In the Upper Realm, atop the new Heavenly Demon Peak, stood a palace several times larger than the Heavenly Devil Hall in the Lower Realm. Zhou Qiong sat upright on his demonic dragon throne as before. Below him, Di Yi, wearing a golden mask, and Xuan Yi, wearing a silver mask, knelt on one knee.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, our sect currently lies within Black King City's territory in the region of chaos. There are more than two hundred cities like Black King City in the region of chaos, and Black King City's jurisdiction alone stretches a million li. Each major city governs itself, and the entire region of chaos is far larger than the Cangwu Continent. Beyond it, there are also imperial dynasties and sects whose territories are boundless. They are too far away, so this subordinate has yet to learn much about them."
Zhou Qiong nodded calmly. The system had said before that the Upper Realm was boundless, so this was within his expectations.
"Tell me about Black King City!"
"Yes. Black King City's lord is called Elder Mu. He is said to be a tree that cultivated into a spirit. His cultivation is in the True Martial Realm, making him the strongest person in all of Black King City, but he is kindly and never concerns himself with affairs."
"So Black King City is now jointly ruled by eight major powers: the Blue Rain Clan, the Red Fox Clan, the One-Eyed Clan, the Ox-Headed Clan, the Sword Sect, the Great River Gang, the Ghost Sect, and the Flower Clan. These powers take turns controlling the city square every ten years, making the martial artists who ascend work for them for free for several years. They also recruit some promising seedlings."
"Is there any other useful information?"
"According to the city guards, Elder Mu will celebrate his three-thousandth birthday in a month at the City Lord's Manor. A secret realm will also be opened then. This subordinate hasn't learned any further details!"
Zhou Qiong nodded, and the two figures slowly vanished from the hall. He thought to himself about Black King City. He needed to take Black King City within three years so that the members of the Demon Sect in the Lower Realm could ascend safely.
Ding! Generating mission: attend Elder Mu's birthday celebration, obtain qualification to enter the secret realm, and successfully enter it. Completion rewards: raise the host's cultivation by two minor levels and award 200,000 Villain Points. No penalty for failure. Does the host accept?
"Accept!" Although Zhou Qiong did not understand how to obtain the qualification, he accepted first. He would naturally find out at the birthday celebration.
In a vast courtyard in the City Lord's Manor, an old farmer was tending the vegetables on the ground, occasionally turning the soil and watering them. Beside him, a charming-looking young woman in a fiery-red dress kept talking, but the old man never raised his head and continued tending his vegetables.
"Oh, Elder Mu, are you even listening to me?" The girl in fiery red stamped her feet in anger.
The old man raised his head and said helplessly, "I heard you. Isn't it just that a lot of people ascended from the Lower Realm? What are you so excited about?"
"Elder Mu, several thousand people ascended all at once! And I heard their leader looks exceptionally fierce. He crippled that one-eyed freak Long Chang as soon as he arrived! He's probably still recovering from his injuries!"
"You little girl, don't you usually hate Long Chang? Why are you unhappy now that someone has taught him a lesson for you?" The old man helplessly brushed the dirt off himself.
"Oh, I'm just curious! Elder Mu, do you think that Demon Sect Master will come to your birthday celebration in a couple of days?"
"What's this? Our Miss Rose has grown up and started yearning for love!"
"What are you talking about? I've never even met him. I'm just curious. Who in Black King City isn't curious right now? Elder Mu, what secret do you think that Lower Realm holds, to actually produce an Eternal Realm powerhouse?"
"Enough. In the vast world, no wonder is too strange to exist. By the way, how is your cultivation coming along?" Elder Mu suddenly changed the subject.
"Ah!" The girl in fiery red covered her ears, making a show of refusing to listen, and quickly ran off.
Two days later, the City Lord's Manor was filled with festive cheer, with people coming and going throughout the grounds. Today was the three-thousandth birthday of Elder Mu, the master of Black King City. Though Elder Mu never concerned himself with affairs, that did not change the fact that he was the strongest person in Black King City. No one dared refuse to give him face, and powers great and small from throughout Black King City's jurisdiction had all come.
At the entrance, two treemen welcomed the guests, loudly announcing their names from time to time.
"Gang Leader Qian of the Great River Gang has arrived!"
"Clan Leader Lan of the Blue Rain Clan has arrived!"
"Shangguan Yun of the Sword Sect has arrived!"
"The Red Fox Clan..."
Inside the main hall, an aged man sat in the seat of honor. He was none other than Elder Mu, the master of Black King City. Beside him, a girl in red was pouring him wine. There were four seats on either side, seven of which were already occupied by leaders of Black King City's eight major powers.
Below them were over a hundred additional seats for smaller powers, Rogue Cultivators, and the like.
The two treemen at the entrance continued their loud announcements. Just then, three figures suddenly appeared before them. The man in the lead wore demonic dragon battle robes and carried himself with unbridled dominance. Of the two behind him, one had delicate features and wore red robes, while the other wore black and a silver mask.
They were Zhou Qiong, Liansheng, and Xuan Yi.
One of the treemen cupped his hands toward Zhou Qiong and asked, "Have you brought your invitation?"
Zhou Qiong said evenly, "I have no invitation. I heard that today was the birthday of Black King City's master, so I came especially to offer my congratulations. Is that not allowed?"
At the same time, an imposing, domineering pressure surged from Zhou Qiong toward the two. The other treeman hurriedly said, "Of course it is. May we ask which power you belong to, so we can announce you?"
"I am the Sect Master of the Demon Sect." Without waiting for them to announce him, Zhou Qiong led Liansheng and Xuan Yi straight into the manor. Cowed by his imposing presence, the two treemen did not dare stop him.
Inside, the leaders of the major powers were chatting. Qian Sihai pointed at an empty seat opposite him and said loudly, "I say we should just remove that seat. Who knows what remote nook or cranny Long Chang is nursing his wounds in right now? He can't come at all!"
In another seat opposite him, a man dressed in black, with black cloth covering his head and an eerie ghostly air hanging all around him, slammed the table. "I say, that Long Chang is far too useless. To think he was seriously injured by someone who had just ascended from the Lower Realm! In my opinion, his One-Eyed Clan doesn't deserve to stand alongside us as one of Black King City's eight major powers."
Beside him, a woman dressed in pink who looked human but had a fox's tail also said softly, "I agree. Long Chang probably won't even recover properly from his injuries. We might as well replace his clan outright."
At that moment, a young man stood behind Qian Sihai with a longsword on his back. A ring was clearly visible on his right hand, occasionally giving off blue light. As he listened to the leaders of the various powers discuss the Demon Sect Master, his expression remained grim, and his eyes were full of disbelief. He was none other than Zhao Li, who had disappeared from the Cangwu Continent.
"Elder Fu, do you think that Demon Sect Master has really reached the Eternal Realm? And that he could seriously injure the One-Eyed Clan leader, who was at the Eternal Realm Eighth Layer, with a single blow?"
The ring gave off a faint glow, and a message appeared in Zhao Li's mind.
"His cultivation speed truly is too fast, comparable even to the princes and holy sons of some imperial dynasties and sacred lands. But he is neither-unless he is the reincarnation of a mighty being!"
Zhao Li's brows knitted tightly. Suddenly, a thunderous shout came from outside.
"The Sect Master of the Demon Sect has arrived!"