Chapter 1601: The Moment He Made A Move, His Opponent Would Lose
After sending Lin Xin and Lin Xuan off, Lin Huang sat alone in the courtyard and checked on the status of his Monster Cards.
It had been close to five months since he had released his imperial monsters to obtain their own cultivation resources. Since then, he had practically never reviewed Bai and the others' cultivation progress.
Now that he finally had time, he began to check through the cards one by one.
The first Monster Card he saw was Kylie's. She was already at Pure Spirit rank-6 and was, without a doubt, the strongest powerhouse among all the imperial monsters.
Four months ago or so, Kylie had already elevated to heavenly god-level. Now, in just these four short months, her combat strength had gone up to sixth-rank heavenly god-level.
This sort of advancement speed could practically be considered terrifying.
Lin Huang's combat strength elevation was already rapid enough, but in the past five months, he had merely elevated from sixth-rank to tenth-rank. Furthermore, he had elevated to sixth-rank before Kylie went into closed-door cultivation for advancement to heavenly god-level.
However, he felt at ease again after doing some careful thinking about it.
Kylie was already Pure Spirit rank-6. She also had the full support of a top grade-6 organization—the Nephilic Judge Tribe.
If she needed any cultivation resources, she only had to ask.
Moreover, based on the situation at present, the Nephilic Judge Tribe was probably hoping that Kylie could elevate her combat strength to ninth-rank heavenly god-level as soon as possible so she could protect herself with absolute certainty.
After all, the abilities of a Pure Spirit rank-6 ninth-rank Heavenly God could at least compare with those of a half-step Lord and might even, in fact, be more powerful.
As for any concerns about a weak cultivation foundation, such a problem did not exist for a Pure Spirit rank-6 being.
If a being were inherently Pure Spirit rank-6, they would be born as a lord-level living being.
Although Kylie had only elevated after birth, she did not need any sort of foundation before she advanced to become a Lord. At most, she merely needed some actual combat experience to familiarize herself with the exponential increase in various aspects that had resulted from her rapid rise in combat strength.
Lin Huang was extremely satisfied with Kylie's improvement.
"At the rate she's going, this girl will elevate to ninth-rank within three months at most…"
After reviewing Kylie's information, Lin Huang then turned his attention to Bloody's.
As expected, Bloody's combat strength had soared as well. She had now elevated to fifth-rank heavenly god-level.
Obviously, she had benefitted from associating with Kylie.
Her combat strength elevation most likely had been achieved through the Nephilic Judge Tribe's resources.
As Kylie's best friend, at present, Bloody was probably being treated like a princess as well by the Nephilic Judge Tribe.
Lin Huang was not worried that something would go wrong with Bloody's foundation. After all, she had elevated to supreme god-level rank-5. (TN: We believe the author may have made an error since it is mentioned earlier that Bloody has elevated to fifth-rank heavenly god-level, but we have chosen to translate it as written.)
All she needed to do was to strengthen her foundation a little when she got to ninth-rank heavenly god-level.
Once he had checked out Bloody's progress, Lin Huang looked at the other imperial monsters who were supreme god-level rank-5.
The three supreme god-level rank-5 imperial monsters—Killer, Blackscale (Symbiotic Creature of the Abyssal Fountain), and Ku Rong (Demonic Buddhist Holy Son)—had elevated to fourth-rank heavenly god-level.
This did not surprise Lin Huang. The three of them were already heavenly god-level even before he released them. Furthermore, they had teamed up when they were given the freedom to choose their own teammates. Since all three of them were class-5, their combat strength was heavenly god-level as well. This meant that their abilities far exceeded that of the other imperial monsters, so they were unable to team up with the rest.
As expected, once they had formed a group, their improvement over the last few months was very evident.
After he had checked on the progress of Killer's group, Lin Huang then looked over Bai and Teng Ran.
Since Bai and Teng Ran had been class-4.5 at the time, they spent a month elevating to supreme god-level rank-5 after Lin Huang had used the Advance Cards on them. Therefore, the two had to hunt for resources a month later than the other imperial monsters.
Nevertheless, Bai and Teng Ran had also advanced to fourth-rank heavenly god-level, which meant they had caught up with Killer's group in terms of progress.
There was no need to say anything about Teng Ran. He had already been first-rank heavenly god-level before elevating to supreme god-level.
(TN: We also believe that the author might have made an error here with the levels, given that supreme god-level has already been established as lower in rank than heavenly god-level.
However, we have opted to translate it as it, out of respect for the author.)
However, Bai was truly something else. Before elevating to supreme god-level, he had only been ninth-rank true god-level. (TN: As with the above paragraph, we believe that the author may have made an error in the order of the levels. Again, we have chosen to translate it as written.)
In other words, he had used less than four months to level up through five ranks of combat strength. This included advancing by a full level.
Lin Huang could almost imagine how much work Bai had put in to catch up with Kylie and the rest over the past few months.
After turning his attention from Bai's card, Lin Huang then checked on Grimace, whose combat strength was second only to Bai's.
"This fellow…" Lin Huang was stunned when he saw Grimace's card.
He was shocked that Grimace had already elevated to class-4.5.
Grimace was not the only one—Lancelot and Charcoal had elevated to class-4.5 as well.
He cast his mind back carefully and recalled that the three of them had teamed up during that time.
It seemed as if they had managed to encounter some great stroke of fortune, for their rankings all to elevate by half a class.
Moreover, the elevation of all three's combat strength was by no means slower than Bai's progress. They had all advanced to third-rank heavenly god-level. One must know that five months ago, they were only seventh-rank and eighth-rank true god-level. They had not even reached ninth-rank yet.
The ones who had elevated just as rapidly were several of the Bug Tribe Queen Mothers.
Just like Grimace and the other two, they had elevated to third-rank heavenly god-level.
However, Lin Huang was not that surprised at the Bug Tribe Queen Mothers' advancement.
They had an entire tribe of bugs to support them.
Furthermore, apart from the Queen Mothers, several of the Bug Kings had elevated to second-rank as well. There were even a thousand-over bug beasts that had elevated to heavenly god-level.
This number far surpassed Lin Huang's expectations.
After looking over the bug beasts' progress, Lin Huang then turned his attention to the remaining imperial monsters.
Although Tyrant, Thunder, and Witch had not elevated as rapidly as Grimace, Bai, and the others, their progress was not too shabby either. They had steadily advanced to heavenly god-level.
Lin Huang was beyond satisfied with the progress of his imperial monsters' cultivation.
Although Kylie, Bai, and the rest could not participate in battles of his level at the moment, given their progress, they would not take long to elevate to ninth-rank heavenly god-level.
When the time came, sooner or later, they would become his most powerful assistants.
The imperial monsters still needed time to develop, but it was not as if Lin Huang did not have subordinates he could utilize.
Since elevating to tenth-rank true god-level, almost all of his Sword Servants' combat strength had been fully unsealed. They had been completely restored to ninth-rank heavenly god-level.
Apart from Swords 1 to 10, whom he could not utilize just yet, he had a total of over three hundred Sword Servants.
All of these three hundred and fifty-eight Sword Servants were ninth-rank heavenly god-level.
Not only that, there were even twenty-five class-4.5 powerhouses and two class-5 powerhouses among them.
Sword11 and Sword12 were the two class-5 powerhouses. In the great world, their abilities would certainly rank right at the top. In fact, they might be second only to peak powerhouses like Buried Heaven.
Lin Huang reviewed his own abilities as well. Without the use of a trump card, he might just be on the same level as Sword11 and Sword12.
There was still a fine line between himself and the ultimate Heavenly God powerhouses like Sword1 and Buried Heaven.
In reality, such power was already enough to dominate all the grade-5 organizations in the entire great world.
However, this was not sufficient for Lin Huang.
The more powerful he became, the more he realized how terrifying half-step lord-level and lord-level powerhouses were. He was also more fearful of the Raider organization.
Lin Huang had never been a coward, nor had he ever been intimidated by any of his opponents. However, it was his habit to properly prepare before making a move against his enemies, even outclassing them if possible. When he felt the time was ripe, he would even take the initiative to attack, annihilating his opponents.
However, if he were not sufficiently powerful, he would lie low patiently, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
Just like in a game of Go chess, the moment he made a move, his opponent would lose!
Chapter 1602: How Many Can I Trade Them For?
After returning to the Devil Hunter Star Zone, Lin Huang did not go into closed-door cultivation right away.
Throughout the last few days, apart from handling some trivial matters, he had been thinking of how to break through to heavenly god-level.
Ever since early on, while elevating from virtual god-level to true god-level, his method of advancement was already completely different from everyone else.
Others elevated by killing True Gods and igniting their Divine Fire.
However, Lin Huang's Divine Fire had already been ignited since virtual god-level.
Therefore, he had taken a giant leap when he elevated to true god-level by consolidating a Godly Right with a massive amount of God Rule Power.
Under normal circumstances, individuals only constructed Godly Rights when they elevated from true god-level to heavenly god-level.
Thus, Lin Huang had sabotaged himself by rendering this usual method for advancement completely useless.
"Back then, I constructed my Godly Right through accumulating God Rule Power. In all honesty, it can't be considered a genuine Godly Right. Based on the situation now, once my capacity for absorbing God Rule Power has reached satiety, I should be able to enter the second stage of a Godly Right and begin accumulating sequence powers.
"Therefore, if I want to elevate to heavenly god-level, I just have to wait for the Godly Right to absorb enough God Rule Power, then I can advance to the second stage—sequence power integration…"
Lin Huang very quickly discovered the way forward for his breakthrough, but he was rather unsatisfied with this method.
"In that case, the amount of sequence power a Godly Right can hold is the same as its capacity for God Rule Power. There's a limit…
"Is there a way to increase my Godly Right's capacity so it can hold more sequence power, or else make its capacity infinite?!"
Lin Huang went back and read through the inherited memories of Great Heaven and the Sword Servants. Very soon, he found what he suspected might be an answer.
"So the Godly Right's maximum capacity is related to the strength of one's God Territory!"
From the inherited memories, Lin Huang realized that the more powerful the Heavenly Gods killed when constructing the Godly Right, the more powerful the integrated God Territory would be. Not only that, its capacity for containing sequence powers would also be greater.
Apart from the fact that he could consolidate a staggering number of god sequence chains far beyond what ordinary folk could manage—forty-two in total—Great Heaven was powerful also because the Godly Right he constructed was sufficiently mighty.
From first-rank to ninth-rank—from the first time he constructed his Godly Right until the end—he integrated ninth-rank heavenly god-level God Territories during each Godly Right elevation. This bolstered his Godly Right by an increase of eighty-one times its power.
In his God Territory, the maximum number of god sequence chains he could invoke while using his Godly Right was a staggering 3,402 god sequence chains.
His might was sufficient to be a threat to many half-step lord-level powerhouses.
Lin Huang's cultivation path was already completely different from Great Heaven's.
He did not need to use his Godly Right for amplification as he had already fully integrated his Godly Right and his God Rule Power. In the future, he would also be integrating god sequence chains.
In other words, this meant he could invoke all of the sequence chains in his God Territory, no matter how many there were.
However, there was a limit to the number of god rules and god sequence chains that a Godly Right could integrate.
For instance, the Godly Right in Lin Huang's body could integrate a maximum of 1.8 billion god rules. He had accumulated 1.5 billion now; it was fast approaching its limit.
Based on this, Lin Huang could foresee that the number of god sequence chains his Godly Right could integrate in the future would have a limit as well.
However, from the inherited memories of Great Heaven and the others, Lin Huang saw that the Godly Right's strength could be increased and intensified.
However, from first-rank to ninth-rank, there were only nine chances for his Godly Right to achieve advancement.
In other words, by elevating his Godly Right, he could increase the upper limits of its capacity for integration.
"However, my God Territory has already integrated half-step Lord God Territories. If I want to elevate my Godly Right, using lower-level God Territories won't work. The only way is to integrate the God Territories of more half-step Lords…"
Step by step, Lin Huang rapidly came up with the solution to his problem.
However, he soon ran into another headache. At his current ability, he was unable to kill half-step Lords. Therefore, the only way to obtain their God Territories was through purchasing them or trading resources.
Half-step Lord God Territories were definitely expensive. In auctions, they were usually sold at the same price as Pseudo-Dao Weapons.
Even if Lin Huang pawned everything he had, he would not be able to afford even a few.
After thinking for a while, he turned on his communicator and called Virtuoso's number.
After a mere moment, Virtuoso's figure projected itself in front of Lin Huang.
"You contacted me just in time. I'm officially going into closed-door cultivation tomorrow." Virtuoso sounded happy; they seemed to be in a good mood. "Is anything the matter?"
"How many half-step Lord God Territories would I be able to trade for the Nirvana Trees that I divided between you and Saber9?" Lin Huang did not bother with small talk and got down to business right away.
Virtuoso was stunned upon hearing that, and their tone became rather odd. "How many? You might not even be able to get one. The price will more or less be considered the starting bid at auction."
Lin Huang frowned slightly at that. He did not want to pour resources into purchasing a God Territory.
After all, if that were only the starting bid, the final auction price would go up several times over—perhaps even by several dozen times.
"Don't tell me you want to refine the God Territories of half-step Lords to boost your Godly Right's amplification?" Virtuoso "saw through" Lin Huang's intention right away. "Let me tell you, it's useless. A half-step Lord is still, in essence, a ninth-rank Heavenly God.
"Not just in the universe, but even in the great world where we are now, countless people have tried that. After refining half-step Lord and ninth-rank heavenly god-level God Territories, a Godly Right's amplification remains the same. Not only that, the refinement takes more than a dozen times longer than refining ninth-rank heavenly god-level God Territories.
"You have sufficient authorization now to do a quick search and find at least several hundred threads on Death Sickle's forum regarding this matter. It's common knowledge among Heavenly God and many True Gods.
"If you really want to refine God Territories, Saber9 and I can help you gather nine ninth-rank ones. That will be sufficient to last you until you get to ninth-rank…"
Virtuoso said a great deal more, but Lin Huang let it go in one ear and out the other.
Naturally, he was aware of this common knowledge. However, with his body's current state, he could only refine half-step Lord God Territories. Ninth-rank ones were of no use to him at all.
"If not, I don't mind Abyssal half-step Lord God Territories either," Lin Huang interrupted Virtuoso's continuing flow of conversation.
"Are you sure you only want half-step Lord ones?" Virtuoso paused, then asked in all seriousness.
"I am." Lin Huang nodded resolutely.
"Alright then…" Virtuoso did not pursue the matter further. After all, everyone had their own secrets.
"As long as they're half-step Lord God Territories, that will do. Abyssal ones will work too—if they haven't been cleansed, that's not a problem either. Even those that have had their sequence powers sucked dry and are merely an empty shell are fine as well…" Lin Huang extrapolated on his requirements, "Just get me as many as you can."
"Very well, I'll think of something." Virtuoso nodded and added, "The same goes for Saber9 as well?"
"Yes." Lin Huang nodded.
After ending the call, he felt slightly relieved.
Fortunately, Virtuoso had not asked any sensitive questions, so Lin Huang had no need to fob him off with the answers he had prepared.
However, at least his heart was finally settled.
Abyssal half-step Lord God Territories would be much cheaper, especially those that had yet to be cleansed. He should be able to trade one with the hundred-over Nirvana Trees.
At the very least, he had prepared the most essential component of elevating to heavenly god-level.
Chapter 1603: Yang Ling is Dead?!
August was the hottest month on the Pfister Star; it was also the dry season that hardly rained.
During the day, the average temperature was above 40 degrees Celcius, but it would drop to approximately 20 degrees Celcius at night. Even for ordinary folks, it was more comfortable at night, let alone cultivators.
Moreover, all one had to do was look up, and they would see a starry sky; it was rare that there were no stars.
The main reason why Lin Huang and his subordinates had chosen to station the Sword Alliance here was that this planet was closest to the teleportation point connecting the gravel world to the great world.
Lin Huang lay on the rooftop, silently watching the unfamiliar starry sky overhead.
It did not taking him very long to identify the other planets around the Devil Hunter Star Zone, as well as the planet where he suspected the teleportation point was.
That particular planet was in the same galaxy as the Pfister Star. Although it was just a dwarf planet that was slightly further from the other stars and reflected a much weaker light, it was very close to the Pfister Star. One could still see it with the naked eye.
Right as Lin Huang was about to use Divine Telekinesis to confirm that the teleportation point was located on the planet he had spotted, his communicator device suddenly began vibrating.
He tapped on the communication page. It was a message sent from an unfamiliar number.
"Are you in the Devil Hunter Star Zone now?"
Lin Huang was stunned when he read this. The image of a particular skinny figure immediately came to mind.
"Yang Ling?!"
The only person he could think of who liked using unfamiliar numbers to contact him and who was also able to locate his coordinates was Yang Ling—a traveler just like himself.
Just when he was about to reply to the message and ask if this was Yang Ling, another message came.
It was from another unfamiliar number.
"Don't reply. The previous message was just to confirm your current location."
Almost at the same time, a message came in from yet another unfamiliar number.
"See you tomorrow morning. We'll talk when we meet. (Don't reply)"
Lin Huang frowned slightly after closing the communication page.
From the looks of things, Yang Ling had run into some serious trouble, or he would not be this cautious.
He still distinctly remembered the last time Yang Ling had sent him a message—that had been four months ago or so. Lin Huang had been in closed-door cultivation back then and had only seen the message around two months later. When he had called back, the number was already out of service.
What caught his attention back then was that Yang Ling had only sent a short message—"Take care of Hong Zhuang for me…"
At the time, he already suspected that something might have happened to Yang Ling.
Fortunately, he had finally received a message from Yang Ling after four months or more.
Lin Huang was slightly relieved that at least he had received some form of communication. It proved that Yang Ling was at least safe for the time being.
"I'll find out what exactly happened tomorrow when we meet," Lin Huang mumbled to himself.
When he checked the time, it was already past one o'clock in the wee hours of the morning.
He swiftly slipped into his bedroom, took a quick shower, and went to bed.
In reality, at his current level of ability, his physical body would not get dirty, nor did he need sleep.
It was just that he was used to doing these things. When he was not cultivating, he still retained his normal habits of eating, sleeping, and showering.
The next morning, Lin Huang woke up early.
By the time he finished his morning ablutions, it was not even 6 a.m. yet.
One of the reasons he woke up so early was that in the early hours of the morning previously, he had agreed to meet Yang Ling. For another, he wanted to try breakfast at one of the small shops.
This little breakfast place was extremely busy, even in the morning. Lin Huang was unwilling to queue for a place, so he decided to just wake up early instead.
Once he had finished getting himself ready, he made an area sweep with Divine Telekinesis and discovered that the breakfast place had just opened its doors. In a flash, he immediately appeared at the entrance.
He ordered two trays of the shop's signature buns and a bowl of plain congee. He then sat down and waited patiently for the buns to be served.
A figure appeared out of nowhere less than two seconds after he had taken his seat.
Lin Huang was utterly stunned when he saw who it was. It took him a moment to regain his composure.
"How come you're here? Where's Yan Ling?"
The person who had come to meet him was Hong Zhuang!
Lin Huang scrutinized her from head to toe. She was different from before; her personality had undergone a drastic change.
Not only was her previous alluring air conspicuously absent, but she was also no longer wearing red. Instead, she wore a plain green blouse, and a faint trace of worry creased her brow.
"Yang Ling… he's dead…" Hong Zhuang hesitated for a moment but decided to say it anyway.
"Yang Ling is dead?!" Lin Huang found this rather hard to believe. He squinted at Hong Zhuang. "Then who sent me those messages after midnight?"
"I did." As Hong Zhuang spoke, screenshots of the three messages popped up.
The screenshots confirmed that she had indeed sent those messages.
"How did you find my coordinates then?! My communicator device's location has been turned off," Lin Huang voiced his suspicions again. From what he remembered, Yang Ling was the only one who could do that. It was no use even if his communicator's location had been turned off; Yang Ling could still locate him.
"He transferred his Goldfinger to me before he died." While Hong Zhuang was explaining, Lin Huang kept staring at her. However, she did not look as if she was lying.
Lin Huang knew about Yang Ling and Hong Zhuang's relationship. However, he did not think that Yang Ling would reveal his identity as a traveler and the matter of his Goldfinger to Hong Zhuang. After all, Yang Ling had been betrayed before, so it was very hard for him to fully trust anybody.
However, what Hong Zhuang said convinced Lin Huang a little further.
This was because Yang Ling might have planned for the future once he realized he was marked for death. To prevent the Raiders from obtaining his Goldfinger, it sounded like it was something that Yang Ling would do— transfer his Goldfinger to someone else in advance. Furthermore, the recipient of the Goldfinger was Hong Zhuang, which was completely logical as the two of them were already in an intimate relationship.
Theoretically speaking, only travelers could use Goldfingers. However, Yang Ling's Goldfinger was not whole. Moreover, with his intelligence and capability, it was entirely possible that he had found a method of transferring his Goldfinger to Hong Zhuang.
"He asked me to look for you." Hong Zhuang made no move to avoid Lin Huang's scrutiny. "He also said that in this world, you're the only traveler he trusts."
Lin Huang became very thoughtful after he heard this.
What Hong Zhuang said sounded rather cheesy, but it certainly seemed to be something that Yang Ling would say before he died. Hong Zhuang probably did not make this up.
"How did he die?" Lin Huang asked again after sorting out his thoughts and feelings.
"We were actually targeted by Raiders as soon as we arrived in the great world. Yang Ling's Goldfinger was just a remnant, but the individual capable of plundering his Goldfinger could sense its rough location. We've been on the run these past few years in the great world because of that.
"About four and a half months ago, the person who plundered Yang Ling's Goldfinger personally made a move. It was a Lord who easily located our hiding place… Yang Ling sensed that all the layers of security measures he put in place had been breached. He knew our enemy was coming, so he transferred both his Goldfinger and the secret information in his mind to me before sending me away."
"So you didn't actually see Yang Ling's death with your own eyes?" Lin Huang persisted.
"I didn't see him die, but I'm sure of it," Hong Zhuang explained patiently, "I can sense that his aura remnant has been completely obliterated from his Goldfinger.
"You don't need to worry that the Goldfinger within me might attract that particular Lord. Yang Ling reset the Goldfinger entirely when he transferred it to me. Although the reset made the Goldfinger lose most of its functions, it has cut off any connection with the original Goldfinger. Otherwise, I would have been captured over four months ago."
"Let's talk somewhere else," Lin Huang shot a glance at the buns that were now ready and got the lady proprietress to pack them for takeaway.
With breakfast in hand, Lin Huang led Hong Zhuang to the Sword Alliance's headquarters.
Chapter 1604: The Name That Cannot Be Mentioned Again
Lin Huang had initially thought he would be reuniting with Yang Ling; he had never expected Hong Zhuang to be the one who showed up instead.
Not only that, the woman had brought news of Yang Ling's death.
Lin Huang was familiar enough with Hong Zhuang—he had met her the first year he had traveled to the gravel world. Back then, he had just started on his cultivation path. Since that time, the two of them had crossed paths more than once. However, as far as Lin Huang was concerned, his interactions with her could not be considered pleasant.
From the very beginning, he had never understood this woman.
If he only took into consideration their past interactions, Lin Huang would not be willing to have too much contact with her.
However, due to her position, he could not ignore her request for help.
She was Yang Ling's girlfriend.
Furthermore, Lin Huang had considered Yang Ling a true friend.
Although on the surface it seemed that many of the interactions between the two over the last few years had been limited to business transactions involving disguising identities, Yang Ling and Lin Huang were both travelers from Earth. As a result, they were able to relate to many of the things that each encountered respectively.
They were both strangers in a strange land.
Both of them came from the same place; both also had similar experiences as travelers who were now strangers residing in strange lands. In truth, they could sympathize with each other.
Lin Huang had even considered that when he had time, he would chat with Yang Ling about things that had happened on Earth.
However, he would never have the opportunity to do so now.
After a detailed talk with Hong Zhuang, he found out what had happened to her and Yang Ling.
The pair were almost constantly hiding from the Raiders' pursuit. Many times, they had to resort to hiding in various gravel worlds and mini worlds.
Yang Ling had also mentioned that he wanted Hong Zhuang to leave him so she could avoid being dragged into this matter. However, she rejected his suggestion and had remained with him, on the grounds that she could help Yang Ling handle many things where it was not convenient for him to reveal any traces of his existence.
The ill-fated couple had not lived a good life for the past few years. The resources they managed to obtain were also extremely limited.
According to Hong Zhuang, Yang Ling had only managed to restore his combat strength to ninth-rank true god-level before he died.
Meanwhile, she had elevated to first-rank true god-level. In Yang Ling's own words, he had given her more resources to prevent her from becoming a burden.
As for the Goldfinger Yang Ling had transferred into Hong Zhuang's body, in reality, it could not be considered a real Goldfinger by far.
Lin Huang could only vaguely sense that there were energy remnants in the Goldfinger within her.
Yang Ling's Goldfinger had been incomplete ever since it had been plundered. Now that he had reset it and transferred it to Hong Zhuang, it might not be capable of even one-tenth its previous function.
"Although Yang Ling had me look for you, he didn't expect you to avenge him."
As Lin Huang's thoughts ran rampant, Hong Zhuang suddenly spoke again, pulling him back from his woolgathering, "He even asked me to tell you to stay as low profile as you can. If you can't, at least disguise yourself. Before you're sufficiently powerful enough, try not to attract the Raiders' attention.
"In the memories he left for me, there are some things that he stressed I must pass on to you.
"The first thing is that, among the Raiders, the Primordium of the Lord that plundered Yang Ling's Goldfinger has departed for the universe. However, he left a clone in the great world. This clone has the ability of a Lord as well. Not only that, he wears a surveillance device that the Lord's Goldfinger left behind. The surveillance device monitors the information of any suspected travelers.
"The second thing is that due to the existence of this surveillance device, when we're somewhere with surveillance equipment or if we're on the internet, we can't mention these two keywords—traveler and Raider. This includes the intranet of some organizations, as well as encrypted devices—it's best not to bring up the keywords, as there's no way of guaranteeing complete safety.
"Thirdly, in front of all surveillance equipment or if you're on the internet, never mention the name 'Yang Ling' again, or anything at all regarding Yang Ling. Whether it's via text or voice recording, don't do it at all.
"It's best not to mention my name anymore as well, since it's most probably connected with Yang Ling already. I've given myself a new name—Violet. From now on, just call me that. I'll change my appearance and physical body too." As Hong Zhuang spoke, her body began rapidly transforming into a young lady with short purple hair. She looked only about fifteen or sixteen years old and had a scattering of tiny freckles on her face. She was at least ten centimeters shorter than before.
Lin Huang raised his brows as he watched Hong Zhuang's transformation.
She had used a disguise god sequence relic that could practically deceive most heavenly god-level powerhouses. As for Lin Huang, whose spirit strength had reached peak heavenly god-level, he had seen through her disguise right away. However, it was entirely sufficient for use on a daily basis.
After patiently listening to the precautions that Hong Zhuang had mentioned, Lin Huang felt only a faint sense of sorrow.
Yang Ling was already dead, but his name could not even be mentioned…
From this, the tyranny of the Raiders could be seen.
Not only did they want to take every good thing from an individual, but they also wanted to wipe out every trace of one's existence.
This was viciousness of the highest order!
Lin Huang fell silent for a long time, looking at Hong Zhuang. Her form had changed completely now, and she had purple hair. There was almost no trace to be seen of the former Hong Zhuang.
This woman had truly changed a great deal.
The old Hong Zhuang had been stubborn, untamed, and free. However, in place of that, Lin Huang now saw grief, steadiness, and a strange determination.
Even after hearing her story, it was hard to imagine the things she had gone through over the last few years.
"I definitely have to avenge him…" Lin Huang suddenly spoke.
Hong Zhuang was stunned when she heard this and stared blankly at Lin Huang. She had initially thought that this man would be fearful—afraid that she would bring disaster upon him. She had never expected him to react in this manner.
"Yang Ling was my friend. Even without him, it's only a matter of time before I would be targeted by Raiders." Lin Huang fixed his gaze on Hong Zhuang and continued, "Sooner or later, I'll have to settle the grudge between the Raiders and myself. However, now isn't the time to do so.
"I'm not powerful enough at the moment. One day, though, I'll be so powerful that those people will tremble!
"When the time comes, I'll take that man's head to console Yang Ling's spirit in heaven!"
Although what Lin Huang said sounded like a tall tale, Hong Zhuang was not sure why she found it extremely convincing.
She could be considered someone who had witnessed Lin Huang's growth.
She still remembered that when they had met for the first time, he was only an insignificant bronze-level.
Now, however, Lin Huang had grown into a formidable individual capable of establishing an organization of his own in the great world.
"You can settle down in the Devil Hunter Star Zone with peace of mind. Although this is a remote location, the resources here are sufficient for you to cultivate to heavenly god-level.
"Yang Ling is already dead, and you need time to mourn as well—but don't stay mired in your emotions. Spend more time on cultivation. When humans are busy, they'll naturally have fewer distracting thoughts. In your free time, if you really don't feel like cultivating, getting Lin Xin and the others to go shopping with you for some distraction wouldn't be a bad idea either."
Lin Huang got up slowly after he finished speaking. "I'll show you around first and then introduce you to everyone."
Chapter 1605: Death Sickle's Missions
Yang Ling had genuinely liked Hong Zhuang. However, Lin Huang was not sure if Hong Zhuang had reciprocated Yang Ling's affections. In any case, he did not wish to probe further into the matter.
However, as Yang Ling's friend, he would fulfill Yang Ling's dying wish, which was to take care of Hong Zhuang for him.
After getting Hong Zhuang settled in, Lin Huang began sorting out his thoughts.
Yang Ling's death gave him an even more acute sense of impending danger.
The Raiders were much more powerful than he had expected, as well as more despicable.
As far as Lin Huang was concerned, the best way to rid himself of this overhanging sense of danger was to elevate his ability.
"Let me max out the number of god rules for my Godly Right integration first, as soon as possible. That way, as soon as I get the half-step Lord God Territories from Virtuoso, I can refine them right away and elevate to heavenly god-level!"
Although there were other channels he could use to elevate his ability, Lin Huang decided to fill up his god rules to capacity first after some consideration.
His Godly Right had already integrated 1.5 billion god rules; in truth, he was fast approaching his limit.
Moreover, this was not a difficult undertaking—it could be achieved by killing Heavenly Gods.
However, Lin Huang wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Therefore, he pulled up the missions page on the Death Sickle forum and began looking for missions.
Although obtaining god rules would be a little slower when hunting down mission targets, he would be able to gain some handsome rewards from the missions themselves.
To Lin Huang, who needed a massive amount of resources to trade many times for half-step Lord God Territories, everything counted, however small. After all, most people's wealth was accumulated bit by bit like this.
If one did not take on any missions today or tomorrow, when would they be able to accumulate the money needed to purchase a half-step Lord God Territory?
"It would be great if I could take out a mortgage… I'd get one that lasts for a million years so I could pay it back slowly!"
When he thought of just how expensive half-step Lord God Territories were, Lin Huang began yearning a little for the mortgages on Earth.
He collected his thoughts somewhat and looked at the missions page again.
The level of difficulty for Gold Sickle missions was fighting Heavenly Gods.
Generally speaking, either the assassination targets would be Heavenly Gods, or he would come into conflict with heavenly god-level powerhouses while carrying out the mission.
Lin Huang glanced through the missions list and realized that the missions were arranged by the time of publication. The ones that were published later would be listed further up on top.
He changed the sorting order right away, opting to list the missions with the most handsome rewards first.
The missions list changed immediately.
Lin Huang looked over everything again and realized there were very few changes in which missions were listed first.
The mission in the top spot was still the same one, which was to kill a half-step heavenly god-level Bug Tribe Queen Mother. It was published over eight thousand years ago.
In eight thousand years, nobody had ever managed to complete this mission.
Lin Huang skipped over it after a mere glance at the heading and continued scrolling down. He did not even look to see what the reward was.
Killing a half-step heavenly god-level powerhouse was still a tall order for him to pull off in a short time.
Furthermore, this was a half-step heavenly god-level Bug Tribe Queen Mother that might have heavenly god-level guards by her side.
Lin Huang looked at the second mission on the list after skipping over the first one.
It was still a familiar heading, also about killing a Bug Tribe Queen Mother.
To be exact, the mission was to kill a fallen Queen Mother that resided in the Abyss.
This fallen Queen Mother possessed half-step heavenly god-level combat strength too.
Lin Huang skipped over this as well and looked at the third mission.
It was the exact same mission as previously—killing the half-step heavenly god-level Succubus Mia.
He shook his head helplessly and quickly scanned down the list.
He skipped past a dozen or more missions for killing half-step Heavenly Gods and looked at those that had ninth-rank heavenly god-level targets.
"Killing God Capital's King Kong…"
"King Kong, saber cultivator, suspected to be class-5.5, ninth-rank heavenly god-level combat strength…"
The first mission listed was to kill King Kong.
Lin Huang was familiar with King Kong. He was the most powerful of all the Heavenly Gods in God Capital, with abilities that might be no less than those of Buried Heaven.
He was an overbearing entity who could directly take on half-step heavenly god-level powerhouses in a fight.
Previously, when the Great Heaven Territory had been opened, King Kong had been the leader of God Capital. Lin Huang had met him once at the time.
"This fellow's abilities might very well be on par with Buried Heaven's. Among the Heavenly Gods in the God Territory, his abilities are definitely in the top three ranks." At present, Lin Huang did not think he would be able to fight a battle with King Kong on equal footing.
After skipping over the mission to kill King Kong, he saw yet another familiar name.
"Kill Peerless Overlord from the Combat God Temple…"
"Peerless Overlord, spear cultivator, suspected to be class-5, ninth-rank heavenly god-level combat strength…"
Peerless Overlord, King Kong, and Buried Heaven were all powerhouses of the same level. The three of them were already at peak heavenly god-level and had been cultivating at ninth-rank heavenly god-level for years in order to break through to lord-level in one fell swoop.
Although a target like this offered extremely handsome rewards, Lin Huang did not consider the mission for the time being.
He resumed scrolling down and finally found a suitable target.
"Killing God Capital's Shen Jue…"
"Shen Jue, saber cultivator, class-5 supreme god-level, ninth-rank heavenly god-level combat strength…"
"Reward for completion of mission: Pseudo-Dao Weapon x1"
Lin Huang had heard of this Shen Jue individual before.
He ranked No. 7 on the God Territory's Heavenly God Leaderboard.
However, Lin Huang's familiarity with him was not because of the Leaderboard, but because Shen Jue's name frequently appeared on Death Sickle's forum.
This fellow was an utter racist.
He had been born into the largest pure blood clan in the God Territory—the Shen family. Not only that, he was a direct descendent of the Shen family. Therefore, since childhood, he had always possessed a superiority complex, regarding everyone else as beneath him.
His looks were unparalleled, but in character, he was brutal and extreme.
To him, all living beings that were not pure blood Protoss were nothing but animals. They were only fit to be slaves.
What he loved most was to buy slaves of various races and subject them to abuse and torture. After he was done, he would then kill them using various methods.
Unfortunately, due to his status and his abilities, everyone else could not say anything. They could only fume in silence.
"This jerk is also on the missions list." Lin Huang raised his brows. "His abilities should be on par with mine now…"
After some consideration, he accepted the mission.
As far as Lin Huang was concerned, accepting easily achieved missions with generous rewards was a matter of course. However, he also felt that more challenging missions afforded him the opportunity to improve.
Besides, this Shen Jue fellow certainly deserved to die!
After accepting the mission to kill Shen Jue, Lin Huang resumed scrolling down the list and came across yet another familiar name.
"Killing God Capital's Shen Yu…"
"Shen Yu, saber cultivator, class-5 supreme god-level, ninth-rank heavenly god-level combat strength…"
"Reward for completion of mission: Pseudo-Dao Weapon x1"
Shen Yu was Shen Jue's older sister by birth; the pair of them were twins.
Brother and sister had grown up together, and their characters were so similar it was as if they came from the same mold. She and Shen Jue were constantly up to no good, and they would even exchange slaves so that they could torment them further.
Rumor was that Shen Yu had been the one who had first given Shen Jue his taste for slave torture.
Her own abilities were also powerful. She was ranked No. 11 on the God Territory's Heavenly God Leaderboard and could be considered extremely talented.
Without hesitation, Lin Huang accepted that mission too.
After that, he continued perusing the list and accepted over 20 missions at once before closing the missions page.
Chapter 1606: Mixue Ice-Cream And Tea's Sweetness Tea
(TN: The title comes from the name of a famous Chinese bubble tea brand, Mixue Ice-cream and Tea)
Mixue Planet was located in the Milky Star Zone. It was a planet covered in snow all year round, and it produced ice honey.
The plants here were extraordinarily resistant to cold, and most of them could bloom even at -80 degrees Celsius.
On this planet lived a very special species of bee—the Ice Bee—that had unique ice crystal scales on its body. They were impervious to cold weather of even -200 degrees Celsius, and the honey they made was remarkably delicious.
The weather and this specialty product were what gave the planet its name.
The most bustling city on Mixue Planet was Ice City.
Currently, Lin Huang was at one of the bubble tea shops there. While patiently waiting for his target to appear, he sipped on an iced tea called Sweetness Tea.
He had accepted twenty-six missions from Death Sickle all in one go and had also marked out all the mission targets' coordinates one by one. He had then planned out his route based on how easily accessible the location was, from the easiest to the hardest.
Milky Star Zone was less than thirty thousand light-years away from the Devil Hunter Star Zone. A dimensional portal would take him straight there.
Therefore, the target on Mixue Planet naturally became the first on Lin Huang's list.
This round, his target was Este, the governor of Ice City, who was also the master of the entire Milky Star Zone domain.
His main cultivation path was ice elemental truth. In terms of abilities, he was ranked No. 97 on the God Territory's Heavenly God Leaderboard and could be considered a powerhouse.
He had a particular obsession for freezing living people into ice sculptures which he then displayed in his showroom. In his ice sculpture collection, there were not only Protoss and humans but also beings from many other tribes. He had over a thousand of these sculptures.
As a result, he took great pride in his collection and had designated himself an "ice sculpture artist".
Lin Huang wrapped himself in a heavy trench coat, not because he was cold, but because everyone else was wearing thick clothes.
He sipped on his iced tea, waiting patiently for Este to show up.
According to the information he had received, Este would come to this shop to get iced tea every morning.
Halfway through his drink, Lin Huang slowly glanced up and saw his mission target gradually coming closer. A faint smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
A red gleam suddenly flared at the opening of his sleeve.
The next instant, the ice-blue bearded Este suddenly stopped in his tracks and toppled to the ground immediately after.
Nobody noticed that the storage ring on Este's finger had quietly disappeared without a trace, along with the God Territory in his body.
At the same time, Lin Huang had also vanished into thin air.
The powerhouse who was ranked No. 97 on the Heavenly God Leaderboard was disposed of within seconds, just like that.
In all honesty, Lin Huang would have certainly found it difficult to kill Este in a direct confrontation.
However, he had used a telekinetic flying dagger to launch a stealth attack. At such close proximity, given the flying dagger's speed, Este had been unable to dodge at all.
Furthermore, Lin Huang had compounded this telekinetic flying dagger—a top-grade god sequence relic—with eighteen levels of sequence power and Sword Dao heavenly rule.
Even if it had been Buried Heaven or King Kong, they might not have had time to react either if they encountered a stealth attack like this from such close proximity.
After taking care of the first target, Lin Huang immediately withdrew and left without any hesitation.
"Second target, Gu Ming…"
After killing his first target, Lin Huang had no plans to rest. He immediately headed to the location of his second target and began his second hunt…
On the first day after accepting the missions, he successfully killed seventeen targets within a short twenty-four hours.
Each target was killed by a single telekinetic flying dagger strike. Lin Huang did not have to use a second telekinetic flying dagger on any of them.
He killed seventeen ninth-rank Heavenly Gods within a day; thirteen of them were also in the top one hundred rankings on the Heavenly God Leaderboard. Lin Huang killed all of them within seconds!
This made all the major organizations panic.
Many grade-5 and even grade-6 organizations felt as if they were confronting a mortal enemy and were afraid that their organizations would be targeted. After all, ninth-rank Heavenly Gods possessed the highest combat strength within their organizations. Losing these Heavenly Gods would be a crippling blow.
All the major organizations were speculating as to who this assassin might be.
Naturally, the news spread to Death Sickle as well. Very soon, the members in Death Sickle discovered that someone had accepted many difficult missions on the missions list. Furthermore, the seventeen people who had died were all targets of these particular missions. The missions had yet to be submitted, though, so they had no idea who exactly might be behind them.
However, many people in Death Sickle's inner circle suspected that Buried Heaven was responsible.
This was because thirteen of the targets were in the top one hundred ranks on the Heavenly God Leaderboard, and they had been killed almost instantly. As far as everyone knew, out of all Death Sickle's Gold Sickles, Buried Heaven was the only one who could pull this off.
After a busy first day, Lin Huang did not slow down on the second day either.
He rapidly disposed of his eighteenth, nineteenth, and other subsequent targets.
By dawn of the third day, Lin Huang had completed twenty-four missions.
Only two targets remained—Shen Jue and Shen Yu.
The twins' territory was located within the core zone of the God Territory—a fiefdom that God Capital had allocated to them.
This was also the most difficult thing about the mission.
God Capital's headquarters was guarded by a Lord. Not only that, there were several half-step Lords who were stationed across God Capital's various territories.
Shen Jue and Shen Yu's fiefdom was not far from the territory of one of God Capital's half-step Lords.
Therefore, the greatest difficulty in killing the pair lay not in their inherently powerful abilities but in the fact that Lin Huang had to dispatch them swiftly and then escape from God Capital's territory.
Based on the information provided by Death Sickle, Lin Huang had to kill both Shen Jue and Shen Yu within three seconds and then teleport out in order to successfully complete this mission.
If not, the half-step Lord from the next territory would hasten to the scene.
Furthermore, once the half-step Lord had sprung into action, the Lord who was guarding God Capital would send his consciousness over right away.
In other words, even if the half-step Lord powerhouse were the one making a move, Lin Huang would die on the spot if he were unable to escape in time.
'I only have one chance to attack. Whether I manage to kill them or not, I have to leave immediately.' Upon entering Gemini, Lin Huang had gone into complete seclusion and was now cracking his head over how to complete this mission.
He was also aware that his two-day killing spree had alerted the various major organizations, including God Capital, which was a grade-7 organization.
After all, the ones killed were all ninth-rank heavenly god-level, and most of them were well-known figures on the Heavenly God Leaderboard. Not only that, they had been instantly killed and completely unable to defend themselves.
The several grade-7 organizations were rather worried that their young potentials would be targeted.
After all, individuals who had been singled out for nurturing all had the potential to become Lords and were immensely talented.
The siblings, Shen Jue and Shen Yu, happened to be young potentials of this sort.
God Capital was a gathering ground for pure blood Protoss, and most members looked down on other tribes. Theoretically, they did not think that there was anything wrong with the twins. At most, they thought their behavior was rather cruel; no one disciplined them either.
God Capital's upper echelons were not unaware of the things the pair had done behind their backs. They merely turned a blind eye and acted as if they saw nothing.
This was why over the years, the siblings had become increasingly unreasonable and ruthless.
However, as far as Lin Huang was concerned, the duo's behavior was completely unforgivable.
Chapter 1607: Gemini
Gemini was where siblings Shen Jue and Shen Yu were stationed.
Since many ninth-rank geniuses on the Heavenly God Leaderboard's ranking list had been killed one after the other, the twins' movements had been curtailed by God Capital's upper echelons. The siblings had been unable to leave Gemini for the past few days.
God Capital's upper echelons thought it would be the safest for them to stay on Gemini.
The minute something went awry, the half-step Lord would be able to get there at once.
Not only that, God Capital was now regulating all entries and departures from Gemini. Any powerhouses above heavenly god-level who wished to enter Gemini would have to submit a complete set of identification documents for review; they would only be allowed entry if they passed. For high-level Heavenly Gods and half-step Lords, the process was especially stringent.
However, none of this had anything to do with Lin Huang. No matter what, he still looked like a True God.
In God Capital's eyes, he was the completely harmless type.
Lin Huang disguised himself prominently as a tourist over the next few days and visited various tourist attractions. In reality, though, he was secretly gathering information while waiting patiently for the chance to carry out the assassinations.
Seven days passed as he waited…
In the Gemini God Palace on Gemini, a lady in a white dress and purple stilettos was standing on the back of a muscular Protoss.
The Protoss retained his human form and was at least three meters tall. His body was knotted with muscles, and he was clad only in a pair of underpants. At the moment, he was crawling on the ground on all fours like a dog, letting the lady stand on his back as she pleased. Around his neck was a collar with a black chain attached to it. The lady was holding the other end of the chain.
"Three Two Six, go to Shen Jue's courtyard."
The muscular Protoss immediately began crawling, going as fast as the wind.
Judging by his speed alone, his abilities were definitely those of a heavenly god-level powerhouse.
However, this powerful being was not only chained like a dog, but he was also submitting to the lady's orders.
It only took a moment for the Protoss to arrive at a particular courtyard, bearing the lady on his back.
However, once he got to the entrance, he stopped and prostrated himself on the ground.
The lady in the white dress stepped forward on her stilettos and trod on his head, taking her time to hop down slowly.
She then casually fastened the chain around the neck of a stone sculpture at the entrance, then went through the gate.
After seeing the lady in the white dress through the gate, the muscled Protoss glanced at the length of the chain between him and the stone sculpture. It did not seem long enough for him to sit up, so he crawled two steps forward to try and shorten the distance. When he saw that the chain had loosened significantly, he slowly got up and tried to sit down.
However, before he could be fully seated, the chain tightened completely—it was not long enough.
He hurriedly stopped trying to get up, worried that he might accidentally break the chain. Once again, he lay down and prostrated himself helplessly on the ground.
In reality, the chain was looped around the stone sculpture several times. He could absolutely have unwound the chain twice, and it would be sufficient length for him to be able to sit. However, he did not dare to touch it at all.
The lady in the white dress and purple stilettos went into the courtyard and slipped quickly into a large palace.
In the deep recesses of the palace was a naked lady tied to a metal stand.
She had seven foxtails growing from her lower back—she was obviously was a member of the Nine-tailed Fox Tribe.
The Nine-tailed Fox Tribe was part of the Protoss. A nine-tailed lord-level powerhouse had even emerged previously, and they had attained the rank of a grade-7 organization.
However, since the death of that particular Lord, the Nine-tailed Fox Tribe had been utterly reduced to a grade-6 organization. Not only that, for thousands of years, they were ranked at the bottom of all the grade-6 organizations.
Despite their decline, theoretically, members of the Nine-tailed Fox Tribe should not have been reduced to the level of slaves.
Clearly, this nine-tailed fox had not been obtained via legal channels.
"What? It's been over a month now, and this girl still hasn't yielded?" The lady in the white dress seemed to be enjoying the show. She was watching a man who bore ninety percent resemblance to her whipping the nine-tailed fox lady with a whip imbued with a thunder god sequence chain. Not only was the lady in white devoid of sympathy, but she also seemed eager, as if she would like to have a go with the whip herself.
"Her God's soul is already ninth-rank, and she has immense force of will. I've tried countless ways over the past few months, but the results are insignificant. All I can do is torture her slowly." Upon hearing that, the man wielded the whip twice more before stopping. He turned around and looked at the lady in the white dress, "However, there will come a day when I'll make her kneel on the ground and lick my toes willingly and obediently."
In appearance, he was extremely handsome—he could even be considered pretty. If he were on Earth, he would certainly outshine all the young, pretty-boy celebrities. The white suit he wore set off his charisma, making him look extraordinarily refined.
However, those who were acquainted with him knew that although he looked good on the surface, there was nothing else good about him. He was rotten on the inside—even more odious than the Disasters in the Abyss.
"Why did you come here today?"
"You're my brother. Can't I visit you when I have nothing to do?" The lady in the white dress said with a smile.
"If you're not here for anything in particular, I'll resume what I'm doing," the man in the white suit said and raised the whip in his hand.
"Aren't you bored after being confined for a week?" The lady in the white dress asked in exasperation.
"The old geezers won't let us go out. What can I do?" The man in the white suit more or less guessed the purpose of his older sister's visit.
"I heard there'll be good stuff at the auction tonight," the lady in the white dress commented.
"What you think is good might not be something I find acceptable." The man in the white suit feigned indifference.
"Do you think I don't know your taste? Don't worry, there are things that will suit you."
Only then did the man in the white suit turn around and look at his sister. "What about the old geezers?"
"It's not like we're leaving Gemini. We can't stay in all the time. It's been a week!" The lady in the white dress sounded rather annoyed as she spoke, "Do they think we're pet birds they can lock in a cage?!"
"That's true. It's been a week, and there's been no more news about other Heavenly Gods being assassinated. I wonder what those old geezers are worried about." The man in the white suit was not very happy either. "Who would be foolhardy enough to barge into God Capital territory to kill someone?!"
"That's right!" The lady in the white dress agreed, "The minute the half-step Lord shows up here, the Lord would sense it. The assassin wouldn't even have a chance to attack. If they were heavenly god-level and we joined forces to fight, even if we're no match for Buried Heaven and King Kong, it wouldn't be hard to drag things out for a couple of hours. Besides, it will only take three to five seconds for the half-step Lord to get here."
The man in the white suit abruptly fell silent. Naturally, he knew that his sister was exaggerating their abilities. He had seen King Kong fight; he was very much aware that they would not be able to hold out for an hour even if he joined forces with his sister. In fact, it would be hard to last for even half an hour. However, he also felt it should not be a problem for them to hold out until the half-step Lord arrived.
"Given how vigilant that bunch of old higher-ups is, they probably aren't going to let us out for at least a month." The man in the white suit thought this over. "If we want to go out, we'll have to sneak out."
"I think so too." the lady in the white dress nodded in agreement, "Anyway, we're not leaving Gemini. Even if they find out later on, at most, they'll just give us an earful."
"Alright, that's set then. After dinner, we'll each leave a clone behind to cover up for our absence, then we'll meet up directly at the entrance to the black market." The man in the white suit officially finalized the plans for their outing.
Chapter 1608: The Joys Of The Rich
Lin Huang headed straight to the black market after dinner.
There was an underground auction there tonight.
He had heard that there would be slaves of various tribes among the items up for bid.
Lin Huang knew that the siblings, Shen Jue and Shen Yu, would be there.
It had been a week since the consecutive killings of the Heavenly Gods who were on the Heavenly God Leaderboard's ranking list.
Throughout the week, this incident had stirred heated discussions everywhere.
At first, most people speculated that Buried Heaven was responsible. However, someone confirmed that Buried Heaven had gone into the Abyss with an expedition of troops and had not come out yet.
There were also several people who thought it might be Xiu Mu from Death Sickle, who had risen to fame recently. However, others quickly shot this speculation down.
After all, although Lin Huang had obtained the highest combat results under the guise of Xiu Mu a couple of months ago, he had only killed third-rank heavenly god-level powerhouses. Furthermore, he was only a True God.
Many of the dead victims were geniuses from various organizations and had been on the Heavenly God Leaderboard's ranking list. Anyone who could make it into the Heavenly God Leaderboard rankings was the cream of the crop among ninth-rank Heavenly Gods. Their abilities were beyond those of any ordinary ninth-rank Heavenly God. Any individual who could kill these people almost instantly had to be either a half-step Lord or a peak heavenly god-level powerhouse like Buried Heaven.
Many people had no doubts about Xiu Mu's ability once he elevated to ninth-rank heavenly god-level in the future. They even felt that he might surpass Buried Heaven.
However, logically speaking, it was less than half a year since Xiu Mu had first shown his face in public. No matter how talented he was, it was impossible for his combat strength to advance a whole level within such a short time and elevate to ninth-rank heavenly god-level.
The name Xiu Mu merely came to everyone's mind for a second and was then immediately buried and forgotten.
Anyway, there were other assassin organizations in the God Territory as well, apart from Death Sickle. Not only that, but the assassin might also be from outside the God Territory.
After several days of enthusiastic discussion, Lin Huang's temporary pause in the killings caused the popularity of the topic to gradually die down.
On the internet, with its constant information explosion, everyone had short memories. They were easily distracted by new things as well.
This was what Lin Huang wanted because he knew that if the topic grew more popular, it would only make it more difficult for him to kill his last two targets.
After entering the auction grounds, he quickly found himself a seat.
After sitting down, he began looking around.
This sort of illegal underground auction happened from time to time with no fixed schedule. Each time, the venue would either be temporarily erected, or rented to avoid the event being reported.
The auction venue in Gemini's black market was not very large and could only hold three thousand people. There was no VIP room either.
It was just an open hall with thirty rows of seats in total, with one hundred seats per row.
Lin Huang's seat was in the last row—the thirtieth row—and was beside the walkway, closest to the door.
One of the reasons why he picked this seat was that if anyone were sitting behind him, they would notice something unusual if he made any moves, however small. Another reason was that this was the most convenient seat for leaving the hall.
He chose to carry out the assassination inside the venue, as there were many uncertain factors if he were to attempt the killings while his targets were on their way to the auction.
If the two targets did not depart at the same time, he could only kill one of them and would have to give up on his second target.
No such issue existed if the assassination took place in the venue itself because the siblings would meet there sooner or later. All he had to do was to wait patiently for the two of them to appear.
Moreover, during this period when everyone was jittery, Shen Jue and Shen Yu's status and potential in God Capital meant they would certainly have powerful guardians covertly following them.
In a place with a crowd, it would also be easier to distract these guardians.
Lin Huang's arrival at the venue was considered relatively early; after he went in, more people began showing up rapidly.
Seeing that the first row was fast filling up, Lin Huang became increasingly uncertain whether or not Shen Jue and Shen Yu would come.
After all, the guest list was completely confidential, and he was only guessing that they would make an appearance since there were slaves at the auction this time. He was not one hundred percent certain that they would.
Right as the auction was about to officially start and the auctioneer was waiting to go on stage, two figures finally showed up late.
These two individuals were a lady in a white dress and a man in a white suit.
Both of them looked ninety percent similar to each other. In face and form, they were so utterly perfect that no one could find anything to nitpick.
Their appearance soon attracted the attention of everyone in the venue, including Lin Huang's.
These two were no other than the targets he intended to kill—the siblings Shen Jue and Shen Yu!
Despite having attracted everyone's attention as soon as they showed up, the twins' expressions betrayed no signs of surprise, as if they were already used to such reactions.
Shen Yu held onto Shen Jue's arm, and they slowly made their way to the last two seats on the first row. They occupied the two best seats in the entire auction.
However, nobody objected.
On Gemini, even tourists were aware of who the siblings were.
Lin Huang smirked faintly. He might well be the happiest person in the venue to see the brother and sister.
The thing he had been most worried about for his plan this time was if the pair did not make an appearance. If they did not come, he would have wasted his efforts. Not only that, he had no idea when he would have another opportunity to make his move.
To Lin Huang, the twins showing up now was the equivalent of completing half his assassination mission.
Lin Huang did not attack right away when he saw the siblings taking their seats. Instead, he waited patiently.
The auction had yet to begin, so there was no one to distract the crowd's attention from him. It was not the best time to attack.
After Shen Jue and Shen Yu entered, the auctioneer checked the time, then made his way on stage.
After some opening remarks, the underground auction officially began!
"Let's look at the first item we have up for bids today!" As the auctioneer spoke, he pulled off the red cloth that covered the item, revealing a suit of golden armor.
Lin Huang could not see what was so special about this item. It was just a top-grade god sequence relic, and the craftsmanship could not be considered particularly exquisite. He had no idea why it would be sold as part of an underground auction.
However, he noticed that many people seemed to be interested in this suit of armor.
Just when he was having doubts, the auctioneer finally began introducing the item.
"I'm sure many of our guests can tell that this is a suit of General's Armor from the Combat God Temple. Even in the Combat God Temple, only the top Heavenly Gods have the right to purchase it. Under normal circumstances, something like this would be prohibited from being displayed anywhere outside of the Combat God Temple. Therefore, in the entire God Territory, apart from the Combat God Temple, it's said that only three people own such a collectible.
"I wonder which of our guests will be able to obtain this collectible and become the legendary fourth person to own one…"
After listening to the auctioneer's description of the item up for bid, Lin Huang suddenly realized that the suit of armor was contraband goods from the Combat God Temple.
Some powerful organizations possessed exclusive equipment that was strictly for their own internal use. This set of armor was clearly one of these items.
As such, it was no longer a god sequence relic but a limited edition collectible.
As potential purchasers kept shouting bids continuously, the price skyrocketed. Within ten seconds, it had gone up to triple the price of regular top-grade god sequence relic battle armor and was still getting increasingly higher.
All Lin Huang could say was that the joys of the rich were things one could not even begin to imagine.
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Chapter 1609: Here's My Chance
"I believe many men here will be interested in the second collectible we have today…"
The auctioneer removed the red cloth covering the display case. Within the transparent case was an exquisite bottle the size of a human palm.
Lin Huang stared at the bottle for a little bit. It was nothing special—just a regular jade bottle. The patterns carved onto it added to its aesthetics, but they were actually divine patterns for sealing off its aura.
However, Lin Huang could obviously sense that many of the men present began to breathe more heavily once they saw this collectible.
They must be coveting whatever the bottle contained.
Right as Lin Huang was puzzling over this, the auctioneer finally announced the name of this collectible—the Desire Elixir!
Lin Huang still looked confused after he heard the name of the item. He had never heard of such a thing before.
Fortunately, the auctioneer seemed to have taken into consideration that there might be people who knew nothing about the item's provenance or its use, so he launched into an explanation.
"The Desire Elixir is a rare and very special potion. This bottle that you see before you came into the auction house's hands by chance. There are no reliable channels for obtaining it.
"There are two main reasons for this elixir's rarity. One is that there are very few apothecaries who know the formula. At present, in the entire God Territory, there are perhaps only two or three individuals who can formulate this potion. The other reason is that its main ingredient is the blood of Abyssal Desires, which is extremely difficult to obtain!"
Lin Huang was stunned when he heard Abyssal Desires being mentioned.
A Desire was a type of Disaster derived from extreme desire and Abyssal energy.
'Can we really use an elixir made from the blood of something like that?' Lin Huang had already guessed the so-called Desire Elixir's general function without the need for further explanation from the auctioneer.
No matter how thoroughly the apothecary had purified the elixir from Abyssal energy and negative emotions, its ingredients alone meant that it could not be auctioned or sold legally.
It could only be put up for bid at underground auctions.
A short while later, the auctioneer began describing the elixir's powers after he had finished boasting about its rarity and how difficult it was to produce.
He added many exaggerated embellishments, but they were not too far from Lin Huang's speculations.
This potion was an extremely powerful aphrodisiac with strong hallucinogenic properties.
The auctioneer even admitted that it could be slightly addictive.
However, the word 'slightly' made Lin Huang scoff. If this could cause even half-step Lords to become addicted, one could imagine how tremendously habit-forming such a thing could be for less powerful Heavenly Gods and True Gods.
Even if one did not take into account the main ingredients and focused only on the elixir's function, it was inconceivable that the various major organizations would allow this to be sold legally through the proper channels.
What made Lin Huang speechless was that Shen Jue and Shen Yu also joined in the bidding wars, even bidding against each other a few times.
In the end, the two seemed to come to some sort of agreement and stopped bidding against each other.
Shen Jue managed to obtain the Desire Elixir at a high price, equivalent to that of a Pseudo-Dao Weapon.
This made Lin Huang greatly covet the storage rings the twins were wearing.
He knew that they were definitely wealthy, based on their extravagant bids.
After the second item sold, the auction continued.
The subsequent items that were put up for sale made Lin Huang realize why this was an underground auction.
Among the auction items were limbs of unpurified Abyssal creatures, exclusive items obtained from major organizations, including grade-7 ones, as well as strange, peculiar cursed items. There were even the remains of half-step Lords from sources unknown…
The entire auction went on in a heated frenzy, with endless bids being shouted out.
To avoid suspicion, Lin Huang bid numerous times as well.
He bid on exclusive items from the Combat God Temple and Death Sickle, two cursed items, and the remains of three half-step Lords.
In truth, he was genuinely interested in the remains of the three half-step Lords. This was because, according to what the auctioneer had said, the God Territories within their bodies were intact and had not been stripped away.
However, in the end, all his bids were unsuccessful. He was completely unable to go up against the others.
As for the remnants of the three half-step Lords, Shen Jue bought the female remains, while Shen Yu bought those of the two males.
Both of them bid so high it was ridiculous.
The female half-step Lord's remains were eventually sold for the price equivalent of seven Pseudo-Dao Weapons.
Shen Yu's bid was the price equivalent of six Pseudo-Dao Weapons for the two male remains.
Everyone else could not compete with them at all.
Watching the pair and their starting bids, Lin Huang could not help exclaiming secretly in his mind, 'Are Pseudo-Dao Weapons worth so little this year?!"
After the remains of the three half-step Lords had been sold off, the auction finally entered the next session—the auction of living creatures.
As soon as it began, a huge case was brought on stage.
The auctioneer removed the red cloth, revealing an inky-black monster sealed in a transparent crystal cylinder.
Lin Huang's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this.
He had come across such a monster in the Abyss not long ago. It was an abyssal monster called the Ink Killer.
Its combat strength was usually that of a high-level Heavenly God, and its main cultivation path was Shadow Elemental Truth. It was extremely proficient in the art of killing by stealth.
Although the one on stage had been sealed within the crystal, its aura was still able to seep through faintly. It was obviously still alive.
Lin Huang could sense that this Ink Killer's combat strength was only seventh-rank.
Although its combat strength was low, in the Abyss, this creature could severely harm even a ninth-rank heavenly god-level powerhouse if it managed to successfully ambush them.
A living creature like this was most certainly a dangerous item!
Lin Huang felt that anyone who wished to purchase this would be just asking for death.
Even an Imperial Censor could not tame this creature.
That was because a monster like this harbored only murderous intent within its mind, and it possessed only partial consciousness. All living things were its prey.
However, Lin Huang had not expected that there would be successive waves of bids, even after the auctioneer had introduced the item.
Subsequently, he watched, somewhat speechless, at the abyssal monsters being auctioned off one by one. He had no idea what those people were going to do with the creatures they had purchased.
'Do they have nothing better to do except purchase Abyssal creatures, then feed themselves and their families to them?' Lin Huang could not help secretly ridiculing the bidders.
After the auction of Abyssal creatures ended, the auction of living creatures went on.
It was already the early hours of the morning now, but the auction did not seem like it would be ending any time soon.
Lin Huang continued waiting patiently. In truth, there were a few times when he had wanted to make his move, but he had restrained himself in the end.
This was because even when the remains of the half-step Lords came up for auction, there was no upsurge in the twins' emotions.
If he attacked under such circumstances, it might alert the siblings.
He wanted to wait for an opportunity when the pair's attention was fully focused on the item up for bids.
Since Lin Huang had withheld making his move, the auction proceeded smoothly to the last session at around one in the morning—the auction of slaves!
Lin Huang noticed that even before the session began, Shen Yu and Shen Jue's behavior was clearly different from before. Even their sitting posture was no longer indolent.
'Here's my chance…' Lin Huang's lips curled up in the slightest of smirks.
Chapter 1610: An Unexpected Fight That Benefits A Third Party
Many of those present started breathing heavily when they saw the auction item that was being brought on stage.
A lot of them had come to this underground auction specifically for the slaves.
The siblings Shen Jue and Shen Yu were two such individuals. They had bid on other things just because those items happened to be there.
On stage, the auctioneer quickly removed the red cloth from the crystal display case.
Sealed inside the crystal was a living female being with a snake's tail. Her upper body was no different from that of a human female and extremely impressive to boot.
She was completely naked, with only a line of sigils encircling her neck. This was for controlling slaves and was concealable. The auction house had intentionally revealed it to show the guests that this slave was under restriction and controlled.
What primarily caught Lin Huang's attention was that the snake lady's tail was golden.
'They managed to capture something like this as well?'
He could not help giving vent to a secret exclamation about how capable the auction's organizers were.
"The item being auctioned this round is a snake woman," the auctioneer said calmly upon seeing how stirred the crowd was, "I'm sure all our guests have noticed that this isn't an ordinary snake woman, but a class-5 supreme god-level Golden-scaled Snake Woman.
"There's a secret in the Snake Woman Tribe that most of the guests here might not be aware of. That is, the Snake Queen of each successive generation in the Tribe is selected from among the princesses. How then are these princesses selected?"
The auctioneer paused and looked around. He only answered the question, smiling, after seeing that nobody volunteered a reply.
"There's only one selection requirement for the princesses in the Snake Woman Tribe—they have to be class-5 supreme god-level! It has nothing to do with their combat strength or their clan. As long as they're class-5 supreme god-level, they will acquire the title of 'Princess' right away and become a candidate for succession to the Snake Queen's throne.
"If the Snake Queen dies and there's only one princess, she doesn't even have to go through any selection—she'll directly inherit the position of Snake Queen.
"In other words, we're auctioning off a princess of the Snake Woman Tribe. Who knows, she even might be the future Snake Queen!"
Lin Huang felt he had learned something new when he heard this. It was also his first time hearing the selection rules for choosing the Snake Queen's successor.
The crowd went absolutely wild.
Everyone understood the underlying meaning of what the auctioneer was saying.
If they could obtain this Snake Woman princess and come up with a suitable plan—for instance, killing off the Snake Queen and the other Snake Woman princesses—they could have their slave inherit the Snake Queen's position. This would give them control over the entire Snake Woman Tribe.
Although the population of the Snake Woman Tribe was low and they were not considered a major tribe in the God Territory, there might just be a half-step Lord in the tribe—perhaps even more than one.
Gaining control of a tribe like this would be the equivalent of controlling a top grade-6 organization.
Naturally, Lin Huang caught the hidden meaning behind the auctioneer's words. However, he was not thinking about the affairs of the Snake Woman Tribe—rather, he was considering the situation in the Nephilic Judge Tribe.
Ever since Kylie's elevation to class-6, she had become the queen of the entire Nephilic Judge Tribe. In actuality, this also meant that Lin Huang secretly controlled the fate of the entire Nephilic Judge Tribe.
The Nephilic Judge Tribe was much more powerful than the Snake Woman Tribe.
Among the numerous pieces of information she had passed on to Lin Huang, Kylie had conveyed a specific detail to him once.
There were only three visible half-step Lords in the Nephilic Judge Tribe, but the actual number might be double that. Furthermore, there might also be still-living lord-level patriarchs; it was just that they had not made an appearance in this era.
The abilities that this tribe displayed publicly were just the tip of the iceberg.
This was also why Lin Huang had dismissed the idea of using a summons to compel Kylie to return. Instead, he had agreed to Bloody's plan, which was to have Kylie remain with the Nephilic Judge Tribe.
Thanks to the auctioneer stirring up the crowd, the bidding for this first slave was extraordinarily intense.
The siblings Shen Yu and Shen Jue were bidding continuously.
However, they were not the only wealthy ones present at the auction. There were also several others who kept bidding against the twins and were not willing to give up.
One lady even raised the bid to the price of a Dao Weapon, scaring off a few competitors.
It was not just the people present who were puzzled; even Lin Huang was confused at this.
A price like that was enough to buy a half-step lord-level slave.
This Golden-scaled Snake Woman was only third-rank heavenly god-level, after all. However incredible her potential, one would still need to invest in resources to train her.
As for what the auctioneer had said about controlling the entire Snake Woman Tribe through her, it was utterly ridiculous.
The Snake Queen of the present era was a half-step Lord. According to the succession rules for the Snake Queen that the auctioneer had described, the Snake Queen currently in power should be at least class-5 supreme god-level.
The abilities of a class-5 supreme god-level half-step Lord would certainly be outstanding even among half-step Lords. How could she be assassinated so easily?
Those who did possess the ability to kill the Snake Queen would not covet the Snake Woman Tribe either.
Lin Huang could understand why Shen Yu and Shen Jue were bidding. After all, the pair loved to collect slaves.
However, he could not understand why the lady sitting in the same row as him was bidding so furiously.
Could it be that this lady had the same interests as the sibling?
However, in terms of wealth, in the end, it was still the twins who were more solid financially.
When the lady saw that the siblings were still bidding after she had raised the price to that of a Dao Weapon, she dropped out and did not continue.
The siblings seemed to have come to a quick agreement, and Shen Jue raised the bid for the Golden-scaled Snake Woman to the price of a Dao Weapon and two Pseudo-Dao Weapons.
Just when the auctioneer was about to announce that the bid had been successful, an incident suddenly occurred in the venue.
The lady in the same row as Lin Huang—the one who had been bidding—suddenly made a move. She thrust a hand out and made a snatch at the crystal that contained the Golden-scaled Snake Woman.
Even Lin Huang's pupils contracted when he saw her claws. She was clearly a half-step Lord.
At that moment, a hand extended out of thin air on the stage and swung a punch at the lady's sharp claws.
It was another half-step Lord!
Right as everyone's attention was focused on the two half-step Lords, Lin Huang immediately went into action without any hesitation.
Two blood-red gleams shot out from his sleeve like faint, almost imperceptible electric arcs, heading straight for Shen Jue and Shen Yu.
The two half-step Lords immediately became aware of the covert assassin within their midst—Lin Huang. The lady ignored him, while the man who held her in check wanted to attempt a rescue. However, seeing that the lady wanted to seize the opportunity and circumvent him, he withdrew the hand he had extended.
The two half-step Lords started fighting once more.
Since everyone present was focused on the two half-step Lords, nobody else had noticed Lin Huang's attack at all.
Shen Yu and Shen Jue were craning their necks to watch the battle as well. By the time death threatened them, even if they had wanted to react, it was already too late.
This time, within Lin Huang's eighteen compounded levels of sequence power, not only were there multiple speed-type powers but there were also two concealment-type powers. Only when the attack presented itself right before Shen Jue and Shen Yu was its murderous intent revealed.
Two telekinetic flying daggers with eighteen compounded levels of sequence power and Sword Dao heavenly rule—both weapons on par with top-grade god sequence relics —pierced through the sibling's heads like lightning bolts.
Almost at the same time, Lin Huang immediately appeared in a flash beside the two bodies. He extended multiple telekinetic threads, picking up the two headless corpses so he could put them in his storage space.
However, at this point, the half-step Lord at the auction finally had a moment to strike at Lin Huang with his palm.
"You stay right where you are!"
However, Lin Huang smirked, "You can't make me."
The next instant, he suddenly crushed a card.
A golden saber gleam consolidated out of thin air before him. It was only a meter long and looked nothing out of the ordinary.
Of course, the saber gleam was not Lin Huang's technique; he had replicated it using a Skill Card. It was the last trump card Saber9 had used when he killed Nine Gloom—the attack that had been triggered using the survival measures left behind by his Primordium.
Since the power of the attack remained below lord-level, the grade-5 Skill Card authorization that Lin Huang possessed happened to be able to replicate it, so he did just that.
In actuality, aside from Saber9's attack, Lin Huang had also replicated the attack from Virtuoso's survival measures.
He had done that to prevent a situation like this from happening.
He had never thought it would actually be put to use.
The golden saber gleam collided with the half-step Lord's palm print, stirring up a terrifying energy storm.
"Is this fellow a half-step Lord as well?!"
Amid the two half-step Lords' astonishment, Lin Huang's figure had already vanished with the two headless corpses…