“What’s going on?” The ten plus Redbud Army soldiers walked over, their leader shouting, “I heard someone say that someone wants to fight? This is Royalwing City. Who dares to fight!”
The shouts of the oncoming Redbud Army soldiers caused the men of Edmond, who had been so wild and arrogant just moments ago, to instantly no longer dare to act brashly.
“Milords of the Redbud Army, these people belong to my tribe, while I am the leader of this expedition of my tribe to the city. I was just lecturing them. There’s nothing else.” Edmond explained, while the violet-robed warrior frowned and said, “Oh, all one tribe?”
“Right. They belong to our Black Dragon Tribe,” someone near Edmond said hurriedly.
“Shit, when we joined the tribe, it was said that we can leave whenever we want. What right do you have to forcibly make us go back with you?” Bebe shouted.
“Edmond!” Linley looked straight at him. “I was respectful to you just now, and even addressed you as Lord Edmond. You should have known your place, though. This is Royalwing City, not the Black Dragon Tribe. I’m telling you right now, the three of us are formally withdrawing from your Black Dragon Tribe.”
Edmond’s face was exceedingly ugly right now.
But with the Redbud Army soldiers nearby, he didn’t dare to be arrogant.
“Oh, how interesting.” A very handsome, silver-haired, violet-cloaked youth with a single horn laughed. “In the Infernal Realm, although slaughter and warfare is common, everyone has their own freedom. Your tribe can’t force someone else to do something, right?”
Edmond’s group didn’t dare to make a sound.
Bebe bowed deeply towards the Redbud Army soldiers, chortling, “Thank you, milords. Otherwise, this old guy was preparing to use force.”
“Don’t worry,” the violet-robed, silver-haired youth laughed as he spoke. “This is Royalwing City. Royalwing City has Royalwing City’s rules. No matter if you are a Demigod or a Highgod, you are not permitted to commit violence. Whoever dares to commit violence… haha, we brothers have been quite bored.”
The Redbud Army soldiers looked towards Edmond and the others.
Cold sweat was beading on Edmond’s forehead. How could a small tribe like theirs dare to offend the terrifying Redbud Army!
“Milords of the Redbud Army, that isn’t the case. Just now, I simply was unwilling to part from them, so I said a few words to them. I wasn’t planning to stop them. If they want to leave, I’ll naturally accept that. Everyone knows this. Nobody will stop them from leaving,” Edmond said hurriedly.
Hearing this, Linley had to admit; this Edmond really was thick-skinned and shameless!
“Oh, so that’s the case. Good. You can all leave, then,” the silver-haired, violet-robed youth said with a calm laugh.
Edmond and the others let out secret sighs of relief. After bowing, they left after glancing at Linley.
“Threatening me?” Linley glanced sideways at Edmond as well.
This was Royalwing City. Linley had never been concerned about Edmond.
“That old guy. When I think of how terrified that old guy looked just now when the Redbud Army came, I want to laugh. Haha…” Bebe was clearly very self-delighted. Linley and Delia, seeing how Bebe was acting, couldn’t help but begin to laugh as well.
“Let’s go find a residence first,” Linley said.
Delia frowned. “Linley, do you remember? Daebra said that each stay in Royalwing City cost hundreds of inkstones.”
“Let’s go take a look first.” Linley felt very puzzled as well. If a single night was so expensive, then the situation really was a bit too terrifying.
Linley’s group first came to the waiting room of a seemingly luxurious hotel that was fairly close to Redbud Castle. The hotel’s waiting room had some decorations that forced even Linley to sigh in praise. The quality of the sculptures here weren’t lower than his at all.
“How are the living costs here calculated?” Bebe chattered.
The violet-robed, long-haired, sharp-eared beauty laughed, “Here, each stay costs eight hundred inkstones.”
Linley, Delia, and Bebe were shocked upon hearing this.
“As long as you stay here for a year or less, no matter how long you stay, the price for the stay is the same. If, however, you were to stay for a year and a day, you would need to pay 1600 inkstones,” The violet-robed, long-haired beauty said with a laugh.
Linley’s group let out sighs of relief.
This place was different from the Yulan continent. Hotel fees weren’t calculated by the day, they were calculated by the year.
It made sense…
When Deities were training and meditating, they would spend months in seclusion each time.
“Despite that being the case, if the cost for a year is eight hundred inkstones, then ten thousand years would mean they would earn eight million inkstones? And that’s just for a single room. This hotel has many rooms in it.” Linley was secretly shocked. “The hotel business here really is profitable.”
The ‘rooms’ in every hotel in Royalwing City consisted of a stand-alone residence and courtyard. After all, Deities preferred quiet when training.
“Do the three of you plan to take up residence?” the violet-haired woman said, looking expectantly at Linley’s group.
14
Fiend Castle
Linley, although not a miser, wasn’t a spendthrift either. Linley’s group left the hotel, then wandered about Royalwing City for quite some time, visiting over ten hotels before choosing a quiet, elegantly designed hotel.
The price of staying here for a year was 210 inkstones.
After paying 210 inkstones, he received a black talisman. Linley’s group entered their residence, pushing open the door to their courtyard. In front of them was an elegant residence, with a flower garden taking up a third of the space of their residence.
In the rear was a simple, unadorned, two-story building.
Linley and Delia looked at the building, and they couldn’t help but feel satisfied.
“Boss, this courtyard is pretty quiet.” Bebe chortled. “Boss, I’m going to live upstairs.” Bebe hopped directly onto the second floor. Moments later, Bebe flew back down, his lips pursed. “This hotel is so stingy. Aside from the bed and chairs, there’s nothing inside.”
“This environment is already quite good.”
Linley nodded in satisfaction, and then withdrew four azurite slabs, handing two to Delia and two to Bebe. “Bebe, Delia, each of you take two hundred thousand inkstones. In the future, if you need to buy anything, make your own decisions.”
“Heh heh.” Bebe winked, accepting them.
Delia nodded and accepted them as well.
Linley raised his head, looking at the sky. It was currently the afternoon. The blood-red sun still hung high in the air.
“It is still early. It isn’t even dark yet. Royalwing City’s curfew forbids others from being on the streets at midnight. Let’s go out and have a look around.” Linley’s first thought was of the Fiend Castle. “Let’s head straight to the Fiend Castle and see what the Fiend test is all about.”
“Fiend Castle?” Delia and Bebe were both excited.
Without wasting any time, the three of them immediately headed out towards the Fiend Castle!
The ancient Fiend Castle was completely black, especially that enormous carved symbol of the Fiend Castle; that blurry face with that devilish red cyclopean eye. Anyone who saw it would never be able to forget it.
The people who headed to Fiend Castle clearly weren’t as many in number as those who went to Redbud Castle or Blacksand Castle.
However, although the people heading to Fiend Castle were fairly low in number, when they strode on the streets, these people exuded a sort of confidence. The majority of them had Fiend medallions on their chest. Clearly…
They were all Fiends!
The elites of the Infernal Realm!
Linley’s group climbed up the stairs, striding
into the main hall of the first floor of the Fiend Castle.
“So quiet,” Bebe said softly.
The main hall on the first floor of the Fiend Castle was very wide. There were very few people here in the main hall, only a few hundred or so. The few hundred people were spaced out in the wide hall, giving a very sparse feeling. Linley’s group immediately saw the ‘Fiend Application’ counter.
That counter had a jade-haired beauty seated behind it. On the shelf behind her, there were many bottles of wine.
“Yuna, one cup of Olay wine, the red bottle!” A bald, black-armored man placed a piece of azurite on the table.
“Hey, can’t you see I’m busy? Wait a second.” The jade-haired beauty ignored him, continuing to chat with the black-haired youth in front of her.
“Anji, what do I have to say in order to convince you? Last time, over a thousand people participated in the Fiend trials, and only fifty-three succeeded. There were twenty-eight others who managed to survive, although they didn’t pass the trials. The others, more than nine hundred people, all died! You’ve participated in two trials, and you were lucky enough to survive twice despite failing. You were lucky twice, but are you going to be so lucky a third time?” the jade-haired women urged frantically.
Linley’s group walked over as well.
The black-haired youth said in a low voice, “Yuna, although I know I was lucky the last two times, I don’t want to give up. I almost succeeded the last two times. This time, I will definitely succeed.”
“Can’t you just train for a while longer, increase your strength, then try again?”
Yuna let out a sigh. “I’m responsible for the Fiend applications. I don’t know how many people like you I’ve seen, who want to become Fiends. The chance of death in the Fiend trials is, however, very high. Generally speaking, only a few dozen in a thousand will succeed, while the total number survivors never number more than a hundred!”
“Anji, go back and train some more. When your power rises to a new level, come again. At that time, I will definitely agree to your registration,” Yuna urged.
“Raise my power?” The black-haired youth shook his head. “I’m already a God. I have gained insights into three different profound mysteries of the Laws. But I know… if I continue to train, the amount of time it would take me to gain insight into a fourth mystery will be unthinkably long. And so what if I do gain insights? My power won’t improve greatly. Only when I become a Highgod will it improve! But that is too far away.”
“Can it be that I will be forced to fuse with a divine spark? I am not willing. What’s more, I don’t have enough money to buy a Highgod spark.”
The black-haired youth looked at the jade-haired woman. “Yuna, don’t stop me.”
“Haha…”
Suddenly, the nearby bald, black-armored man started to laugh loudly, his laughter immediately echoing throughout the quiet main hall. Many Fiends looked towards him, who turned his head to look at his friends. “Brothers, come and take a look. This little fellow managed to stay alive in two Fiend trials in a row. He truly is lucky. But now, he is going to take the trials for a third time. Haha…”
“Oh, he survived twice in a row?” Quite a few people came over, all of whom had Fiend medallions on their chest.
“Lucky enough to survive twice, and he wants to try again? Is he tired of living?”
These Fiends all laughed calmly as they walked over.
The black-haired man lowered his head, frowning. His entire body quivered slightly.
This was an insult!
“Yuna.” The bald, black-armored warrior laughed loudly. “This little fellow wants to die, so let him. Why urge him otherwise? Let him attend the trials and die.”
“Shut your mouth, Crompton!” Yuna stared at him while barking.
The bald, black-armored warrior was startled, and then enraged. “Yuna, how dare you speak to me in such a way!”
“What? Can’t I?” Yuna’s chin lifted up slightly, and she stared coldly at the bald black-armored warrior. “Crompton, I insist on talking to you in such a way. What about it?”
“Motherfucker!” Crompton, enraged, slapped the table, staring at Yuna with a pair of utterly reddened eyes.
Yuna was frightened, but then she summoned her courage and said strongly, “Crompton, what do you think you are doing? This is the Fiend Castle!” Yuna knew that Crompton was a fairly powerful Fiend who was at a Highgod-level of power.
“Crompton!” Instantly, some other Fiends walked over and rebuked him, “Stop making trouble.”
These Fiends whom Crompton had called over were all Crompton’s friends.
“Hmph.” Crompton snorted coldly, but he also knew that in Royalwing City, he couldn’t commit acts of violence. All he could do was vent.
“Yuna, Crompton is just hot-tempered. Right, let’s get a bottle of Olay. Hurry.” A nearby man with long red hair handed the piece of azurite on the counter to Yuna, who accepted the chance to back down from this confrontation. Accepting the azurite, she withdrew a bottle of wine and handed it to them.
At this time, the black-haired youth, Anji, said softly, “Yuna, sorry.”
Yuna looked at him, shaking her head and smiling.
“I know my training speed.” The black-haired youth looked at Yuna. “It took me a hundred thousand years to master these three types of profound mysteries. In the next hundred thousand years, there is no way my power will increase significantly. My remaining money is only enough to permit me to stay in Royalwing City for a few more decades only. I don’t have any more time!”
Yuna glanced at him.
“Fine.” In the end, Yuna acquiesced.
“Might I ask, what are the requirements to apply to be a Fiend?” A voice rang out. Linley and the other two walked to the counter.
Yuna glanced at him, and then immediately held her head in her hands. “Good heavens. First we have this God who failed twice but was lucky enough to survive, yet still wants to take the trials again. That was already crazy enough. Don’t tell me that we now have a Demigod who wants to participate the Fiend trials.”
“Hey, my Boss asked you a question.” Bebe stared at her.
Yuna looked at Bebe. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled, saying in surprise, “He… is your Boss?” Yuna could tell that Bebe was a God, while Linley was only a Demigod.
“What, something wrong with that?” Bebe asked her in response.
Yuna couldn’t help but feel stunned.
The nearby Delia laughed and continued, “Miss Yuna, can you tell us what requirements there are for the Fiend trials?”
Yuna said, “The Fiend trials application doesn’t have any other requirements; as long as you pay ten thousand inkstones, you can participate in the trials. Once you pass, you will be a One Star Fiend. However… although there aren’t any hard and fast rules for participating in the Fiend trials… sir, I recommend you come participate after reaching the God-level. The Demigod-level, it is… it is too dangerous.” Looking at Linley, Yuna could only laugh awkwardly.
Yuna spoke the truth.
Linley understood this, because he had heard their earlier conversation.
A thousand people participated in the trials, but only fifty-three had succeeded, while less than a hundred had survived in total. This death rate was terrifying. In addition, those who participated should all have been at the God level. One could imagine how terrifyingly dangerous it was.
Crompton had gone to another corner of the main hall with his friends to drink wine. He was currently still extremely angry.
“Motherfucking filthy whore!” Crompton’s heart was filled with rage, and he would occasionally glare at Yuna.
“Huh?” Crompton suddenly paused. “Brothers, look… that brown-haired youth is just a Demigod, right?”
The others were startled as well, all taking a closer look.
“Hey, it really is a Demigod.” Those people were all astonished.
“You aren’t planning to apply f
or the Fiend trials now, are you?” Yuna looked at Linley’s group.
“No rush. In a while, I’ll return,” Linley said with a calm laugh. Linley now knew how dangerous the Fiend trials were. Even if it was just for Delia and Bebe’s sakes, he couldn’t put himself in danger. In addition, he was more than halfway through gaining insights into the Profound Mysteries of the Essence of the Earth.
Even if he only slowly completed the fusion process, it would only take a few dozen years.
No rush.
As Linley’s group was preparing to leave, suddenly, a voice rang out…
“In a while? Haha…” This sound was extremely ear-piercing.
Linley turned and saw that the leader of a group walking over was that Crompton. Crompton snickered, a contemptuous look in his eyes as he looked at Linley. “Haha, you, a Demigod, want to take the Fiend trials?” Crompton’s voice was extremely loud.
The hundreds of people in the main hall all turned to look, and quite a few walked over.
“A Demigod is taking the Fiend trials? Have I heard wrongly?” Some people were puzzled as to what was going on.
“I’ve heard of Demigods wanting to take the Fiend trials, but that was something from I don’t know how many years ago. I’ve never personally witnessed it.” A red-haired man, carrying a cup of wine, walked over.
These people all turned to look at Linley.
“Is it him? The one who is taking the Fiend trials?” They could tell that the only person present at the Demigod-level was Linley.
“Right, it’s this little fellow.” Crompton immediately laughed.
Linley’s face became exceedingly ugly to behold. Delia and Bebe were also enraged.
“Not just this little brown-haired kid. This black-haired kid. He failed twice in a row in the Fiend trials, but he was incredibly lucky and managed to survive. Now, he wants to try again.” Crompton laughed. “There are an extraordinary number of fools here today. Do they think… that with their power, they can become Fiends? What do they take Fiends for? What a joke!”
The Infernal Plane: Book 5 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 11