971-980

Chapter 971: Was Chan Dou Attacked?!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Huang realized he was still in the hotel in Wanbao City when he opened his eyes after getting out of the trial space.

The trial that should have gone on for a month ended early. It only lasted for 12 days.

Although he did not experience any elevation in his combat strength at all, Lin Huang was satisfied with the trial results.

The biggest reward was none other than the 100,000-strong undead army and the information about the tens of thousands of mini worlds and great worlds retrieved from the undead army's souls.

The various cultivation methods were the second best. The information in the memories broadened Lin Huang's view greatly. It made him realize that the gravel world he was currently in was just the equivalent of a rookie village in a game.

"I wonder if Yang Ling can unlock the space equipment from other great worlds and mini-worlds. If he can't, I'll have to get someone from the great world to unlock them." Lin Huang thought that the journey into the trial space was worth it as he thought about the hundreds of thousands of space equipment that were waiting to be unlocked in his Emperor's Heart Ring.

He put the Dynasty member matter aside at the moment.

Within less than ten seconds after he returned from the trial space, the Emperor's Heart Ring in his hand began vibrating as soon as he reconnected to the network and signal.

He clicked on the communication page and immediately took a look.

"Why did Jian Fei call me?" Lin Huang saw a couple of call requests and messages the Heaven Alliance deputy chief Jian Fei had sent a week ago as soon as he opened the communication page.

He began reading the messages one after another.

The first two messages were about Jian Fei asking Lin Huang to contact Chan Dou since his attempt was to no avail and he was busy working on something. The two messages sent following that were links and screenshots from some news. He even asked Lin Huang to contact him as soon as he saw his messages.

Lin Huang's pupils shrunk when he saw the few screenshots of the news.

"Chan Dou has been attacked? Someone abducted him! Nobody knows if he's still alive…"

"Who did this? Why did they attack Chan Dou?"

Lin Huang's expression was rather grim after reading the news via the links.

Chan Dou had been taking care of him all this time, so Lin Huang treated him as a friend. Otherwise, he would not have shared the ancient cultivation methods with him.

"Could the cultivation methods have leaked and the Union Government sent people to do this?" Lin Huang shook the idea off a moment after it flashed through his mind.

Knowing Chan Dou's character, there should not be anyone who would find out that he had obtained the cultivation methods apart from Lin Huang. It was quite impossible for the Union Government to find out about it within such a short period of time. Furthermore, the Chan Clan was a powerful family in Division 1. Even if the Union Government found out, the possibility of them attacking Chan Dou directly was low. The most they would do was just to prod the Chan Clan for that.

Lin Huang thought about it and called Jian Fei back eventually since he could not figure anything out.

Jian Fei picked up the phone as soon as the video call request only went on for two rings.

"I've finally reached you!" Looking at his face that was initially plump, Jian Fei had lost weight.

"I've been doing closed-door cultivation and just got out today." Lin Huang nodded. "I've read about the chief. Is there any updates about his attack from your side?"

"I've been getting everyone to search for related information, but we haven't found many useful ones. We only know it was two white-robed men who attacked him."

"White robes? Could it be the Saints?" Lin Huang thought of the Saints right away when he heard about the white robes.

"Shouldn't be them. They had no cross on their faces." Jian Fei shook his head. "Moreover, the Saints' headquarters isn't in Division 1. They wouldn't have the guts to offend Chan Clan in Division 1. The Chan Clan has demigods guarding their home and many members who are working for the Union Government. Underground organizations that aren't stupid won't offend them easily."

"You said they have no cross on their faces, so did anyone see the attackers' faces?" Lin Huang asked again.

"The chief was attacked at Sun City's black market. Although the attack was shielded with a demigod relic, two people from the Genius Union happened to be at the black market before it happened. They know the chief and just when they were going to greet him, they saw the two white-robed men walking towards him before the three of them disappeared. A few minutes later, the chief was nowhere to be seen when the two white-robed men reappeared."

"The Union Government's intelligence system retrieved the two white-robed men's facial recognition outline and matched their databank, but they couldn't find anyone that matches the face."

"It's obviously a plot. They must've disguised themselves before they attacked." Lin Huang nodded after he listened. The possibility of finding the attackers based on the two faces was low.

"Oh yeah, why did you look for the chief earlier? Is it solved yet?" Lin Huang asked again.

"Jiang Rui has elevated to imperial-level. His deputy chief position is vacant now. I wanted to discuss picking another deputy chief with the chief," Jian Fei told Lin Huang what he had been dragging out for a week.

Jiang Rui was one of the Heaven Alliance deputy chiefs but Lin Huang had never seen him before. The latter happened to be in a ruins in Division 1, attempting to break through to imperial-level when Lin Huang was promoted to deputy chief. Chan Dou and the rest could not find him, so he did not join the meeting during which Lin Huang was promoted to deputy chief.

Lin Huang nodded as he listened. Chan Dou had mentioned Jiang Rui to him before.

"The chief suggested that Gu Fei replace Jiang Rui as deputy chief earlier. Although Gu Fei's a supreme genius, she's only on immortal-level rank-8 now. I'm a little concerned that she can't convince the people."

Chan Dou had told him about Gu Fei before. The reason she was stuck on immortal-level rank-8 was that she was a psychic, so it was even more difficult for her to look for Life Lamp monsters to elevate herself. However, when it came to abilities, she was just as powerful as other immortal-level rank-9 Heaven Alliance supreme geniuses.

"I think we should follow what the chief said. Gu Fei has a powerful ability. Her elevating to immortal-level rank-9 is just a matter of time." Lin Huang gave his opinion. "Moreover, her appointment as deputy chief could unite the current female Heaven Alliance members. It could attract more female members to join too. It's a good thing for the Heaven Alliance's development in the long run."

"The other organizations such as the Divine Alliance are watching us. We can't drag this new deputy chief appointment any longer. Gu Fei isn't a rookie. Getting a headstart as a deputy chief should fast track her faster than me. They can come to me if they think she's not convincing."

"Also, since the chief isn't around now, I think based on Brother Jian's experience, he is the best to take the chief position temporarily. We should spend some time closing the decision of the appointment of the acting chief and new deputy chief these few days. I'll support you in your work with all my might."

"Great, I'll contact the rest and organize a meeting as soon as I can. I'll let you know once I've gotten the confirmed date." Jian Fei nodded immediately. He did not expect Lin Huang to be so easy that he handed the acting chief position to him directly.

Lin Huang smiled while shaking his head after ending the call with Jian Fei.

To Lin Huang, who was in touch with all sorts of information about Dynasty, the Genius Union was just a place for kids playing the most. Apart from its resources that were not too shabby, the benefit of it was its people relation. The position as the chief of the Heaven Alliance position was similar to a kindergarten class monitor to him.

He knew Jian Fei wanted to be the acting chief. He was not interested in being deputy chief, so he might as well just release the position and get Gu Fei to take the place as deputy chief.

He knew nothing about Gu Fei, but he believed Chan Dou's taste. Moreover, without the newly appointed deputy chief, he figured Jian Fei would disturb him every few days.

For the development of the Heaven Alliance and him being more relaxed with their responsibilities, it was necessary for him to get Gu Fei who Chan Dou had made positive comments on to take the position.

Chapter 972: Love Makes Us Blind

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After settling Jian Fei's matter, Lin Huang noticed that Tang Xu from the Wanbao Auction had called him twice on the communication page. He also sent Lin Huang two messages.

From the messages he skimmed through, Tang Xu wanted him to contact his "demigod master" for him.

He took out the Emperor's Heart Ring that he always used to contact Tang Xu while disguising himself as a demigod.

A couple of notifications chimed as soon as he took out the Emperor's Heart Ring.

He opened the communication page to see four missed calls and three messages from Tang Xu. He could not help smirking after reading them.

Two demigods went to the Wanbao Auction separately ten and eight days ago, stating their interest in the god relic Ba Huang that had been auctioned earlier. They were willing to trade that with God Figurines.

However, Tang Xu had returned the god relic to Lin Huang, so he could not sell it even if he wanted to. Feeling helpless, he called Lin Huang to get the inventory. However, he failed to contact him since he happened to be in the Royal Trials.

"I'll finally have the last two God Figurines!" Lin Huang disguised as the demigod as usual immediately and called Tang Xu after making sure that everything was fine.

"Sir, I've finally managed to contact you!" Tang Xu exclaimed in excitement as soon as the call was connected.

"I brought my disciple into the ruins, so I'm calling you back a few days late." Lin Huang nodded expressionlessly.

"No wonder I couldn't contact the both of you."

"Noted on Ba Huang. I'll get my disciple to bring it to you within two days. You can contact him directly after the deal is done."

After hanging up the call with Tang Xu, Lin Huang used Lin Xie's identity to send Tang Xu a message. "I'll bring the god relic to the Wanbao Auction tomorrow morning."

Tang Xu replied seconds after the message was sent. "Thanks, Brother Lin. I'll arrange the sale of the god relic as soon as possible and I'll contact you as soon the deal's closed."

Lin Huang was elated after talking to Tang Xu. He could not wait to get the God Figurines.

As soon as he obtained the two God Figurines, he would be able to elevate to immortal-level rank-9 and would be just one step away from achieving imperial-level.

After calming himself down a little, Lin Huang recalled that there was still one more thing he had yet to do. He opened his contact book and found a name after some browsing. It was Yang Ling. Without hesitating, he pressed the "call" button.

The video call was connected in less than a single ring.

Lin Huang was stunned to see Yang Ling who was dressed in a neat suit and looked clean-shaven. He even combed his hair which was shining.

"Yang Ling?" He asked rather unsurely.

One must know that Yang Ling always looked messy according to Lin Huang's memory whereby he did not care how he looked at all. He had seen Yang Ling butt naked in video calls more than once. He even saw him having sex with women before. He could not get used to seeing him dressed so smart and dapper.

"Don't I just look handsome?" Yang Ling asked rather proudly.

"Did you get plastic surgery?" Lin Huang teased while smiling.

"Why the f*ck would I need plastic surgery? Take a good look! These are real." Yang Ling inched closer to the screen and squeezed his chin, then his nose. "I'm an authentic, handsome man."

"Alright, alright. Which part of your body have I not seen? Don't come so close. I can see your nose hair. It hurts my eyes."

Yang Ling retreated a distance away and projected his own screen to check his nostrils out.

"Alright, stop messing around. Are you still with Ms. Hong?" Lin Huang could not help but ask. He still remembered seeing Hong Zhuang by Yang Ling's side the last time.

"Ms. Hong? You won't be calling her that for long. Ahem, you should call her Madam Yang soon." Yang Ling grinned joyfully. "I'm thinking of proposing to her next month on an auspicious day."

"You've only known her for a few months, am I right? Are you sure you want to marry her?" Lin Huang was almost speechless. He knew Hong Zhuang's past very well. Although Yang Ling was a traveler like him, he was afraid that he was no match for this woman when it came to manipulation.

"I'm sure and I guarantee it!" Yang Ling nodded vigorously. "I've never had such a certain feeling with any woman in my life. This is my first time wanting to spend the rest of my life with a woman. If I miss this opportunity, I might not have such a feeling for any other women in the future."

"But do you know enough about her? What if she has a past that nobody knows about?" Lin Huang began hinting vaguely.

However, Yang Ling did not notice that at all. "Who doesn't have a past? My past isn't clean either. We'll let whatever happened in the past pass. Why should we dwell on it? I like her now, and that's enough."

Lin Huang did not want to say more since Yang Ling was so determined to be with Hong Zhuang.

"Alright then, let's get down to business."

"Tell me how many rings do you have this time?" Yang Ling asked directly.

"The situation now's a little different…" Lin Huang lowered his voice. "I want to ask if you can unlock storage equipment from other mini worlds?"

"What?" Yang Ling was stunned and demanded immediately, "How did you get those stuff?"

"Don't ask that. I'm asking you if you can unlock them. It's okay if you can't."

"I've never done this before. I can only tell you when I see the item," replied Yang Ling after some thought. He proceeded to ask right away, "How many are there? Are there many?"

"Quite a number," Lin Huang confirmed.

"Sure, bring them to me and I'll try if I can do it when I come back the month after next."

"The month after next? Where are you now?" Lin Huang asked confusedly.

"I'm traveling with the future Madam Yang in Division 3 now. The earliest I can get back to Division 7 will be the month after next," Yang Ling said while looking proud.

"I'm in Division 3 too. Send me your address. I'll go to you in two days." Lin Huang did not expect Yang Ling to be in Division 3 too.

"That works too." Soon, Yang Ling sent his address after they hung up.

"No. A17 foothold Crow City? That's the Purple Crow's territory!" Reading the address Yang Ling sent, Lin Huang could not help but frown. "What's Hong Zhuang trying to do?"

Lin Huang thought of reminding Yang Ling to be careful. After all, both of them were travelers from Earth and they had known each other for more than two years now. He could not watch him just fall into trouble like that. However, he eliminated the plan after thinking about it. Now that Yang Ling was high on pheromones and had completely lost his mind, he would not listen to him no matter what he said. On the contrary, he would suspect that Lin Huang was sowing discord between him and Hong Zhuang.

Love did not only make a woman stupid; the same applied to men. They would be even more foolish than women.

In Yang Ling's eyes now, Hong Zhuang was beautiful and in the right no matter what she did. He could not see what she was hiding, or rather, he chose to ignore the existing problems she might have.

"Forget it. I'll see what to do when I meet him in two days. I'll only tell him about Hong Zhuang if it's necessary. Whether he believes or not, that's not out of my control."

Chapter 973: Done Deal

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After breakfast the next morning, Lin Huang departed for the Wanbao Auction leisurely.

Just when he entered the entrance, a female attendant, who had outstanding features, welcomed him with a wide smile.

"Mr. Lin, my boss asked me to bring you to the guest lounge. Please follow me."

Lin Huang nodded and followed her. They passed the crowd toward the guest lounge.

At the entrance of the lounge, she swiped her work pass which was projected onto the wall and opened the door. "Mr. Lin, my boss will be here right away. Would you like tea, coffee, or something else?"

Lin Huang noticed a coffee machine in the guest lounge. He said carelessly, "Black coffee, please. Thanks."

"Sure, please give me a minute," she said to Lin Huang while her hands moved to make the cup of coffee. "The fruits just came in this morning and we've just washed them."

"Oh." Lin Huang just noticed a basket of fruits on the coffee table with seven to eight different varieties.

He sat on the couch and picked up a sour cherry, then popped it into his mouth without paying much attention. Sour cherry was a fruit that looked a little like a cherry, but its color was purple like an eggplant. It was seedless and tasted like a combination of cherry and blueberry. There was a faint sourness in the juicy sweetness.

Such a fruit was very expensive to ordinary people as one would cost hundreds of credit points. However, it was affordable to cultivators.

When Lin Huang had just popped two sour cherries into his mouth, Tang Xu opened the door and walked to Lin Huang with a grin.

"Brother Lin, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not really, I've just arrived." Lin Huang stood up and shook his hand while smiling.

As they sat down, Tang Xu peeped in the direction where the attendant was without talking about the god relic right away. Instead, he began talking about Lin Huang's daily life.

"Brother Lin, it's only been two months and you've already achieved a boost in your combat strength!"

"My Master should own the credit." Lin Huang brought up his fake identity again.

"That's right. I'm envious you have a demigod-level Master!" Tang Xu's longing on his face was authentic. Although he came from a wealthy family, he only had one demigod who was a few generations away from him at home. He did not receive any lessons from the demigod.

"I heard from your Master that you guys went into the ruins earlier?"

"That's right, my Master encountered this private ruins by accident. We went in for a month and just came out yesterday." Lin Huang confirmed what the demigod he disguised as had said to Tang Xu in detail.

"Having a demigod to train you himself is a treatment that we don't even dare to dream about."

The attendant served the coffee that she made to Lin Huang after they chatted for a while.

Smelling the wonderful aroma, Tang Xu ordered one for himself.

The attendant only left the guest lounge after serving Tang Xu's coffee and shutting the door.

Seeing that the attendant had left, Tang Xu could not help but ask while lowering his voice, "Brother Lin, did you bring the god relic?"

Lin Huang smiled and put the coffee mug in his hand down, then took out the god relic spear, Ba Huang, from his storage space.

Tang Xu could not help himself but become excited when he took the god relic. He caressed it softly.

Although it was not his first time seeing Ba Huang, Tang Xu's eyes would still light up whenever he saw a god relic.

"How do you plan to sell it this time?" Lin Huang asked because he wanted to get the God Figurines as soon as possible.

If Tang Xu was planning to organize another auction, the fastest he would be able to obtain the God Figurines would be a month later.

"I can't do an auction this time since the two buyers are in a hurry to get this. Furthermore, we don't have much good stuff in our inventory. I'll just invite the two buyers to talk about it. The buyer who offers the highest price will get it," Tang Xu said, feeling a little helpless. He was more eager to organize an auction to boost his fame, but the situation did not allow him to.

Under normal circumstances, to organize a massive auction like the Wanbao Auction, they would need two to three months or even half a year to collect the items. Even a small-scale auction would require more than a month to prepare the preliminary work.

"I've scheduled to meet them tomorrow morning. We should be able to close the deal before noon if everything goes as planned. I'll contact you right away by then."

Tang Xu's arrangement was exactly what Lin Huang wanted.

"Oh right, did your Master mention if there's anything specific that he wants for the trading items apart from God Figurines?" Tang Xu asked out of the blue.

"He mentioned it once casually. He said the best would be demigod-level soul crystals. If there are none, demigod relics will suffice," Lin Huang thought about it and answered.

"No problem. I'll tell the buyers later." Tang Xu nodded. "Wait for my good news tomorrow."

Lin Huang returned to the hotel after the successful discussion with Tang Xu.

As he calmed himself down, the Emperor's Heart Ring on his hand vibrated all of a sudden just when he was going to practice his sword skills.

He opened the communication page and realized that it was a message from Jian Fei.

"The meeting date has been set at 9.30 a.m. the day after tomorrow. The venue will be the meeting room at checkpoint 63 of the Stairway Tree. Please be there on time!"

Lin Huang replied, "Got it", and began to practice his sword skill.

His mind was occupied with selling the spear, Ba Huang, after breakfast the next morning. He could not even focus on practicing. He put the practice aside directly and looked at the news on the Heart Network and the Hunter Association forum.

An inconspicuous thread on the Hunter Association forum grabbed his attention all of a sudden.

The title of the thread was 'What's The Purple Crow Doing?'. Due to the mention of the Purple Crow on the title, Lin Huang could not help but click on it.

The thread was written by a Hunter Association member. He happened to be on a mission in Division 3's No. A17 foothold. He noticed many Purple Crow members who possessed powerful combat strength showing up in the foothold as a group. Furthermore, more than one group who were on the go, so almost all the members with powerful combat strength were out.

There were less than ten replies on the thread. Basically, nobody took the matter seriously.

However, Lin Huang thought of Yang Ling and Hong Zhuang right away when he saw the thread since both of them were in No. A17 foothold right now. It was clear that Hong Zhuang must have known something about this, there must be an objective that she chose to be in No. A17 foothold now.

"What's that lady thinking?" Lin Huang frowned slightly. He was almost sure that Hong Zhuang's appearance in No. A17 foothold definitely had something to do with the Purple Crow.

Just when Lin Huang was thinking about that, a message popped out suddenly from the communication page on his Emperor's Heart Ring.

Seeing that it was Tang Xu who sent it, he opened the message immediately. "I've closed the deal. The final price was three God Figurines and two demigod-level soul crystals."

Lin Huang was stunned to see the message. 'I have one more God Figurine now?!'

Nonetheless, he accepted the result happily.

No matter whether it was God Figurines or demigod-level soul crystals, those were the items that he urgently needed now.

"Got it. I'll drop by later."

After replying Tang Xu's message, Lin Huang closed the webpage and forum that he was surfing.

To show that he was not eager, Lin Huang did not go to the Wanbao Auction right away. Instead, he went to a cafe near the hotel. He ordered two cups of coffee and snacks that were prepared on the spot. He spent approximately half an hour to finish them and headed to the Wanbao Auction slowly.

Although he took his time, Tang Xu said to him with a smile when he arrived at the auction, "You're quick. I thought tomorrow after lunch would be the earliest you'd come."

"Oh well, my Master's urging me." Lin Huang used the demigod who did not exist to defend himself.

Tang Xu took out the three God' Figurines and two demigod-level soul crystals, then handed them to Lin Huang. He did not forget to remind him, "I hope that Brother Lin and your Master will support us in the September auction."

"Don't worry, my Master loves working with people he's familiar with." Lin Huang smiled while putting the God Figurines and demigod-level soul crystals away.

"Our Wanbao Auction welcomes regular customers like Brother Lin and your Master too."

Chapter 974: Overthrowing All You Ever Knew

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Leaving the Wanbao Auction, Lin Huang could not wait to take the three God Figurines out to observe as soon as he returned to the hotel room.

The first of the three God Figurines was a monster carrying a coffin.

The monster was completely red with muscles bulging all over its body. Its form looked like a fully skinned bullfrog that had just been served from a spicy hotpot. It had faint black sigils on its body and seemed rather human-like since it walked on both feet. However, it had fangs and two horns on its head like a buffalo's. Unlike a human, however, it had hoofs on both feet and sharp claws on its hands like a devil.

There were two thick, black chains on the back of its shoulders that were tied to a black coffin. The coffin was clearly heavy, making its back seem a little crooked from the pressing weight of the coffin.

"This monster is called the Coffin Carrier. It's an Abyssal Protoss that fell from its kind. It's a ninth-rank True God that has mastered the Death Rule," introduced the stone tablet. "I never expected an Abyssal Protoss to turn into a God Figurine when it dies."

"What kind of True Spirit should I visualize?" Lin Huang could not help but inquire.

"There are actually many True Spirits that have mastered Death such as the Death Knight, the Black-robed Death God, the Golden Skeleton, the Immortal Tombstone, the Tabooed Black Coffin, the Crimson-eyed Crow, and the Grimacing Baby Puppet. Although they're all extremely powerful, I personally think the one that has the most spirit and is also the most unique goes to the Death Butterfly."

"The Death Butterfly guards the Yin Yang Gate, and it's the only True Spirit that can travel between the material realm and the spiritual realm freely when it's on true god-level. As long as your soul's still intact, the Death Butterfly can guide you from the spiritual realm back to the material realm."

"Of course, it has flaws too. Its beginner combat strength is no match for True Spirits such as Black-robed Death God and Golden Skeleton. However, its growth potential is outstanding among all True Spirits because it'll be more powerful each time it comes out of its cocoon."

"The Death Butterfly then." Hearing the stone tablet's introduction, Lin Huang decided to pick the Death Butterfly. He had too many God Figurines' Combat Souls that were experts in combat. It would not affect him at all if he had one less.

After confirming the first True Spirit, Lin Huang then looked at the second God Figurine which took on the form of a lady.

The lady wore a thin, purple dress that was almost transparent. She hovered in the air barefoot and she had a beautiful body. However, she had no face or features, only black hair on her head.

Her hair was swaying in the air like countless little snakes that were alive and looked like they were going to attack.

"This monster's called the Hair Demon. It's an evil spirit type of Protoss which was an eighth-rank True God when it was alive. She mastered the Sealing Rule, and her ability's similar to the sealing chains your red-robed skeleton imperial monster has, but she's much more powerful.

"Among the True Spirits that have mastered the Sealing Rule, the one that has the highest compatibility with this Hair Demon would be the Shackle Serpent. The Shackle Serpent's a formidable True Spirit. Among the Protoss, the Medusa Tribe which possesses the most powerful sealing ability obtained their sealing ability from the Shackle Serpent.

"Legend has it that the most powerful Shackle Serpent could imprison the world forever with just one look, freezing the time and space, making it a specimen."

"That's so powerful!" Lin Huang could never imagine any sealing ability to be so powerful that it could do that. He always thought that a sealing ability was just an aiding combat ability.

After settling the second True Spirit, Lin Huang looked at the third God Figurine.

This God Figurine looked like a toy doll with short and small limbs. It also had the face of a clown. The most unique thing about it was its tummy. It was not made of blood and flesh, but a mechanical clock. Besides the hour hand, the minute hand, the second hand, and the timescale could be seen clearly. Even the big and small gear wheels within were clear.

"What an odd creature!" Although Lin Huang had seen all kinds of monsters, the peculiarity of this monster could make the top three because it did not look like a living thing at all. It appeared more like a puppet.

"This is a Time Spirit. It's a unique species among the Protoss with a limited number. It was an eight-rank True God when it was alive and it mastered the Time Rule. It could control the flow of time in a specific area and even stop time."

"Doesn't that mean that True Spirits which master the Time Rule are even mightier?" Lin Huang was very interested in this God Figurine.

"Yes, the Creation Clock is a True Spirit of the same kind. Legend has it that such a True Spirit is the Creation Clock's stopwatch. It could control the life and death of all creations by changing the hour hand on the clock. It could even target the entire world and destroy it.

"Apart from controlling life and time as well as the flow of time, the most powerful Creation Clock in the legend had terrifying abilities including stopping time, turning back time, freezing time and time traveling."

"That sounds compelling!" Hearing the stone tablet's description, Lin Huang suddenly thought that all the three God Figurines were desirable and he could not get rid of any of them.

"What should I do? I want all of them, but I'm only two God Figurines away from elevating to immortal-level rank-9." The extra God Figurine now became a burden for Lin Huang and he was having difficulty choosing now. "Which one should I give up?"

"Why do you have to give up?" At the moment, the stone tablet's voice came to Lin Huang's ears.

"I only need two God Figurines to get to immortal-level rank-9. What else can I do with the extra one if I don't give it up?" Lin Huang retorted back rather confusedly.

"Everyone else can only have nine Combat Souls in one Life Wheel. You have ten Life Wheels. Even if one Life Wheel can only keep one Combat Soul, you could have ten of them, am I right?" asked the stone tablet.

"Err…" Lin Huang could not rebel against the stone tablet's logic at the time being. He thought about it seriously and found that it kind of made sense.

"But my combat strength will elevate a rank up whenever I absorb one God Figurine. Looking at the current situation, my combat strength will reach the limit of immortal-level after absorbing two God Figurines. I'm not sure what will happen if I absorb one more." Lin Huang thought about it and decided to raise his doubt.

"Maybe I should put it this way. The cultivation system in the world you're currently in has its flaws. The limit that you are thinking about isn't the limit if you're looking at it from higher ground," said the stone tablet while smiling.

"Do you mean that immortal-level rank-9 isn't the limit for immortal-level and that there's space to elevate even more?" Lin Huang was stunned and asked immediately.

"I mean there might not be space for elevation in the past, but it's possible under various conditions." The stone tablet fell into silence after that. It did not talk no matter what Lin Huang asked later on.

"There's still immortal-level rank-10 after immortal-level rank-9." What the stone tablet said completely overthrew Lin Huang's knowledge of the current cultivation system. He fell into deep thought.

'My body's different from others. My God Figurines are all True Spirits that I have visualized. True Spirits are a formidable existence. It's impossible for them to share territory with another True Spirit. Therefore, my Life Wheels can't contain many Combat Souls like the rest whereby each Life Wheel can only contain one True Spirit at the most. Even if I were to calculate it based on this, I'd be able to take ten True Spirits in given that I have ten Life Wheels.

'Judging by this logic, it's definitely possible for me to elevate to immortal-level rank-10!'

Chapter 975: Heaven Alliance's Meeting

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Although he was not 100% sure that he could elevate to immortal-level rank-10, Lin Huang thought it was 80% possible after comparing the cultivation system from other worlds in his memory.

After confirming that, he regretted not using a few more Life Wheel Storage Cards when he had reached life wheel-level back then. If he had done that back then, he could have obtained a few more Life Wheels with Flawless Cards and he might have been able to elevate to immortal-level rank-20 now.

Recalling that he would be joining the Heaven Alliance meeting tomorrow, Lin Huang put aside his urge to place God Figurines into his Life Wheel at the moment, he put away all three God Figurines.

He quieted his mind down and began practicing his sword skills.

The next morning, Lin Huang only logged onto the Genius Union when it was almost 9.20 a.m. after breakfast and short sword practice.

He was at the Heaven Alliance foothold the last time he logged out, and he now arrived the same place this time. It only took a couple of steps to get him to the meeting room.

Jian Fei was already there when he went into the meeting room. There were six Heaven Alliance higher management members and a lady whose combat strength was only immortal-level rank-8.

Lin Huang nodded to Jian Fei and the rest, but he had his eyes on the lady. It was clear that the lady was the deputy chief candidate that Chan Dou had recommended, Gu Fei.

To be honest, Gu Fei did not look as pretty as Lin Huang imagined. He thought that Chan Dou would recommend a beauty but Gu Fei could not consider a beauty.

Her body looked like a man. She was at least 1.85 meters tall and her frame was slightly bigger than Lin Huang's. She was practically the most muscular one among all nine of them in the meeting room at that moment. Her face was not considered ugly, but it was squarish. If that face had been on a man, it looked pretty charming, but when it was on a lady, it was a little too manly. Most importantly, she shaved her hair so short that one could see her scalp.

If not for her stunning breasts, Lin Huang might not have recognized her as a lady at once.

Noticing that Lin Huang was observing her, Gu Fei stood up to greet him immediately, "Chief Lin, my name's Gu Fei."

"Hi." Lin Huang extended his hand to shake hers. "You can sit down. There's no need for such courtesy."

Jian Fei did not take the main seat. Instead, he sat on the left of the main seat while Lin Huang sat across him directly.

As he took his seat, the remaining two higher management came in.

Since everyone had taken their seats in the meeting room, Jian Fei did not beat around the bush and went right into the subject.

"We hold this meeting today mainly is to solve two issues."

"The first issue would be that some matters that require decision in Heaven Alliance are put aside since the chief went missing. They come to a halt at the moment, the entire Heaven Alliance might be affected if this goes on."

"The second issue would be deputy chief Jiang Rui's elevation to imperial-level. His position's vacant now, we must find someone to take the position as soon as possible. It's something that could affect the organization's operation as well."

"Voice out your opinions right away if you have any."

A young man in the white shirt was the first to speak as soon as Jian Fei was done speaking.

"The chief's just missing, his death isn't confirmed yet. I personally think his position should be vacant. If there are matters that require a decision, the three deputy chiefs would take responsibility by then."

"Xiao Fan, your suggestion's just a short-term solution. It wouldn't work if there's no news of the chief for a long time while his position is vacant. Many organization are watching us Heaven Alliance. My suggestion would be picking an acting chief. If we do that, at least we would have someone in charge," A tanned skin middle-age man voiced a different opinion.

"I agree on Old Xia's opinion. Pick an acting chief doesn't mean that the person would replace the chief. If the chief is back, the acting chief would just resign from his position."

"I understand your point Xiao Fan but you have to consider how realistic the issues are. If the chief's just missing for a short time, indeed, Heaven Alliance could maintain its usual operation with your suggestion but that's not a solution to the issue. What if the chief's away for a long time? Wouldn't this issue be dragged and not solved?"

The fatty sitting next to Lin Huang raised comments on the two people's suggestions.

The man in the white shirt frowned slightly but he did not object further.

"I agree with Old Zhang's suggestion. Looking at Heaven Alliance's current condition, it's necessary that we pick an acting chief to take over," It was the short-haired lady next to the fatty who spoke. She was the only lady among the eight higher management.

The rest remained silent and said nothing.

"Is there anyone else who has a third solution?" Jian Fei asked seeing nobody spoke.

It was silence that responded him.

"Then let's vote on the two proposals. The first proposal would be three deputy chiefs taking the acting chief's responsibility. The second proposal would be picking an acting chief."

"Now those who support the first proposal please raise your hand."

The man in the white shirt was the first to raise his hand as soon as Jian Fei was done speaking. Although he could not convince others, he was firm on his choice.

However, nobody raised their hand apart from him.

"Alright then, those who support the second proposal please raise your hand."

Jian Fei was the first to raise his hand. Later on, six out of the eight higher management raised their hands. Lin Huang was the last to raise his hand.

Jian Fei looked at the man in glasses who did not raise his hand both times.

"I pass." The man in glasses shrugged.

"Gu Fei, are you giving it a pass too?" Jian Fei turned his head and looked at Gu Fei who sat at the far end of the long table.

"Do I have the right to vote?" Gu Fei asked rather surprisedly.

"Of course you do since you're sitting here." Jian Fei nodded.

"Then, I'll choose the first one."

"Alright, it's 2 versus 10. The second proposal wins!" Jian Fei announced the final result.

Among the 11 people present, the two deputy chiefs had two votes while the rest only had one. Gu Fei only had one vote since she had yet to become a deputy chief yet.

"Deputy chief Lin, we'll put the acting chief matter aside at the moment. Let's decide on the third deputy chief so that's it's fairer for the newly appointed deputy chief." Jian Fei skipped to the second issue of the meeting directly and looked at Lin Huang.

Lin Huang nodded to show his agreement.

Jian Fei turned his head to look at everyone and spoke leisurely, "Our previous deputy chief Jiang Rui has elevated to imperial-level, so his position's vacant now. Following the usual procedure, we should submit the list of eligible deputy chief candidates on checkpoint 63, wait for a review and eventually vote.

"However, Chief Chan Dou recommended Gu Fei as Jiang Rui's replacement since the very beginning and Jiang Rui has agreed to it. Therefore, after discussing with deputy chief Lin, we've decided to skip the usual procedure and carry out the chief's order.

"Since Gu Fei's the only deputy chief candidate now, let's vote whether she should take this position. She will pass if the votes surpass half. If the votes are less than half, the third deputy chief's position will only be vacant temporarily. We will recruit other candidates publicly later on for them to go up against Gu Fei for this position.

"Let me make this clear. You have no right to vote this time, Gu Fei," Jiang Fei emphasized intentionally.

Gu Fei nodded without any expression on her face, so Lin Huang could not tell whether she desired the position or not.

"Now, let's vote. Those who agree, please raise your hand!"

Chapter 976: She Really is A Powerful Lady

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As soon as Jian Fei was done speaking, Lin Huang was the first to raise his hand while Jian Fei followed suit.

After the two deputy chiefs raised their hands, the eight higher management hesitated and looked at each other.

The short-haired lady looked at Gu Fei who sat at the far end of the long table and raised her hand.

Since then, the tanned, middle-aged man and the fatty next to Lin Huang raised their hands too.

The remaining five people did not move.

"Since we're done with the voting, I'll announce the result then. Jian Fei glanced at everyone.

"7 voted yes while 5 objected. More than half have agreed!" After announcing the result, Jian Fei looked at Gu Fei with a grin.

"Congratulations to Gu Fei for becoming the Heaven Alliance's third deputy chief!"

Gu Fei stood up to show her gratitude while smiling.

"Since we've selected our third deputy chief, now it's time to go back to our first topic: picking the acting chief!

"We have three deputy chiefs now, which means there are three candidates. Now, everyone will vote among the three candidates to select the acting chief.

"There are 11 people here. Everyone gets one vote, and the same goes to the deputy chiefs. Three candidates can vote for themselves and vote for others."

"Let's write the candidate's name that we're picking down on the paper. Those who don't want to be part of this can submit an empty paper to show that you're giving your vote up," said Jian Fei and gave everyone a piece of white paper the size of a palm.

"Don't peep at the name others are writing down and no discussion is allowed. Write the name of the candidate that you hope to be the acting chief. Those who are done, fold the paper and don't let anybody see what you have written. We will announce the result after everyone has submitted the slip. The name that appears the most will eventually be selected as the acting chief."

Everyone, including Lin Huang, picked up the piece of white paper in their hands and scanned it with their Divine Telekinesis. They found out that this paper blocked detection out to a certain level. Apart from that, there was nothing wrong with the paper.

After confirming that the paper was fine, Lin Huang inserted Life Power into the paper and scrawled Jian Fei's name on it. He then folded it and put it on the table before him.

Jian Fei, who was sitting across Lin Huang, wrote a name without much hesitation and folded it.

In less than half a minute, all 11 of them had written their chosen name down and folded the paper one after another.

"Deputy Chief Gu, please collect everyone's vote for us," Jian Fei instructed Gu Fei since everyone was done.

Gu Fei nodded and picked up her paper before collecting the remaining slips quickly. She then passed them to Jian Fei.

Jian Fei passed the slips to Lin Huang who was sitting across him. "Deputy Chief Lin, you'll announce it."

Lin Huang was a little surprised, but he nodded anyway.

He picked up the bunch of slips and stood up.

It was his name when he opened the first folded slip: Lin Xie.

"Lin Xie, 1 vote."

Lin Huang presented the opened slip to the people then placed it on the table.

He saw his name again when he opened the second folded slip.

"Lin Xie, 2 votes."

He then presented the opened slip to the people again then placed it on the table.

Upon opening the third slip, he could not help but frown when he saw the name. It was his name again.

"Lin Xie, 3 votes."

After putting the stack of opened slips on the table, he picked the fourth one up while scowling slightly.

Finally, it was not his name this time. There was finally a slight relief in his expression.

"Jian Fei, 1 vote."

Since then, Jian Fei's name came up more often.

"Lin Xie, 4 votes."

"Jian Fei, 5 votes."

Jian Fei's votes finally surpassed Lin Huang's when it came down to the last three slips. Lin Huang was much more relieved. He really did not want to take the responsibility as the acting chief, and he did not have the time to look after the Heaven Alliance.

However, his name appeared again when he opened the last second slip.

"Lin Xie, 5 votes."

Lin Huang was a little surprised that it was 5-5 which was a tie.

He had only been a deputy chief for less than a month and hardly did anything usually. He did not even log onto the Genius Union. He had no idea why would so many people vote for him.

Jian Fei looked a little nervous too. It seemed like he did not expect so many people to vote for Lin Huang as well.

Everyone was taken aback by the result too.

Naturally, they knew that Lin Huang had not cheated because they could recognize their own handwriting.

They were left with the last vote that had yet to be revealed. Apart from the person whose slip that was, the rest were anticipating the last reveal with bated breath.

Lin Huang exhaled in relief when he picked up the last slip and saw the name on it. "Jian Fei, 6 votes!"

He showed everyone the last slip after he spoke, "It's 6-5!"

"Congratulations, Chief Jian, for being the acting chief of the Heaven Alliance!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Jian Fei exhaled in relief after seeing the result. He stood up with all smiles and shook Lin Huang's hand. He then thanked everyone.

Although close to half of them had voted for Lin Huang, he accepted the final result anyway.

Nobody was surprised that the newly appointed deputy chief Gu Fei had zero votes.

After a brief conclusion, Jian Fei ended the meeting.

In the meeting room, Jian Fei and the eight higher management logged out one after another.

Just when Lin Huang was going to log out, Gu Fei stopped him. "Deputy chief Lin, can I get your contact details, please?"

"Sure." Lin Huang nodded to agree immediately.

He had recommended Gu Fei so that she could share the burden of the Heaven Alliance. They would be communicating with each other on many matters in the future.

After getting his contact details, Gu Fei asked while smiling, "Why didn't you want to be the acting chief, Deputy Chief Lin?"

"Did I say that?" Lin Huang raised his brow.

"I saw that you were in great relief when you opened the last slip," said Gu Fei with a chuckle.

"Haha, you saw that!" Lin Huang did not bother to deny it. "Maybe I'm a little lazy."

"But I think the Heaven Alliance might advance further if you were to become the acting chief," Gu Fei expressed while smiling.

"You're thinking too highly of me. The reason the Heaven Alliance has achieved what it has today depended on the generations of chiefs managing it as well as the shared effort from the past Heaven Alliance members throughout the hundreds of years. It can't be changed just by relying on one person's ability. If Chief Chan Dou can't do it, neither can I." Lin Huang shook his head. "Moreover, I've never planned to stay on immortal-level since the beginning."

"Shallow water can't keep a real dragon submerged. I understand now." Gu Fei smiled and did not dwell on the subject. "Let's keep in touch. I'll log out now."

As he watched Gu Fei logging out, Lin Huang shook his head and said with a grin, "She really is a powerful lady. Chan Dou's taste really is something!"

Chapter 977: Elevating to Immortal-level Rank-10!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was almost noon when Lin Huang returned to the hotel room after logging out of the Genius Union.

"Since we've solved the matter of the acting chief while Gu Fei should know the reason why I supported her very well, I shouldn't be meeting anyone from the Heaven Alliance within a short period of time." Lin Huang took three God Figurines out from his storage space as he thought about this. "It's about time I elevate my combat strength now."

Lin Huang's Divine Telekinesis turned into three tentacles and latched onto the three God Figurines. After covering the three of them completely, they were pulled into his inner body.

As soon as they were drawn in, the three God Figurines turned into three streams of light without the guidance of his Divine Telekinesis. They then entered the last three Life Wheels and went into the Divine Fire.

The giant Divine Fire mountain in the Life Wheels experienced tremors as soon as the God Figurines entered. They turned into three giant vortexes almost in the blink of an eye while the Divine Fire shrunk rapidly.

At the same time, Lin Huang's Life Power that was initially full in his Life Wheels was absorbed into the vortex. This did not only happen to the three brand new Life Wheels where the God Figurines were, but the other seven Life Wheels also had their Life Power sucked in like a dragon was drinking water greedily.

Approximately an hour passed, and all of the Life Power in Lin Huang's body was sucked dry while the three spheres of Divine Fire penetrated the three God Figurines completely.

A moment later, the three God Figurines seemed to be awoken whereby they had black Divine Fire spurting out of their opened eyes. Their bodies began growing rapidly and they grew from the size of palm to regular size. By then, the God Figurines' eyes were shut again as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.

Circles of Life Power seemed to be spreading out following the three God Figurines' breathing momentum. They began compensating the Life Wheels. After filling all ten Life Wheels up, Life Power began flowing into Lin Huang's meridians, muscles, bones, and soul…

Lin Huang could clearly feel his combat strength growing quickly.

It skyrocketed from the initial immortal-level rank-7 to immortal-level rank-8, and he elevated to immortal-level rank-9 in less than one second. When he reached the peak stage of immortal-level rank-9, he elevated again almost without any obstacle.

"Immortal-level rank-10! I can't believe I can really elevate to immortal-level rank-10!" While he was shocked to see his combat strength stepping into a level that nobody had ever reached, Lin Huang was more than a little excited.

Initially, he thought something that was theoretically possible was not necessarily practical. He was still doubting whether he could elevate to immortal-level rank-10 the very second before he achieved it.

However, it seemed like the cultivation system in this world indeed was like what the stone tablet said —flawed.

"I told you." Naturally, the stone tablet sensed Lin Huang's change in combat strength. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm feeling great! I feel powerful like never before!" Lin Huang growled shamelessly while swinging his fists. "I knew what you told me is true."

The stone tablet was stunned for a moment before replying, "You're so shameless!"

In reality, elevating to immortal-level rank-10 was not a full elevation to Lin Huang.

He would only consider himself having completed his elevation after visualizing the last three True Spirits and consolidating them into God Figurines' Combat Souls.

However, he did not go for closed-door cultivation to visualize the True Spirits right away.

"There's no rush to visualize the True Spirits just yet. I need more than a month to visualize all three True Spirits. There are some matters that I'd like to settle before this."

After taking a shower and having lunch, Lin Huang returned to the hotel room and opened the communication page leisurely. He looked for the name Hu Lu and tapped the video call button.

Soon, the video call was connected.

A lady in her early 30's whose body was slightly voluptuous appeared in the video. She was Hu Lu from Sweep City's black market.

"How's the progress of the items that I asked for?" Lin Huang did not make any small talk with the lady while diving into the topic right away.

"Mr. Lin, the materials that you asked for are rare. Although you've made your order a few months ago, we've only collected almost half of them. There are a few items that we've no idea what they are up until now. I'm not sure if we can collect everything on your list by this year," Hu Lu admitted helplessly.

"Then, give me the list of the materials that you've already gathered. I'll drop by your place these two days to pick up the stuff." Lin Huang added, "Also, give me a list of materials that you guys think are most difficult to find. I'll find my own way."

"Sure, I'll send it to you later after sorting it out." Hu Lu nodded. She knew there were things that she could not force to happen.

After hanging up the call with Hu Lu, two message notifications came consecutively some ten minutes later.

Lin Huang opened the communication page. The two messages only had titles and attachments. There was nothing else in the messages that were both sent by Hu Lu.

Lin Huang summoned Bloody that had already elevated to imperial-level yellow gold-rank and opened the message titled 'List of Materials Collected'.

The human and monster examined at least 100 materials on the entire list thoroughly. Lin Huang could not help but ask Bloody, "Are the materials enough to make a complete set?"

"Our luck isn't that bad. There are enough materials to make two complete sets," Bloody responded while smiling. "They're for Charcoal and the Herculean King."

"Our luck isn't bad indeed." A smile was revealed at the corner of his eyes that he could not hide. "I thought we might not even be able to make one."

Apart from using five Advance Cards, some rare materials were needed for a legendary-level Monster Card to elevate to mythical-level.

Lin Huang had begun collecting those materials before the New Year, but the progress was slower than he expected since more than three months had passed.

"Is there any set that isn't lacking too many materials?" asked Lin Huang again.

"Tyrant lacks two items while Bai lacks four. The rest lack more. I'm figuring it's difficult to collect all of them within such a short period of time." Bloody knew that Lin Huang had asked so so that that he could find other ways to collect the materials.

"What do Tyrant and Bai lack?"

"Tyrant lacks a star core and a god relic ax. Bai lacks a ton of demigod's blood and ten demigod souls."

"I remember the two items that Tyrant lacks are available on the Stairway Mall of the Genius Union. Meanwhile, among the four items Bai needs, there should be three items available on the Stairway Mall too, including the demigod's blood. For the demigod's soul, I'm afraid we can only obtain that from killing demigod-level monsters." Lin Huang raised his brow as he rattled on.

After closing the first list, Lin Huang tapped open the second.

There were not many items on this list — only over 30 of them. The demigod souls Bai needed was included too.

Lin Huang thought about it and sent the list to Tang Xu from the Wanbao Auction after removing a minority of items that could be found on the Stairway Mall.

"Help me get as many of these items on this list as you can."

Tang Xu replied the message almost immediately, "Some of them are difficult to get while the rest are doable, but I need time."

"Sure, just collect as many as you can," Lin Huang replied.

Tang Xu replied with a 'no problem' emoji immediately.

The reason why Lin Huang did not send the full list to the Wanbao Auction was that the level of confidentiality at the auction was not as high as the black market. Moreover, the list Lin Huang had given the black market was not the full list to begin with. Bloody had taken a portion of the material that could be found at the market out while only listing those that were difficult to find. They only formed half of the total items needed.

The reason it did that was that Lin Huang was not sure if those materials could elevate his monsters without using the Advance Cards.

The list was sufficient to make all the organizations on the entire continent to go wild even if it could elevate legendary-level monsters to pseudo-mythical-level. That was something Lin Huang wanted to avoid the most.

Chapter 978: Returning to Sweep City Again

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Soon, Lin Huang found the few items that Tyrant and Bai needed for their elevation as he browsed the Stairway Mall. He put them into the shopping cart one after another.

The god relic ax that Tyrant needed was the most expensive one. Its original price was 80 billion Stairway points, but luckily for Lin Huang, he had a 40% discount because he was the deputy chief of the Heaven Alliance, so he purchased it at 48 billion points.

The second most expensive item was the ton of demigod's blood Bai needed which was originally priced at 50 billion Stairway points.

The third most expensive was the star core which originally cost 30 billion Stairway points.

He purchased everything at a 40% discount, spending a total of 105 billion Stairway points. By then, he was only left with slightly more than 20 billion Stairway points.

"It's almost time I drop by Sweep City."

Since Lin Huang had gathered the two items Tyrant lacked, it meant he would have three complete sets for elevating after he collected the materials at the black market.

As he arrived at Sweep City after passing through the dimensional portal, Lin Huang flew into the sky and headed toward the black market.

It took him a couple of minutes to get to the black market and he headed to the store where Hu Lu was.

He spoke before the attendant could ask, "I'm looking for Hu Lu."

"Please follow me." The attendant soon brought Lin Huang to the entrance of the room Hu Lu was in. "This is Sister Hu Lu's office."

"Thanks." Lin Huang went in directly.

Hu Lu was stunned to see Lin Huang come in. She clearly sensed that he had had a significant boost in his combat strength. A gleam of surprise flashed through her eyes, but soon she looked normal again and greeted while smiling, "Mr. Lin, you're here so soon. I thought you'd only be here tomorrow at the earliest."

"I happen to be free in the afternoon, so I came," Lin Huang explained. He did not plan to continue the small talk and went right into the topic. "Are the stuff ready?"

"It's ready. Please check." Hu Lu nodded while smiling. She took a temporary storage ring out from her Emperor's Heart Ring and handed it to Lin Huang.

Lin Huang took the ring and scanned it with his Divine Telekinesis. Soon, he checked and confirmed that the list was correct.

"The materials are correct. How much are they?"

"The total is one trillion, two hundred thirty-seven billion and one hundred million. We're giving you a 20% discount which makes it 989.68 billion. We've also rounded it up for you, so the final price is 980 billion," Hu Lu mentioned the price leisurely, "I'm sending you the detailed price list right now."

Lin Huang received the message just when she was done speaking.

He just looked at it roughly after opening the message instead of going through it thoroughly. He knew that Hu Lu would not fake something like this since he was a valuable client here. Moreover, they had been serving him for some time now and would not do something so petty to him.

After transferring the amount by scanning the code, Lin Huang put the temporary storage ring with the materials away into his Emperor's Heart Ring.

"Please continue to gather the remaining materials. I'll drop by again to pick them up when I have the time in the future."

"Sure, we'll inform you as soon as we've gathered all materials."

Lin Huang nodded and stood up in an attempt to leave, but Hu Lu stopped him.

"Mr. Lin, there's one more thing."

Lin Huang turned around in surprise. "What's the matter?"

"About the attack on the Heaven Alliance chief Chan Dou that you asked us to check a few days ago, we have news that' might not really be considered news." Hu Lu lowered her voice.

"What do you guys have?" Lin Huang turned around and placed both his hands on the back of the chair he was sitting on earlier.

"According to our intel, the one who attacked Chan Dou isn't any major organization that we already know. It should be a new, unknown organization. It might've been founded these few years. It could also be a minor organization that disguised themselves well in the past. We've no idea who exactly did it, so this news is complimentary for you.

"However, it's not the first time. A similar case has happened almost three years ago. Chan Dou's case is already the eighth case. All victims have the same characteristic as Chan Dou whereby all of them are high-level immortal-level supreme geniuses with stunning combat ability."

"You guys have no clue about this organization at all?" Lin Huang asked immediately.

"Not at all. If it has been done by any of the organizations that we're familiar with, we could tell with the tiniest trace. All major underground organization members have different behaviors, so it's easy for us to identify them. Especially imperial-level powerhouses, we know all of them from the different organizations as well as their techniques, so it would be futile no matter how they disguise themselves. To outsiders like you, it might be hard for you to tell someone apart as soon as they change their face and body shape, but to us who are in underground organizations, we can tell who that is in one glance.

"However, the organization that attacked Chan Dou isn't from any of the organizations that we know. They're hiding very well. Moreover, looking at the ability they've revealed so far, they possess at least a first or second-rate ability."

"Thanks for the information you've provided." Lin Huang nodded to show gratitude.

Clearly, Hu Lu did not know much, so she only provided him a rough direction.

Hu Li spoke to him through voice transmission as Lin Huang turned around and walked to the stairs.

"Please be extra careful too, Mr. Lin. Following the conclusion that we currently have, you fit the predator's target condition entirely. You might be on their hunting list."

Lin Huang stopped walking and thanked Hu Lu. Then, he walked out of the premise with a faint smirk on his lips.

He only mumbled to himself while smiling as he walked out of the store, "I can't wait for those people to come to me."

Lin Huang summoned dimensional portal after walking out of the black market alley and stepped into it.

The other side of the dimensional portal was not Wanbao City but the entrance to the second layer of the Abyss Brink.

He went right into the entrance, allowing his body to fall freely.

Approximately ten minutes later, he finally arrived at the second layer of the Abyss Brink.

He went there because of the major commotion elevating triple mutated monsters to quadruple mutated would bring. The elevation of Charcoal and the rest would not gain any attention from humans if it was done in forbidden lands such as the Abyss Brink and the Peaceful Ocean.

The condition of the Peaceful Ocean was too complicated whereby there might be demigod-level monsters hiding in the ocean at all times. It was not a viable place for the monsters to elevate. Even though Lin Huang was not afraid of demigods now, he might not be able to protect them from being attacked if the elevation aura of Charcoal and the rest attracted a couple of demigod-level monsters.

Meanwhile, it was a different story for the second layer of the Abyss Brink since the most powerful monsters here were only imperial-level yellow gold-rank which was the same as Charcoal and the rest. It was nothing to Lin Huang; he could handle them no matter how many came his way. Moreover, like the Peaceful Ocean, this was a dangerous place where nobody would come. Even if somebody sensed their aura, they might avoid them as far as they could.

"Bloody, pick a place that's far away from areas populated by humans." Lin Huang summoned Bloody as soon as his feet touched the ground of the second layer of the Abyss Brink.

Chapter 979: Three Golden Eggs

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Over an hour later, Bloody sent its Leech Pods to cover the entire second layer of the Abyss Brink.

"Looking at the whole second layer of the Abyss Brink at the moment, I could only find 35 people while most of them are in the southern region. I don't see anyone within thousands of kilometer radius around the northwestern side close to the third layer of the entrance. There are a few imperial-level monsters over there, but they're no threat to us. I think that's the best place for Charcoal and the rest to elevate."

"We can't do it in the northwestern side." However, Lin Huang rejected the suggestion right away. "It's too close to the third layer of the entrance and there might be human imperial-level powerhouses entering and exiting any time. They might come to check it out if they sense the commotion."

"Then, we're only left with the northeastern side, but there's a team of five hunting over there now. They're all high-level immortal-levels," Bloody explained the reason why it had not picked the northeastern region earlier.

"It's alright. We can get Grimace to cover up the commotion of the elevation with his illusion if they're only on immortal level." Lin Huang already thought of a plan. "Let's go for the northeastern region then."

"There's a valley that's not bad in the northeastern region." Bloody marked the coordinates down as it spoke.

Although he could not set the coordinates with his Emperor's Heart Ring at the Abyss Brink, the third layer of the Abyss Brink had been explored countless times and he could purchase a detailed map with money.

Studying the coordinates Bloody had marked, Lin Huang summoned Thunder right away and sat on its back with Bloody.

He patted Thunder's neck. "To the northeastern region."

Thunder flapped its wings and rose into the sky rapidly. It brought Lin Huang tens of thousands of meters above the sky in the blink of an eye. It then flapped its wings again in the sky and sped toward the northeastern region at high speed like an arrow.

Though Thunder was quick, it took half an hour for it to bring Lin Huang to the valley Bloody had marked.

Under Bloody's guidance, Thunder landed deep in the valley.

Hopping off Thunder, Lin Huang patted Thunder's beak affectionately. "Do whatever you want now, even hunting, but don't create trouble with the humans. Also, don't go too far. I need you later."

Thunder nodded right away. It was so sick of being in card form. Naturally, it was elated to have the opportunity to move freely. It flapped its wings, rose into the sky and disappeared in the next second as if it was afraid that Lin Huang would back out on his words.

Seeing Thunder disappear, Lin Huang shook his head and smiled before summoning three Monster Cards including Charcoal, Tyrant, and the Herculean King. The three imperial monsters showed themselves as soon as the cards were crushed.

Charcoal glanced around after being summoned and asked rather curiously, "Where are the enemies?"

Tyrant and the Herculean King were puzzled too.

"Are you giving us any snacks?" Charcoal leaned its big head toward Lin Huang.

Lin Huang caressed Charcoal's head and said casually while smiling, "I didn't let you guys out to fight or give snacks out this time, but I'm going to do something that you guys have been waiting for."

"Ice cream?!" Tyrant was the first to answer. He was practically drooling as soon as he said that.

"Grilled fish?!" Charcoal was stunned for a moment and asked while widening its eyes.

The Herculean King hesitated and asked with a little uncertainty, "Is it durian?"

"I've told you guys it's not snacks," Lin Huang said helplessly while covering his face.

The three monsters clearly had disappointment written on their faces when they heard Lin Huang emphasizing that he was not giving snacks out.

"You guys are elevating to quadruple mutation." Bloody that was standing aside finally could not help but blurt it out.

The three imperial monsters were astonished to hear that.

"Are we really elevating?" Charcoal became excited all of a sudden.

"I've only gathered enough materials for elevation for the three of you, so I'm elevating you first instead of gathering all materials."

"But, Master, you're still on immortal-level. Wouldn't you be unable to summon us after we've elevated?" Tyrant asked immediately. They knew Kylie had been sealed since her elevation.

"It's alright. I'm already on peak-stage immortal-level now, so it shouldn't take long for me to break through to imperial-level," Lin Huang explained, "Xiao Hei's authorization will be activated as soon as I elevate to imperial-level. I think I will take two to three months at the most."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be the last to elevate, so I'll take good care of Master," Bloody knew what Tyrant was worried about, so it comforted it.

"You guys elevating to quadruple mutation and mythical-level will be a great help for me. I personally hope that I can elevate all of you to mythical-level while I'm still on immortal-level. If that happens, all of you would have your combat strength boosted as soon as I elevate to imperial-level. I won't have to spend more time collecting materials. So, let's not drag it out further. Go ahead with the elevation when we have the materials instead of waiting for me to get to imperial-level. Understand?"

"Understand!" Tyrant and the rest chanted in unison. The three of them objected no further after hearing what Lin Huang said.

"Alright then, Tyrant, you will go first." Lin Huang waved at Tyrant. Tyrant saw his signal and walked over.

Following the condition at the back of the card, Lin Huang took the materials for elevating and five Advance Cards out.

"Hold the god relic ax. Put this star core into your heart and drink this bottle of Spirit Lava."

Although the order sounded suicidal, Tyrant followed Lin Huang's order to a T without hesitation.

After waiting for Tyrant put all the materials into his body more than half an hour later, Lin Huang crushed the five Advance Cards in his hand and pointed at Tyrant that was kneeling on the ground, shaking.

The five Advance Cards turned into five golden beams and entered Tyrant's body which calmed quickly while the god relic ax in his hand was absorbed into his body as well. He sat leaning against a huge mountain peacefully as his body began to grow rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, he regained his normal size whereby his height reached over 30,000 meters. Even though he was sitting down, he was more than 10,000 meters tall, two folds taller than the mountain behind him.

Later on, he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep while he shut his eyes slowly. A golden cocoon layer soon consolidated on the surface of his body.

As the cocoon was completely consolidated, Tyrant turned into a colossal golden egg.

The entire process went on for over an hour. Lin Huang was relieved when the golden egg was formed.

"Seems like the condition for elevating that Xiao Hei gave is pretty reliable."

"Looking at Tyrant's reaction, this elevation process might be uncomfortable. Please bear with it as much as you can." Lin Huang turned around to look at Charcoal and the Herculean King.

Charcoal retracted his head as Lin Huang smiled upon seeing his fear and waved at the Herculean King. "Herculean King, you're up next."

The Herculean King nodded and walked up to him. Lin Huang took out the materials for the Herculean King.

"First, put the Titan Heart into your heart. Secondly, drink the entire bottle of demigod-level Dragon Whale's blood."

After spending over half an hour putting all the materials into the Herculean King's body, Lin Huang crushed another five Advance Cards. They turned into five golden beams and penetrated the Herculean King's body.

Soon, the Herculean King's body began to grow insanely. It regained its usual height of 3,000 meters and turned into a golden egg too.

Charcoal was a little worried watching Tyrant and the Herculean King going through the process of putting the materials into their body. However, figuring that he would elevate after a moment of torture, he went up anyway.

"The first step, integrate this Star Fire into your body. Secondly, eat these 36 fire-element crystals." Lin Huang took the materials out for Charcoal one after another. What surprised it was that he did not feel like the process was torturous, just that some of them made him want to throw up.

Before it could experience any other feeling, Lin Huang had crushed five Advance Cards and they went into his body.

Soon, Charcoal regained its usual size, growing to more than 30,000 meters long. It fell asleep leaning next to Tyrant on the mountain.

It was almost four hours later when Charcoal turned into a golden egg.

Night had fallen in the Abyss Brink.

Noticing that the sky had turned dark, instead of resting, Lin Huang summoned two God Figurines' Combat Souls, the Divine Sun Tree, and the Enchanted Fairy as well as Grimace.

"Grimace, shield the area around here with your illusion skill. Divine Sun Tree and Enchanted Fairy, both of you will guard the trio's elevation. I'll be away for one to two days to hunt for Bai's demigod's soul."

After coming up with the arrangement, Lin Huang summoned Thunder and hopped onto its back. "Go to the northwestern region, the third layer of the entrance to the Abyss Brink!"

Chapter 980: Python-belly Poison Frog

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was midnight in the underground of some luxurious mansion in Division 1.

A big, muscular man watched a naked man whose limbs and neck was bound with thick shackles in a room through a transparent window.

If anyone from the Heaven Alliance was there, they should be able to recognize this person who was tied up in one glance. He was the chief of the Heaven Alliance who was attacked and had gone missing earlier, Chan Dou.

He was fully naked and almost every inch of his skin was wounded. It was clear that he had been tortured in an unimaginable way recently.

There was a black gooey monster clinging to his head at the moment. It looked like a pile of swamp mud that had come alive. Nobody knew what it was doing to Chan Dou. No matter what, it was stuck to Chan Dou's head and could not be get rid of.

Chan Dou was struggling with all his might in the room. The veins on his neck and forehead were bulging and he was shrieking in devastation as if he was suffering extreme pain that was unbearable for humans.

The big man had no change of expression on his face as he watched Chan Dou struggling in pain. He turned his head to look at the old gray-haired man that was working on a device aside.

"I've given you guys half a month. How much more time do you need to fully purify him?"

"We've used up all the techniques that we have, but this fella has an extremely strong will. Moreover, there's a god that's clinging onto his will in his body. There are only two ways to destroy his will completely. One is to wear his will out slowly while the other is to destroy that god."

"I asked how much more time do you need?" A ferocious gleam flashed through the big man's eyes.

"Three months. Looking at the current progress, we'll need at least three months." The gray-haired old man gave a time limit immediately.

"Three months, that's what you said." The big man glared at the old man. "If you haven't done it in three months, all of you will be sacrificed." He then turned around and left right after he was done speaking.

Just when he walked out of the room, the Emperor's Heart Ring on his left middle finger vibrated. He saw a message when he opened the communication page.

"Someone saw Lin Xie in the second layer of the Abyss Brink. Should we do it?"

The big man grinned slightly and replied with six words: "Find him and bring him back!"

…

Lin Huang had no idea that his whereabouts had been exposed and that he was being targeted.

However, he had stepped into the third layer of the Abyss Brink at the moment.

"There are too many monsters with a combat strength above imperial-level yellow gold-rank in this layer. My Leech Pods will be discovered easily. There's no way that I could use the map here," Bloody voiced its helplessness once they stepped into the third layer of the Abyss Brink. "But we could hunt for imperial-level monsters first. The local imperial-level monsters should know which area has demigods."

Lin Huang nodded and sensed what kind of monsters were available with his Territory.

Ever since he elevated to immortal-level rank-10, the range of his Territory had expanded to 10 kilometers. However, he found nothing after a while of sensing.

Feeling helpless, Lin Huang summoned Lancelot.

Ever since Lancelot had elevated to imperial-level yellow gold-rank, the range of his Territory had expanded further to 80kilometers now. Since he was on pseudo-mythical-level, the range of his Territory was on par with other imperial-level white gold-rank monsters.

Lancelot soon found a few targets as he heard the commotion after sensing around for a while.

"There are three monsters in the range of my Territory. Two imperial-level crimson gold-ranks and one imperial-level yellow gold-rank."

"Where's the imperial-level yellow gold-rank?" Lin Huang asked, ignoring the presence of the two imperial-level crimson gold-ranks.

"In our 11 o'clock. It's approximately 60 kilometers away from us."

"Let's go!"

Lin Huang moved toward the target as soon as Lancelot reported the location.

Lancelot caught up to him right away.

In less than half a minute, Lin Huang arrived before the imperial-level yellow gold-rank monster Lancelot mentioned.

It was a Crimson Scorpiodemon. Its body was at least 100 meters long and was completely maroon in color. The monster exhibited a mysterious beauty under the radiance of the moonlight.

"Looks like food sent themselves here." The Crimson Scorpiodemon was drooling upon sensing humans invading its territory.

However, its mind went blank while its eyes turned black in the next second.

In less than three seconds, Bloody cast its parasite on this gigantic Crimson Scorpiodemon and turned it into a puppet.

Bloody spoke leisurely after spending a few minutes reading everything in the Crimson Scorpiodemon's head, "There's a demigod monster in the swamp approximately 2,000 kilometers from here in the southeastern direction. It's a Python-belly Poisonous Frog."

Lin Huang had seen the Python-belly Poisonous Frog in the monster guide before.

Such a monster was usually only imperial-level whilst its most powerful two abilities were poison and devouring.

Their poison could easily kill all monsters on the same level. Moreover, they ate almost everything and could digest anything. Almost anything that went into this monster's belly would be washed with poison and turned into liquid in a short period of time.

Apart from that, the attack speed of their tongue was pretty terrifying. It could pierce through most bodies of monsters on the same level.

Naturally, such monsters would have even a more powerful ability if it elevated to imperial-level.

However, Lin Huang smirked when he heard about the Python-belly Poisonous Frog. "It seems like we're in luck."

If it were anyone else encountering such a monster, even though the person was a demigod-level powerhouse, they would run as far as they could. It was very possible for the demigod-level powerhouse to be attacked and eaten by the Python-belly Poisonous Frog as soon as he was poisoned as his ability would be weakened.

In reality, the Python-belly Poisonous Frog was considered the overlord in the third layer of the Abyss Brink. Although it was not as powerful if it were to be compared with other demigod monsters' abilities alone, the outcome of the battle was outstanding given that its ability was combined with poison.

Three human demigods had been killed by it throughout the hundreds of years while two had run away. Two demigod-level monsters that attempted to fight for its territory eventually became its food. Another one ran away alive but died halfway due to the poisonous attack while only one that managed to escape and survived.

That was the reason why almost no human demigod was willing to offend it while the other demigod monsters allowed it to occupy the third layer of the Abyss Brink's southeastern region.

However, Lin Huang had no idea about all that. He did not even look at the information about the third layer of the Abyss Brink. It was also his first time entering the third layer of the Abyss Brink. Otherwise, he would just look at the map for demigods as soon as he entered. The territory of each demigod-level monster was marked clearly on the map of the third layer of the Abyss Brink.

The reason why Lin Huang said that he was fortunate to encounter the Python-belly Poisonous Frog was that the God Figurine's Combat Soul's body was on par with a Protoss. Neither could they be poisoned, nor would the poison enter their bodies. It was perfect to challenge the Python-belly Poisonous Frog's two most powerful abilities.

After recalling Lancelot back into card form, Lin Huang took Bloody along towards the Python-belly Poisonous Frog's territory.