A flicker of astonishment crossed the blood-spitting man's eyes. He looked up at the armored leader opposite him. He could guarantee that no such species existed on the Cangwu Continent, and the man's imposing presence was stronger than anyone he had ever seen. Even Zhou Qiong, who was vaguely regarded as invincible on the Cangwu Continent, fell far short of this man.
"I am Ximen Di, a disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. I do not know what the upper realm is, nor do I know where I am now."
"The Ten Thousand Swords Sect?" The armored leader could not recall that sect and guessed that the other man must have named a sect from the lower realm. He did not answer Ximen Di's questions.
A mere nobody in the Mortal Realm really could not arouse his interest. Had the man not emerged from that dim stone stele, he would not even have asked.
And since Ximen Di had emerged, that dim stone stele had gone dim again.
The armored leader glanced at the stele and muttered, "I thought it was fixed. Turns out it's still broken." Then he paid it no further attention, grabbed Ximen Di, and flung him straight toward the clearing.
With Ximen Di, there were exactly a hundred people in the clearing, all standing there obediently. Ximen Di stayed among them with his head lowered. When the armored leader had grabbed him just now, he had thought he was going to die. He had not expected to be merely tossed into this clearing.
There were now a hundred people in the clearing. Apart from Ximen Di, even the weakest was in the Martial Emperor Realm. There were also several Martial God Realm figures, though all were only at the early stage.
The armored leader looked down at the hundred people and spoke in a ringing voice.
"All of you came from the lower realms. No matter who you were before, now that you have come to Black King City, you must obey its rules. Starting today, you are slaves of our Blue Rain Clan and must work for us. Those in the Martial God Realm will serve three years, and those in the Martial Emperor Realm will serve five. Afterward, you may regain your freedom."
Everyone below was shocked, and a brief commotion broke out. A three-meter-tall figure with a bull's head and a human body, at the early Martial God Realm, stepped forward. Though he knew the armored leader before him was powerful, he was one of the greatest figures on his own continent and was accustomed to throwing his weight around. How could he bear suddenly being made a slave?
He shouted at the armored leader, "My lord, what gives you the right to make us slaves? Is this how the upper realm exploits us ascenders?"
Naturally, this bull-headed man was no fool to have cultivated to the Martial God Realm. As he challenged the leader, he looked toward the others, hoping to get everyone to resist together. That would easily spark a riot, and he could escape in the chaos.
But things did not go as he wished. No one joined him in resisting. Everyone could sense the armored leader's strength and could not muster even the thought of resistance.
"What gives me the right? The fact that you are weak." The armored leader glanced at the bull-headed man, and his imposing presence instantly bore down on him, crushing him flat against the ground. No matter how he struggled, he could not rise, and blood kept pouring from his mouth. In just an instant, he stopped struggling and passed out.
"Any other objections?" the armored man asked the others.
None of them dared raise any more questions, and they all shut their mouths. Just then, a weak voice rang out. "Greetings, my lord. May I ask a question?"
It was none other than Ximen Di.
The armored leader looked at Ximen Di and exclaimed in surprise, "You've got some nerve. Ask."
"My lord, I just saw several people emerge over there who did not come to this clearing. Instead, someone came to collect them. May I ask why?"
"Oh, you are quite observant. Their ancestors came here and established sizable powers, so their descendants do not need to become slaves when they arrive."
Hearing this, everyone below shut their mouths, frantically searching their memories for any elders who might have ascended to the upper realm. Unfortunately, those with powerful connections in the upper realm had already been collected. They could only quietly spend a few years as slaves.
At the Demon Sect's headquarters, Zhou Qiong pondered in silence. Xuan Si had already reported the matter of the spatial turbulence to him.
"System, why did the spatial turbulence appear and then disappear?"
"The repeated appearance of spatial turbulence proves that the location was once a passage for ascending to the upper realm. Its disappearance proves that it has run out of energy. You only need to bury energy stones at that location, and the passage will reactivate."
"System, could people from the upper realm descend here?"
"No. The passage is one-way. Only those whose cultivation has reached a certain level, or who use certain secret treasures, can descend to the lower realms. There are far too many low-level continents like the Cangwu Continent, as numerous as the stars. Very few people would go to the trouble of descending."
"Good. I'll keep developing on this continent for now. I have no desire to go up there and become a foot soldier."
Ding! New mission: dominate the Cangwu Continent within three years and become its true ruler. Success rewards: cultivation increased by three levels and 1,000,000 Villain Points. No penalty for failure. Accept?
"Accept."
At the court assembly in the Heavenly Devil Hall, the senior members stood in ranks on both sides, each wearing a proud expression. The Demon Sect's successive destruction of Golden Mountain Temple and Hanging Void Hall had filled its members with confidence. When they went out, they could finally announce that they belonged to the Demon Sect without anyone daring to openly call for them to be beaten.
Seated on the demonic dragon throne, Zhou Qiong said coldly, "Are you feeling very pleased with yourselves? Do you think you're so formidable now?"
The Demon Sect members all answered that they would not dare, but their expressions betrayed their disagreement. Even Liansheng showed a trace of surprise. The advantages the Demon Sect had gained recently were simply too great. They all believed that the Demon Sect was already the strongest power on the continent, that their sect master was its strongest expert, and that they were the strongest people after him.
"Hmph." Zhou Qiong sneered.
"Do you know of the Martial God Realm? And do you know of the Profound Understanding Realm above it?" Zhou Qiong asked coldly.
The Demon Tiger King slapped his forehead, bowed, and saluted. "Sect Master, what is the Profound Understanding Realm? Are there really realms above the Martial God Realm?"
"Of course. Above Martial God is Profound Understanding, and there are more realms above Profound Understanding. Yet you haven't even reached Martial Sovereign and have already begun to grow conceited."
"Sect Master, we have heard of the Martial God Realm, but why have we never heard of any experts in the Profound Understanding Realm?"
"They aren't on this continent. They are in the upper realm. Above this Cangwu Continent lies an even vaster continent, more than a hundred million times its size. Experts gather there like clouds. Even those in the Martial God Realm are merely at the bottom there."
The Demon Sect members were all greatly shocked. They had never imagined that there was an upper realm above the Cangwu Continent, where even Martial Gods were at the bottom. What, then, did their own meager cultivation amount to? Shame appeared on all their faces.
Zhou Qiong looked down at the Demon Sect members and said, "You are all elites of my Demon Sect. So what if it is the upper realm? Before long, we too will dominate a region there."
"Would you dare follow me into that upper realm and make our way there?"
"I, the Demon Tiger King, am willing to follow in the sect master's footsteps."
"The Azure Dragon Hall is willing to follow in the sect master's footsteps."
"I, Liansheng, am willing to follow in the sect master's footsteps."
"The White Tiger Hall, ~~~~~~~~~"
"I, Bai Haotian, ~~~~~~~~~"
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