. He merely kept staring in Ailin's direction, only coming back to his senses after Ailin disappeared from view.

"What are you looking at? Do you know that lord?" another Mid-level God beside him asked curiously.

The Mid-level God's expression could not help turning somewhat excited. "You don't know this, but I took a close look. That High-God who just checked in is Lord Ailin, the very one I mentioned earlier who won ten consecutive battles at the Blood Battle Stage!"

"What? That was Lord Ailin? Are you sure?!"

The others all began speaking at once.

"Why would I lie to you? How could I mistake Lord Ailin's appearance? That was definitely Lord Ailin! Could anyone possibly dare to disguise themselves as Lord Ailin?"

The Mid-level God was extremely excited. "I never expected Lord Ailin to be staying here!"

His words drew the attention of the others. Even the beautiful waitress who had received Ailin slightly parted her lips. The High-God who had just checked in was actually the expert who had achieved ten straight victories at the Blood Battle Stage today?

For a time, the atmosphere in the hall became even livelier.

At the same time, Ek, the black-haired young man who had left the Blood Battle Stage, returned to a small courtyard.

He had originally been a resident of Blood Nether City, and this courtyard was a residence he had purchased with savings accumulated over countless years.

After entering the courtyard, Ek immediately activated its Magic Array. Every house in Blood Nether City had its own Magic Array.

At that moment, a bald, burly man emerged from one of the rooms in the courtyard.

"Glass."

Seeing the bald man, Ek spoke. "How are you?"

This bald man was Glass, the opponent who had fought Ek on the Blood Battle Stage earlier.

Glass looked far better than he had during the fight, though some weakness was still apparent. "It's nothing. At most, I should recover completely in one or two years."

Clearly, although their battle had involved real weapons and even some danger, just as Ailin had guessed, the two had indeed been fixing the match.

"That's good."

Hearing Glass say this, Ek relaxed slightly.

Then Glass could not help grinning happily. "Still, we really didn't lose out this time. We earned nearly a million Nether Stones! That's equivalent to the profits from the previous ten times."

Hearing that number, Ek could not help showing a hint of a smile, but he remained calm. "It would be best to use some of those Nether Stones to buy Soul Gold Beads. If you have Soul Gold Beads, you should recover quickly."

A single Soul Gold Bead was worth one hundred thousand Nether Stones.

"There's absolutely no need. Why waste Soul Gold Beads on something that will heal in one or two years?"

Glass clearly did not want to waste the Nether Stones.

Seeing Glass say this, Ek did not try to persuade him further. Instead, he suddenly deployed his Divine Domain and transmitted his voice, "Glass, another expert achieved ten consecutive victories at the Blood Battle Stage today. His name is Ailin. I watched his battles, and he may very well be a Six-star Demon."

"Ailin? A Six-star Demon?"

Glass was greatly surprised upon hearing this.

Ek nodded and continued, "I met this person once before. I plan to pay him a visit."

"Hm?"

Glass was somewhat puzzled. "Why visit him?"

Ek's eyes brightened slightly. "I want to see whether he intends to challenge for even more consecutive victories at the Blood Battle Stage. If he does, we might be able to make another fortune."

"You intend to..."

Glass seemed to realize something.

Ek smiled and nodded. "That's right. If this fellow truly plans to continue challenging, there will certainly be a Betting Ring between Bens and him. It should attract even more people to place bets. If we can determine their strength in advance... heh heh."

"That may be troublesome."

Glass hesitated. "Setting this person aside, Bens doesn't seem easy to deal with. It will probably be difficult to figure out his strength."

"Heh heh, don't worry. I already have an idea."

Ek seemed highly confident. "We don't need to approach Bens at all. As long as we find Ailin, we'll have a chance."

"Are you confident?"

Glass asked cautiously.

"Don't worry."

Ek nodded confidently. "Even if it fails, it's no loss. We can treat it as making an acquaintance with Ailin."

Glass nodded unconsciously as well.

Then Ek withdrew his Divine Domain and said directly to Glass, "Focus on recovering during this time. Leave this matter to me. I'm going to visit Ailin now."