Chapter 276 - 1211-1220

Chapter 1211: His Old Friends Are Here

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

All the upper echelons of Dynasty gathered on the 16th of March.

Naturally, Huang Baiyu, Huang Haoyang, and the three Grand Dukes were there, and so were the 12 virtual god-level Dukes.

Everyone had their eyes on Lin Huang as soon as he arrived.

Apart from Huang Tianfu who had a rough idea of what the purpose of the meeting was, the rest were unsure why Lin Huang would call for a meeting so early in the morning.

Lin Huang glanced at the time after he took his seat. He did not bother to wait any longer upon seeing that it was almost 9 a.m. and announced directly, "I called this meeting today mainly to inform all of you that I'm leaving this gravel world."

Everyone was stunned to hear that.

Even though Huang Tianfu speculated that since the beginning, he could not help but feel emotional when he heard Lin Huang saying it out loud.

"When are you leaving?" Huang Tufu was the first to ask.

"I'll leave in a few days when I'm done handling some stuff. If everything goes as planned, I should be able to leave before the 20th."

"So soon?!" Everyone was more than a little shocked.

They thought Lin Huang would only leave at least one to two months later after his announcement.

"Dynasty's development is on track now, so it doesn't make too much of a difference whether I'm here or not. All you guys will have to do is follow the plan that I've prepared. It's just a matter of time for Dynasty to become a giant as long as all of you follow the plan.

"Moreover, it's not that I'll never come back after I leave this time. I'll only be gone for a year. By then, I hope to see Dynasty develop better than I can ever imagine."

Lin Huang only projected the one-year plan Bloody came up with after giving his farewell speech.

"This is the one-year plan that I've come up with for Dynasty. There's no need for you guys to carry it out strictly. Nothing will go wrong if you follow the main direction," Lin Huang said and forwarded the plan to the three Grand Dukes who then forwarded it to the rest of the Duke. "Take a look. Ask whatever questions that you might have. We'll discuss this today."

The meeting took almost the entire day. Everyone only finished discussing Lin Huang's plan after eight at night.

From the questions the people raised and the depth of the discussion, Lin Huang was sure that Dynasty would be in good hands for the coming year.

Bloody's plan almost involved every aspect in detail. She provided solutions for any possible situation.

As long as they followed this plan, Dynasty had the certainty of becoming a giant in the coming year.

After the meeting ended, Lin Huang returned to the Emperor's Palace, not tired at all. Instead, he was filled with anticipation for Dynasty's future.

The next morning, Lin Huang arrived on time in Nirvana City where Misery's headquarters was.

Zhi Ji and everyone in red robes was prepared for his arrival at the top floor of the Sky Pagoda.

"Master Emperor!"

Zhi Ji led the bunch of them in red robes to welcome Lin Huang.

Lin Huang also noticed that there were a few unfamiliar faces among the people in red robes. They were all on Virtual God rank-1, so they must have elevated from demigod-level not long ago.

Entering the meeting room, Lin Huang glanced through the 15 people in red robes and told them the purpose of meeting up.

He then presented them with the one-year plan that Bloody came up with.

However, Misery's attitude was clearly less enthusiastic than Dynasty's.

When Lin Huang got Zhi Ji and the rest to ask questions, most of them asked things that were unrelated. Only two or three of them raised some questions that Lin Huang was happy to hear after looking through the plan thoroughly.

The meeting ended when it was past 1 p.m. Everyone from Misery soon left after that.

Lin Huang gestured for Zhi Ji to stay.

"Zhi Ji, I had the same meeting with Dynasty yesterday. Do you know what time the meeting ended?" Lin Huang leaned back against the chair and asked Zhi Ji while lifting his head.

"Your humble one doesn't know." Zhi Ji roughly figured what Lin Huang was going to say, but he dared not speculate.

"The meeting also took place at 9 a.m., then we discussed the plan until 8.20 p.m. All 17 of them from Dynasty participated in the discussion and studied the plan that I provided. Above 80% of the questions raised were related to Dynasty's future development.

"The plan I gave Dynasty isn't exactly the same as the one I gave Misery. However, it's about 70% is the same, and the direction of development is almost similar. However, among the 15 of them who joined the meeting, only ten participated in the discussion. Including you, only three people really studied the plan."

"I'll get them to study the plan thoroughly later," Zhi Ji said immediately.

"Whether or not you guys follow the plan I provide, I want to see Misery's improvement in a year. If Misery's development isn't satisfactory, I'm sorry but I'll remove your organization from Royal's affiliate organization list." Lin Huang gave his last warning.

Although Misery's response was within Lin Huang and Bloody's expectations, he was upset when it really happened. After all, he had Dynasty to compare to Misery which needed tons of improvement in terms of loyalty.

However, Lin Huang's gloomy emotion soon turned into joy when he returned from Nirvana City to Emperor City.

He sensed Yi Yeyu and the rest's aurae as soon as he returned. He spread his Divine Telekinesis out and found out that apart from Chan Dou, Yin Hangyi, Yi Yeyu, Yi Zheng, Leng Yuexin, Li Lang, and Liu Ming were all there. Furthermore, they seemed to have settled their accommodation.

Lin Huang was in a jovial mood after sensing his bunch of old friends.

Although the gathering would only take place on the 18th, Lin Huang appeared in the courtyard they gathered in a flash after sensing their location.

The Yi siblings were in the courtyard while Leng Yuexin and Li Lang stood by the side. Fatty and his family were there too.

Lin Huang could tell that it should be the compound Fatty was staying in. The Yi siblings must be visiting while Leng Yuexin and Li Lang must have been dragged by the siblings to visit.

At that very moment, Yi Yeyu was staring at Fatty in the courtyard.

"Didn't… you die?"

"I faked my death," Yin Hangyi, who was also known as Fatty, recounted the story that Lin Huang came up with immediately.

"But Lin Huang told me that…" Yi Yeyu was interrupted by Lin Huang before she could ask any further, "Fatty encountered some trouble earlier. He had to fake his death to avoid trouble. For his own safety, I had to lie to my friends that he was dead."

"Lin Huang!" Everyone looked cheerfully at him.

"Why does he look exactly the same just like three years ago?" Yi Yeyu raised her doubt.

"That's the side effect of the elixir. It stunted his growth for a few years. However, the side effect only continues for around two to three years. His growth will normalize again in the future," Lin Huang told them the excuse that he came up with earlier again.

"How is it possible that there's such an elixir?" Yi Yeyu mumbled in doubt.

Yi Zheng, who was next to her, changed the topic. He stepped forward and shook Lin Huang's hand while smiling. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it's been a while," Lin Huang acknowledged with a smile too.

After they eased the attention off Fatty and chatted for a while, Lin Huang looked at Yin family's old lady in the wheelchair.

She was old after all, so it was inconvenient for her to walk. She thought she might as well use a wheelchair to go out.

The old lady was in high spirits. Clearly, she did not travel often. After chatting with Lin Huang for a while, she started telling him how great Emperor City was and the things that she saw along the way.

Yi Yeyu and the rest giggled to see how the old lady would not let go of him.

After chatting with the old lady for a while, Fatty took the initiative to interrupt them, "Grandma, you didn't take a snooze today because we were traveling. Let's take a nap. Lin Huang still has some stuff that he has to handle. Don't bother him."

"Alright then. You young people should catch up while I take a nap." The old lady only let go of Lin Huang then.

Lin Huang turned around and walked towards Leng Yuexin and Li Lang seeing Fatty pushing the old lady in the wheelchair into the house.

"Long time no see. I met Brother Zheng and the rest in Division 3 last year, but I've never seen both of you since I left Division 7."

"Yeah, it's been more than a year," Leng Yuexin confirmed.

"I never expected you becoming so famous so soon," said Li Lang, who was standing next to her, while chuckling.

After chatting with them, everyone returned to their compound one after another.

On the other hand, Lin Huang arrived in Liu Ming's courtyard in a flash. He began chatting with his senior brother who he had not seen for a long time.

The afternoon flew by quickly. Chan Dou finally arrived past 8 p.m.

Lin Huang had a rough idea of the Chan Clan's situation from the Mystic Butterfly. He knew how Chan Dou's family had been treating him for the past month.

However, Chan Dou did not mention his family's situation despite chatting for a while, and Lin Huang decided not to ask him about it. Chan Dou still had amnesia, so they fell into an awkward situation after the banter since they had nothing much to talk about.

Noticing that, Lin Huang patted Chan Dou's shoulder. "Why don't you stay at Dynasty? You can decide whether to go home after you get your memory back."

Chan Dou fell into silence for a long time before lifting his head to look at Lin Huang. "Give me some time to consider."

Lin Huang nodded. "Since you have no idea how you were like in the past, you should plan your future now. There's no need to make it complicated. Go for things that are beneficial to you now."

Lin Huang left in huge strides after saying that while Chan Dou stared into space while staying in the courtyard alone.

Chapter 1212: Brother, You Must Come Back!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was a sunny day on the 18th of March.

The temperature in Emperor City was getting warmer since it was the break of spring. People no longer wore their thick coats and cotton-padded jackets. They regained their spirits like before.

The sun had just risen in the morning. It was sunny, and there were no clouds in the blue, blue sky.

A faint glow came from basking in the sun.

Lin Huang dragged his old friends to the fat aunty's dumpling stall early in the morning.

In reality, at Dynasty, there would be professional Food Hunters taking turns to make breakfast every day. The delicious dumplings at the fat aunty's stall were not the main reason why Lin Huang frequented it. Taste-wise, Food Hunters could definitely make better ones. Lin Huang loved going there for breakfast because there was warmth and kinship there. In reality, such warmth was what most ordinary people in this gravel world experienced every day. It was such warmth that made Lin Huang realize that he was only human after all.

They combined two tables at the dumpling stall and took their seats around it.

The fat uncle served the dumplings while chuckling. "They're freshly made. Eat them while they're hot!"

Fatty Yin Hangyi was the first to pick the chopsticks up. He could not stop complimenting how tasty they were after taking a bite.

The rest began eating one after another.

"They have some really sick skills!" Fatty gushed after finishing a serving of dumplings. "The dumpling skin and filling are close to perfection, and the control of heat was great too."

"Master also said that their dumplings are the most perfect ones that ordinary people can make. Many Food Hunters might not even be able to make better ones with the same ingredients," Lin Huang reiterated what Mr. Fu said while smiling.

After breakfast, Lin Huang became a tour guide and brought them to visit a few tourist attractions in Emperor City. They had a lot of fun going around.

Lin Huang only had countable occasions of such relaxed times throughout the four years since he traveled to this world.

They toured around until dinner time. Lin Huang then brought them to Dynasty's headquarters.

He invited all of his friends to the Emperor's Palace. Naturally, apart from Yi Yeyu and the rest, Lin Xin, Mr. Fu, and Xiao Mo were there too.

They all gathered at the big dining table. Lin Huang sat at the main seat with Mr. Fu on his left and Lin Xin on his right.

To talk at ease, Mr. Fu set up a voice shield to shroud the dining table to avoid their voices from being heard.

The chefs were working happily in the Emperor's Palace kitchen. It was their first time entering the Emperor's Palace. Before the dishes were served, the bartender began preparing the drinks that each of them ordered.

Lin Huang picked up the glass before him after everyone had been served their drinks.

"Everyone, it's been almost three to four years since I met you all. Some of you fought monster hordes with me, some of you killed monsters in ruins with me, some of you grew with me along the way, some of you gave me help and love, and some of you went through life and death with me. I'm lucky to have friends like all of you. It's destiny."

"Lin Huang, you're making me bashful by saying that," Fatty scratched his head and said rather shamelessly.

"To me, it's my honor to have seen you grow," Yi Zheng said in all seriousness.

"I knew that you'd succeed back then, but never had I thought your growth would be so tremendous. You've only spent less than four years getting to where you are now." Yi Yeyu was emotional thinking about how Lin Huang had been only a rookie under her when they met.

"You've saved my life twice," Leng Yuexin said while smiling faintly, "I'm the lucky one, no matter what."

"I owe you my life too." Xiao Mo pumped his chest.

Chan Dou reminisced with a smile. "You told me that I took care of you before, but I don't remember that. All that I know is that you took care of me when I lost my memory."

Li Lang, who was dressed in a white suit as if he was getting married, raised his glass high. "We've fought together more than once, and we've risked our lives for each other. Let's not get emotional and drink up!"

Liu Ming spoke to Mr. Fu through voice transmission while looking around the crowded table, "They're all great kids."

Mr. Fu nodded and smiled. He picked his glass up and downed it.

Besides Lin Huang and the rest, even Lin Xin, who had never touched alcohol, picked up her fruit cocktail and drained it.

"This is actually a farewell." Lin Huang only spoke slowly after drinking, "I'll leave the gravel world in two days. I'm going to the great world to find a solution to solve the gravel world's disaster."

Apart from Mr. Fu, everyone was stunned.

"Are you going into the virtual zone?" Liu Ming was the first to respond. He subsequently turned his head to peek at Mr. Fu. He seemed to be confused about why Mr. Fu would allow Lin Huang to go on a suicide mission.

"Must you go into the virtual zone?" Yi Zheng frowned and asked.

Lin Huang nodded lightly. "At the moment, the virtual zone is the only way known to get to the great world."

"I heard that none of the people who entered the virtual zone came back alive." Yi Yeyu was concerned too.

"In reality, not everyone who entered the virtual zone is dead. From what I know, only two survived," Lin Huang explained, "One is a Master God from God Bless. He came from this gravel world and went to the great world through the virtual zone. Another one would be the demigod, Qi Muxiong. I found out from his inherited memory that he's been to the virtual zone too."

"I personally speculate that the reason why nobody survived the virtual zone isn't that all who entered it is dead. It's most likely that the virtual zone is a one-way street. There's no turning back as soon as one enters."

"If that's the case, even if you manage to survive the virtual zone and enter the great world, when exactly will you be back?" Leng Yuexin asked.

"At the moment, I'm thinking of finding another way to get back. That's the second thing that I need to do when I get to the great world apart from finding the source of the disaster. I must come back before the disaster arrives!"

"I personally think that you should stay and spend one to two years developing the alliance between Dynasty and the Union Government, Junior Brother. We might be able to survive the disaster then," Liu Ming offered his personal opinion.

"I've considered what you said too, but that's not going to eradicate the issue. The civilization of our gravel world has been destroyed over and over again because the disaster comes over and over again. To eradicate the problem, finding the source in the great world will be the only way. Our world will only be safe if we've found the source of the problem." Lin Huang thought further.

"Can't Grandpa Fu seal the crack in the Abyss Brink again?" Lin Xin could not help but ask softly.

"Silly girl, it's not as simple as you think." Mr. Fu shook his head while forcing a smile to soften the blow of the truth.

"In reality, the seal at the crack isn't to seal the crack. I can't even seal that crack with my current combat strength. We told the people that the seal works just to give them relief. The true function of the seal is just to prevent some weak monsters from entering our world through the crack. The thing that's really blocking armies from invading is the will of this gravel world. When the will of the world can't stop the crack from expanding, the True Gods from outside will enter from the crack. The seal won't be able to stop them."

In reality, Lin Huang learned about the truth about the crack from Wu Mo. Mr. Fu aside, even a seal combining some True Gods from the ancient era could not do anything to the crack.

"I'm going to the great world this time to find out why the crack appeared. As soon as I find the reason the crack has appeared, then I can find a solution to prevent it from cracking again."

"But there are just too many uncertainties. We're not sure if the virtual zone can really bring one to the great world. Even if you make it to the great world, returning is a problem. Also, we don't know whether you can find the reason why the crack formed and whether it can be stopped from cracking again." Liu Ming raised more doubts.

"These unknown matters will remain unknown forever if nobody finds out." Everyone fell into silence for a long time as soon as Lin Huang said that.

Someone must take the first step to find out more about the uncertainties. Even if Lin Huang did not do that, someone would in the future.

"In reality, there's another reason for me to go to the great world," Lin Huang added, "My cultivation method is rather unique, so it's difficult for me to elevate my combat strength if I stay in the gravel world. If I stay, I might not be able to elevate a rank within a year. However, I might be able to elevate to virtual god-level in the great world within a year."

At the moment, Mr. Fu finally spoke to mediate the situation, "A man should have ambitions. I agree that Lin Huang should venture into the great world. This gravel world is too small for him. Just like that saying, 'shallow water can't feed a dragon'. I think the great world is Lin Huang's stage, and I believe that he'll succeed in the great world!"

"I think so too," Lin Huang said shamelessly while smirking, "Alright, let's not talk about me. Let's talk about something else."

The heavy atmosphere was lifted much more after the master and disciple said that.

Although the atmosphere was nothing compared to the beginning, it was much better than before. They continued to chat.

It was almost 8.30 p.m. when dinner ended. The chefs and bartenders had left the Emperor's Palace over half an hour ago.

Seeing that almost all the dishes were finished on the table, Lin Huang stood up while raising his glass. "This is the last toast. There's a gift for everyone after we drink."

Everyone stood up with their glasses raised, and they finished their drinks.

The dinner finally came to an end officially.

"Alright, it's time for presents." Lin Huang walked to Yi Zheng and pointed a finger to his forehead.

Almost at the same time, he contacted Xiao Hei. "Use a Flawless Card. The target is Yi Zheng."

As a Flawless Card penetrated Yi Zheng's body with a golden glow, he sensed the changes in his body immediately. He quickly sat with his legs crossed.

The rest looked at Yi Zheng in confusion. They did not see the golden glow from the Flawless Card. All they saw was Lin Huang pointing at Yi Zheng's forehead.

Subsequently, Lin Huang walked to Yi Yeyu and pointed a finger on her forehead. He used the second Flawless Card.

Later on, Lin Huang used a Flawless Card on Leng Yuexin, Li Lang, Liu Ming, Chan Dou, Xiao Mo, Yin Hangyi, and Lin Xin respectively.

In the Emperor's Palace, apart from Lin Huang and Mr. Fu, the rest sat with their legs crossed while sensing the changes in their bodies.

Chan Dou and the rest woke up one after another around midnight. They gaped at Lin Huang in surprise.

"Lin Huang, what did you do? I sense that my talent and qualification have gone through a massive boost!" Yi Yeyu asked while widening her eyes.

"Nothing much. It's just a trick, but I can only do it once." Naturally, Lin Huang was unwilling to explain further.

"All of you are on immortal-level, so you can cultivate ancient methods instead," Lin Huang said to Yi Yeyu and the rest, "Master will examine which cultivation direction you guys are more suited for throughout the next two days and teach you guys the methods ]then."

Lin Huang had spoken to Mr. Fu a few days before. He had also shared the methods he obtained and those that Bloody created with Mr. Fu.

"Xiao Mo, although your body has been modified by the Crow God whereby it's close to perfect-stage demigod-level while your combat strength is on imperial-level purple gold-rank, there's no Life Palace in your body. Just continue to cultivate the set of methods that I gave you earlier.

"As for Boss Chan, you seemed to have elevated to imperial-level by cultivating the ancient methods that I gave you earlier. I think you might have lost consciousness when you were taken by God Bless while your subconscious mind cultivated the methods on its own. With your firm base, you've managed to build your foundation naturally and elevated to imperial-level. Just continue to cultivate the methods. You don't have to cultivate other ancient methods," Lin Huang said and looked at Liu Ming.

"Senior Brother, you've elevated to imperial-level and consolidated your Life Palace. You only have two choices if you'd like to elevate to virtual god-level. You either break your Life Palace and rebuild a new foundation or you get Master to help you to break through to virtual god-level when you get to demigod-level. Both ways are similar whereby breaking and consolidating Godheads is required. It's your choice."

"How about me? I feel that my qualifications have been boosted too," Fatty asked immediately after seeing that Lin Huang had a plan for everyone.

"It depends on where you want to go." Lin Huang turned around and looked at Yin Hangyi. "If you'd like to cultivate, you can learn from Master. If you'd like to become a Food Hunter, you can establish a restaurant in Emperor City.

"No matter what you choose, I personally suggest that you stay in Emperor City with the old lady. Bring your aunty and the rest. As for the restaurants, sell them. Baqi City is just a grade-C foothold after all. It's nothing compared to Emperor City. Keep your house, so you can stay there when you visit the city again. Settle the rest of the properties."

Fatty was encouraged when he heard the advice but he hesitated. "Give me some time to think about it."

In reality, Lin Huang knew that Fatty was uncertain because he was concerned about his grandmother.

However, he knew the old lady's character well enough. She definitely would not do anything that would slow Fatty down. She might even ask him to stay in Emperor City.

After he was done planning for his friends, Lin Huang walked to Lin Xin. "Silly girl, learn from Master properly. Read more, play less."

"Mm-hmm." Tears were flowing from her eyes. "Brother, you must come back!"

"I definitely will within a year!" Lin Huang patted Lin Xin's head with a grin. "I can't leave such a cute sister like you behind."

Chapter 1213: Virtual Zone

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The 20th of March was the day the entrance to the virtual zone was opened.

Lin Huang rushed to the third layer of the Abyss Brink after bidding farewell with Mr. Fu and Lin Xin.

This time, the virtual zone would be opened at the deepest part in the third layer of the Abyss Brink.

Lin Huang only found the entrance after summoning Bloody to spread her Leech Pods all around the third layer of the Abyss Brink.

There was a black whirlpool two meters in diameter that looked like a mini black hole in the cave. Powerhouses who managed to get to the third layer of the Abyss Brink would basically know what this cave was. If one really saw this, one would definitely avoid it. However, Lin Huang summoned Thunder and headed straight into the whirlpool after confirming its coordinates.

Lin Huang grinned and leaped when he arrived above the whirlpool. After recalling Thunder and Bloody into their card forms, he stepped into it.

…

After a moment of blurred vision, Lin Huang had a barren land in his field of sight when he snapped back to his senses.

He looked far away. There was not even a single plant on the cracked and burned land. The land that he was standing on was not a complete continent. It was more like an island floating in mid-air.

There were many islands of all sizes floating around the island. The only similarity they shared was that they were all charred.

As he observed his surroundings quietly, Lin Huang recalled returning to the gravel world all of a sudden. He turned around and looked to notice that the dimensional entrance earlier had vanished.

"Just like what I speculated, the virtual zone is a one-way street. There's only going in, no going out. No wonder so many people never returned after they entered."

However, Lin Huang could not understand why would the entrance vanish after one entered the virtual zone. So, how did demigod Qi Muxiong return to the mini world?

He thought about it and since he could not come up with anything, he spread his Divine Telekinesis all over in a wave.

After elevating to imperial-level, the radius of his territory had expanded to a hundred kilometers. Now that he had arrived at imperial-level rank-3, the radius had grown to 300 kilometers.

Meanwhile, the search range of his Divine Telekinesis had increased ten times more than the radius of his territory, whereby it went up to 3,000 kilometers. It was even farther than the search range of Grimace's Divine Telekinesis despite the fact that he was already on Virtual God rank-2.

However, Lin Huang only sensed a couple of monsters within 3,000 kilometers after a round of searching.

There were less than 30 monsters combined within over 28 million square kilometers. Most of them were on either holy fire-level or immortal-level.

Lin Huang was puzzled. "Such monster density and combat strength… Did I enter a fake virtual zone?"

One must know that to the gravel world, the virtual zone was the No. 1 forbidden area known to the public. Legend was that it was filled with god-level monsters, thus even a virtual god-level powerhouse's life would be at risk after entering.

However, now it seemed like this was completely different from the legend.

Apart from little monsters and floating islands of all sizes, Lin Huang did not find out anything else within the range of his Divine Telekinesis. He was unsure where he should head to.

Feeling helpless, he summoned Bloody. "I found nothing, so I can only rely on you."

Bloody nodded and began spreading her Leech Pods out. A sea of invisible Leech Pods spread everywhere.

Lin Huang took two chairs out from his storage ring and sat down. He waited patiently for Bloody's search results while chatting with her.

His Emperor's Heart Ring lost all of its functions in this virtual zone, including the ability to take out and store items. Fortunately, Lin Huang prepared ahead, so he moved everything into the ring from the great world.

Many storage rings that he had obtained from the Royal Trials came from the great world. Before his departure, he picked one which material and model was inconspicuous to avoid grabbing attention from people when he arrived in the great world as he did not want unnecessary trouble.

Lin Huang was not afraid of the trouble that might come. However, he only had one year, so it would be best to have less trouble. Avoiding unnecessary trouble would give him more time to deal with important matters.

Around half an hour later, Bloody finally had news.

"I cast parasites on a few local monsters and obtained the rough situation and map of this virtual zone. To confirm the accuracy of the map in their heads, I got the rest of the Leech Pods to look around. The preliminary check has verified that the maps in their heads are accurate."

"This virtual zone we're currently in is very vast. It's almost 1/40 to 1/30 the size of a gravel world. We're currently in the barren area in the west of this virtual zone. You will see Shelter No. 1that's closest to us around 30,000 kilometers to the east.

"The so-called Shelter is similar to a human foothold the monsters created in the virtual zone. In reality, the name 'Shelter' came from the cities the Protoss built in the great world. These monsters borrowed the name and applied it in the virtual zone.

"There are approximately a million monsters in Shelter No. 1. There are three virtual god-level monsters guarding in it, but I'm unsure about their exact combat strength."

"How do monsters in this Shelter feel about humans?" Lin Huang asked.

"I'm not too sure. The few monsters that I cast parasites on are refugees wandering in a farther area. They've limited information about the Shelter.

"At the moment, we only know that the fighting and killing monsters outside the Shelter is allowed. Furthermore, the monsters outside out the Shelter are very aggressive when they see humans. Humans are practically their No. 1 prey. In other words, the preliminary speculation should be that monsters aren't too friendly towards humans even in the Shelter."

Lin Huang nodded lightly and then looked at Bloody. "According to the total size of the virtual zone that you obtained, there should be many Shelters like this, shouldn't there?"

"There are at least a hundred of them in all sizes. The largest one is the Central Shelter located in the central area of the virtual zone. I heard there are over 30 million monsters and there seems to be true god-level monsters guarding the area."

"It's almost similar to a slightly larger grade-B foothold in the gravel world." Before entering, Lin Huang never expected the virtual zone to have cities. Besides that, a city would have tens of millions in population. "These monsters must have intelligence nothing lower than humans to be able to build such large Shelters."

"According to their minds, do they have a way of heading to the great world?" Lin Huang asked again.

"No. I intentionally looked for related information in their heads, but there's nothing." Bloody shook her head. "However, if this virtual zone really connects to the great world, the people who know the way would most probably be in the Central Shelter."

"How far is the Central Shelter from where we are?" Lin Huang asked immediately.

"Over 400,000 kilometers away," Bloody answered, "But I suggest that we should familiarize ourselves with other Shelters first and get the basic information. We'll only go to the Central Shelter when we're more prepared."

"Sure!" Lin Huang nodded in agreement.

Chapter 1214: Shelter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Since Lin Huang was unsure about how humans would be treated at the Shelter, he used a Transformation Card before entering to avoid unnecessary trouble. He transformed himself into Grimace.

However, he changed what Grimace was wearing.

The exquisite and sophisticated black robe with golden patterns did not have any more golden patterns on it. It was pure black now while the bottom of the robe was longer. It hung all the way to his ankles, covering his entire body.

At first, the black gentleman's hat on his head had a circlet of diamonds mounted on it. Lin Huang removed the adornment so that only the hat remained.

He also took off the golden mask that Grimace usually wore on half of his face.

The same happened to the white gloves that Grimace wore on his hands. Lin Huang removed them, revealing his fair hands. The pair of hands had long, slender fingers that looked like a pianist's.

The black walking stick in his right hand was changed into a normal wooden one.

Bloody, who was with him, also changed into a heavy, red robe. She covered her beautiful figure entirely and wore a mask on her face to cover her features.

They disguised in such a low profile to avoid unnecessary attention.

However, Lin Huang and Bloody never would have thought that all their efforts would be in vain.

There were at least 30 monsters of all kinds that seemed like humans queuing obediently at the entrance. It was a long queue at the entrance of the Shelter.

Seeing those monsters lining up, Lin Huang and Bloody naturally joined the queue at the back.

They did not expect the scorpion monster that was queuing before them to give up its queue upon seeing both of them. It went behind them instead.

Later on, the second and third monsters before them gave up their spots to them one after another.

In confusion, Lin Huang and Bloody stepped ahead of the queue.

At the moment, the four guards at the entrance came up to them. The leading one was a spider monster with human heads with a combat strength only being on immortal-level rank-4 or rank-5.

This spider monster with legs that were seven to eight meters long had a few capsules that resembled human heads. It ambled to them slowly. "I never expected both Masters to arrive. Please enter!"

The four guards retreated to the sides after the leader said that to show them the way to the entrance.

Lin Huang glanced at Bloody. Noticing that she was in deep thoughts, he did not ask her anything. Instead, he turned his head and nodded at the leading spider monster with human heads. He then walked into the Shelter in long strides.

Bloody followed him into the Shelter.

Lin Huang only asked Bloody through voice transmission after they entered the Shelter, "What was that?"

"The few guards only had immortal-level combat strength. Theoretically, they shouldn't be able to sense our combat strength. Those monsters that were queuing had even lower combat strength," Bloody explained, "I'm guessing they must have guessed our levels. To monsters below mythical-level, a quadruple mutated mythical-level monster would have a certain level of suppression against them. They can clearly sense such suppression on their souls."

As the duo chatted through voice transmission, Lin Huang discerned many monsters of all forms around observing him and Bloody.

He studied the monsters further to realize that Bloody and he were the only two creatures on two feet.

The other creatures in the Shelter were either flying in the sky or crawling on the ground. Almost none of them walked on both feet like them.

"I thought we wouldn't be noticed if we changed, but it seems like I was too naive," Lin Huang whispered embarrassedly.

"It isn't a bad thing," Bloody replied with a smile, "Since we can't stay low-profile, there's no need for us to spy around. We can just speak to the Shelter guardians."

"I guess that's the only way. We must've stepped into the sights of this Shelter's guardians now. They'd think that we're up to something if we proceed with sneaking around." Lin Huang nodded in agreement with Bloody's suggestion.

He soon found the guardians' location after he spread his Divine Telekinesis. They stepped out and appeared at the building where the guardians were.

The building was clearly built by humans judging from its style. Lin Huang could not help but raise an eyebrow.

The building before them was a ruin. Only about 30 floors that were close to the ground was all that remained. Lin Huang did not think too much about it before this. Now that he had seen the building, he realized that this Shelter was built on a human ruin.

A voice came all of a sudden when the duo peered up. "I didn't expect VIPs to visit us today."

As the voice rang out, three silhouettes came out of the building almost at the same time. They landed slowly on the ground.

The leader was a human monster with a grimacing mask. Its body was covered in a loose, black robe, so nobody could tell if it was a male or female. It had a long, black tail behind and the body of a monster with many legs. Furthermore, its body was separated into segments. The tip of its tail was a spear-like sting.

The second monster was a white-haired ape. It looked weak with slender limbs, and it held a black walking stick that looked like a branch in its hand.

The third monster was a fish monster. It had the body of a human but a head that looked a little like a catfish's. Although it had human limbs, its clearly exposed hands had scales on them.

Among the three monsters, the fish monsters and the ape monster had Virtual God rank-3 combat strength. The black-robed monster in the mask that had spoken earlier was on Virtual God rank-4.

Although one could not determine its gender under the black robe, one could distinguish that it should be a male from the voice.

"We're sorry to disturb you." Lin Huang chose to respond courteously seeing that the three monsters had no hostility although they had their guards up. He nodded slightly at the three of them.

"I wonder what's the purpose of your visit. Pray, tell." The monster in the mask was still cautious and did not get any closer.

"We actually fell into this place unintentionally. We thought we could ask for information seeing there's a Shelter nearby. We have no other intentions. All we want to know is the way to get back to the great world."

The three monsters glanced at each other after hearing Lin Huang say what sounded somewhat truthful. They put their guards down gradually.

"So, you guys are the new people who just entered the virtual zone. I can only say that it's unfortunate for you guys to have fallen into the virtual zone."

"What do you mean?" Lin Huang asked while frowning a little.

"This place is called the virtual zone. It's a land where the Space Rule is messed up. There are always space tunnels of all sorts opening here, but it's very difficult to figure out where exactly they lead to. Moreover, even if it's the tunnel that leads to the great world, nobody knows where in the great world it would send you to," the monster in the mask explained while smiling. "In other words, for you guys to return to where you came from is as difficult as reaching the stars."

Lin Huang and Bloody would never have thought that the virtual zone was such a place.

Lin Huang asked again after falling into silence for a moment while frowning, "Is there really no way for us to go back?"

"It's not that there's no way. In this virtual zone, there's only one person that can send you to the place you desire in the great world. The thing is, it's hard to say if that person is willing to help."

"Who is that?!" Lin Huang asked immediately.

"The Butterfly Sovereign at the Central Shelter!"

Chapter 1215: The Early Bird Catches the Worm

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After chatting with the three guardians, Lin Huang left Shelter No.1 with Bloody.

In reality, he secretly got the Nightmare Tapir to read the trio's minds as they chatted. With the Nightmare Tapir's ability that was comparable to a True God's, everything was practically invisible. The monster in the mask and the rest did not notice that they were dragged into the Nightmare Tapir's dreamland at all.

With the three guardians' memories, the duo had no reason to stay at the Shelter to spy around anymore.

After they left up to 10,000 kilometers away from the Shelter, Lin Huang summoned the Nightmare Tapir again and got it to share the trio's memories.

Lin Huang smiled after scanning through the trio's memories. "Although those three fellas kept something a secret, at least, what they told us was the truth. That's actually considered not bad. Judging from this, monsters are more trustworthy than humans."

"Naturally, there's no need for them to lie since there's no conflict in benefits." On the other hand, Bloody expected this.

Lin Huang grinned and refused to comment further. He then shifted the subject to the serious matter. "According to the three guardians' memories, there are three sovereigns in the central zone. They are the rulers of the entire virtual zone, whereby they're true god-level powerhouses. Among them, the Butterfly Sovereign has the weakest ability. She's only a first-rank True God. However, she's an expert in the Space Rule. She has set coordinates leading to the great world and is the only powerhouse that can send people out of the virtual zone. The other two monsters are second-rank True Gods. Due to the lack of resources in the virtual zone, the three of them aren't on peaceful terms. I'm guessing the Butterfly Sovereign won't let us go easily if we go to her."

"We can always make a trade." Nonetheless, Bloody was not worried. "There must be something she desires that we can give her. I believe she won't decline our business if there's something she wants that we have."

"That's true, but something that a True God desires must be difficult to obtain." Lin Huang forced a grim smile while shaking his head. "If it's really something that she can get easily, she would've gotten it already. There's no need for her to beg from others."

"That makes sense." Bloody nodded.

"But we can't make her send us away by force. There'll be even more trouble if she sends us to a barren mini-world." Lin Huang had thought of solving the issue with violence, but he was afraid that the Butterfly Sovereign would do something nasty to them.

"Let's see what exactly she wants. We'll think of other ways if the condition that she suggests is really too much," said Bloody, turning her head to look at Lin Huang. "Do you want to look for Qi Muxiong's ruin first? Or do we go to the Central Shelter first?"

"Let's go to the ruin first. We'll find the Butterfly Sovereign after we get our stuff." Lin Huang thought about it and said, "If we go to the Central Shelter first and the Butterfly Sovereign agrees to send us away directly, we might not have the time to go to the ruin by then."

"You're being too optimistic." Bloody faked a smile on her face.

"I mean, what if. After all, we can't rule out such a possibility." Lin Huang mumbled after he said that, "The Butterfly Sovereign is female. It's possible that she becomes easygoing if she falls in love with Grimace's disguise. Grimace's face is considered the most handsome male creature in the world."

Bloody pouted and muttered softly, feeling annoyed, "I don't think he's that handsome."

"What did you say?"

"I mean, what if the Butterfly Sovereign really falls in love with Grimace and is unwilling to let us go?" Bloody changed her words immediately.

"Then, I'll get Grimace to stay. Since I have 30 summoning authorities, losing him doesn't matter. If I really need him one day, I'll summon him back," Lin Huang said casually.

Grimace had absolutely no idea that he had become Lin Huang and Bloody's subject of discussion. Furthermore, the discussion revolved around ideas to sell him off.

After the duo chatted, Lin Huang simulated the map projection of the virtual zone with his Divine Power. He retrieved the 3D map from the three guardians' heads. It was undoubtedly more detailed than the one that Bloody obtained through the Leech Pods earlier.

"We're currently here." Lin Huang pointed at the western region on the map as it formed. He marked an 'X' and an 'O' all the way down on the right at the border close to the southern region. "According to Qi Muxiong's memories, the ruin should be around here. It's in the southeastern of the entire virtual zone close to the southern border, close to the bottom region."

"According to the monster's memories, the south of the virtual zone is in ruins. There are broken floating islands everywhere with no signs of humans." Bloody studied the location Lin Huang pointed at. "That might be the reason why he chose to stay there."

"Can you roughly calculate the distance?" Lin Huang asked.

"It's around 530,000 kilometers, a little farther than getting to the Central Shelter," Bloody estimated after merely peeking at it.

"Then, let's go!" Lin Huang nodded and summoned Thunder.

With its indigo feathers and golden patterns on its body, Thunder saw the mark on the map that Lin Huang circled with its purple-golden eyes.

"Let's go if you've familiarized yourself with the map." Lin Huang and Bloody hopped onto Thunder's back.

He only disintegrated the map made of Divine Power in the air after Thunder flapped its wings.

Thunder gave this flight across over 50,000 kilometers its all. They finally arrived two hours later.

However, Lin Huang could not help but frown when they were thousands of kilometers away from the coordinates. With his Divine Telekinesis, he could sense that the area of the coordinates had been sealed with a shield.

Lin Huang and Bloody finally saw the crystal shield when they arrived close to the coordinates.

The sphere covered a large space around the area. It was like a planet made of semitransparent crystals floating mid-air.

"They knew about the ruin." Lin Huang frowned deeply. To him, the virtual zone locals finding out about the ruin was bad news.

"This is clearly done by a True God." Bloody knew that she could not break the shield just by scanning it with her Divine Telekinesis.

"This should be the work of the Dragon Sovereign," Lin Huang concluded directly.

There were only three True Gods in the virtual zone. Among the three, the one that was expert in the Ice Element God Rule would be the Frost Dragon which was also named the Dragon Sovereign.

"They'll definitely notice us if we break the shield by force." Bloody turned her head to look at Lin Huang. "The best thing to do is not to alert our enemy."

"Don't worry. I'm not that impulsive," Lin Huang said expressionlessly, "The Frost Dragon is a quadruple mutated dragonkin while his combat strength is second-rank True God. It'd take a lot of effort if I were to fight him."

"Let's go to the Central Shelter instead. Let's ask around about the shield and see if there's any way for us to get in," Lin Huang said and patted Thunder which let out a soft hum and flapped its wings. With the duo on its back, iIt flew at a high speed to the Central Shelter!

Chapter 1216: The Central Shelter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Although Lin Huang had retrieved tons of information about the Central Shelter from reading the monster in the mask's mind, he could not help but exclaim when he saw the real thing, "Is this the Central Shelter?!"

The rest of the Shelters were just isolated islands in the virtual zone.

However, the Central Shelter before them was not an island, but an archipelago connecting islands of all sizes and heights. There were at least hundreds of them within their field of vision.

Lin Huang who had witnessed the Wu Tribe's floating land experienced a different feeling when he saw the connecting floating islands at that moment. Nevertheless, it was breathtaking.

Among the 300-odd islands of all sizes, Lin Huang scanned through them and eventually set his sights on the mini floating island not far away.

There was only one structure on that floating island — a gate.

"That's the Southern Heaven Gate." Lin Huang was almost chuckling when he mentioned that name out loud. The reason being he had seen the name "Southern Heaven Gate" in dramas on Earth many times before. According to the folktales, this was the gate to heaven.

When he learned about the name, Lin Huang even thought it might be travellers who had given these few gates such a name as a prank.

However, he soon eliminated that thought. 'That should be just a coincidence.'

Although there were over 300 islands of all sizes in the Central Shelter, there were only four gates in the east, south, west, and north of the archipelago that one could enter through.

The archipelago had a gigantic defensive formation set up by the powerhouses who came into the virtual zone in the early days when the Central Shelter was built. Apart from the four gates through which one could enter and exit, nobody could enter from the other islands.

The guards at the Southern Heaven Gate were two imperial-level monsters.

One was a giant rock monster that looked like a mini hill. Another was a black, gigantic monster with three dog heads which was a mutated monster.

Both of them had only stepped into imperial-level and were only triple mutated.

The two guards sensed suppression deep in their core as soon as Lin Huang and Bloody appeared. They stepped aside to let both of them go.

They were relieved to see the duo vanish into the Southern Heaven Gate.

"Did you feel it?" One of the heads on the three-headed monster turned its left head towards the other two heads on the right.

"That's the petrification that comes deep from one's soul. They're definitely on mythical-level," the head in the middle said.

"We don't see a mythical-level boss everyday and here comes two today. That's pretty rare." The third dog head picked up the conversation immediately.

"Don't you guys think that the two masters earlier are unfamiliar? I don't think I've ever seen them before," the rock monster spoke all of a sudden.

The three-headed monster was stunned when it heard what the rock monster said.

"I think I've ever seen them before." The dog head in the middle was the first to react. It looked to its left and its right.

"I don't think I've seen them before either. Theoretically, I'd remember masters of such human form even if I've only seen them once," the dog head on the right said with its tongue hanging out.

"Now that I think about it, not only I've never seen them, I've never even heard of them." the dog head on the left looked rather serious. "In the entire virtual zone, there are a total of 103 virtual god-level powerhouses below the Three Sovereigns. We've seen most of them. We roughly know how the few that we've never met look like. However, the duo who just entered are on virtual god-level, but they don't match the list of the 103 Virtual Gods."

"Do you mean…" the dog head on the right interrupted before the rock monster could finish speaking.

"The two fellas who just entered came from outside of the virtual zone!"

The rock monster glared at the dog head since its line was stolen. It continued to speak, "It's a serious matter for new Virtual Gods to be coming into the virtual zone."

"We must report it to the bosses!" The dog head in the middle stole its line again.

"Can you guys not steal my line every time?" The rock monster glared at the three-headed monster.

"No!" the dog heads in the middle and the right exclaimed in unison.

…

Lin Huang and Bloody, who had entered the Central Shelter, had no idea that their identities as outsiders had been exposed.

"According to the monsters' memories, the information transaction mainly takes place at Shelter No. 7." Lin Huang was turning around when he had his eyes locked on an island far away. "It should be that island!"

He flew towards the floating island that he had his eyes on as soon as he was done speaking. The duo landed on the island one after another a moment later.

The monsters looked at them following their sudden appearance.

Bloody smirked, an invisible wave flashing through her eyes without anyone noticing. She grabbed Lin Huang's arm and pulled him aside later on.

The monsters around only snapped back to their senses by then.

"I hypnotized the monsters that were watching earlier and retrieved some information," Bloody said to Lin Huang through voice transmission calmly, "The Secret Loft isn't far ahead. Apart from that, there's an underground information channel called Silence. However, one can only obtain common information from the two channels. It's not that we can't get the core information, but there's a limit to that. Many bits of information about the Three Sovereigns are above the limit. The Three Sovereigns will be alerted as soon as we touch that part of the information."

"Are there any loopholes?" Lin Huang asked immediately.

"There're no good solutions to that." Bloody shook her head while frowning a little. "It's useless to disguise ourselves. The Three Sovereigns will be alerted as soon as we ask anything above the limit. It'll only take one moment to target us by spreading Divine Telekinesis, then there'll be no way for us to run."

Bloody thought about it and suggested, "The only way is to try our best not to ask anything sensitive when we talk to them. If there's something that we really want to ask, try beating around the bush."

"I hate beating around the bush," Lin Huang grumbled.

"Do you have any better suggestions?" Bloody turned her head to look at Lin Huang.

"Never mind. We'll do as you suggested."

…

In the three different Shelters hundreds of kilometers away, the Butterfly Sovereign and the rest heard the news coming from the Southern Heaven Gate.

"They might be quadruple mutated mythical-level? And there are two of them?! Haha, these two mythical-level powerhouses must be dummies then!"

"Both of them are on virtual god-level. Whether they're really on mythical-level or not, I can definitely boost my abilities if I recruited them!"

"They're so unfortunate to be walking into the virtual zone. I'm sure they'll come to me really soon to get me to send them out. Let me think what I should ask from them…"

Chapter 1217: The Secret Loft

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Huang and Bloody turned into the third alley on their left after they walked over a kilometer along the main road.

The alley was so narrow that only one person could barely slip in.

Lin Huang and Bloody walked in with one leading in front of the other. The deeper they went, the darker it got.

They finally saw a dark sign when they walked 100 meters into the alley. 'Secret Loft' was written in dark red on the sign.

Lin Huang looked up. The little building with the sign was only two floors high, and it looked small. Judging from a rough estimation, one floor should be 80 square meters at the maximum.

The little building soon matched the one that Lin Huang had in his memory. He was sure that he had gotten the correct place.

He opened the door and walked in after a mere hesitation. Bloody followed him into the little building.

He was rather puzzled when he walked into the building and saw everything before his eyes.

The building that had seemed like it was less than 80 square meters outside was endless.

"Such a ridiculous replicating technique. It's amazing!" Lin Huang could not help but exclaim upon seeing the real thing although he had seen it in memory.

The 80 square meters had expanded at least a hundred times. There were at least ten floors inside with each floor being higher than the two floors he had seen from outside combined.

It was crowded in the building. There were many stalls selling all sorts of items inside.

In reality, the Secret Loft sold more than just intel. The little building that looked inconspicuous on the outside was one of the biggest markets in the Central Shelter.

"It's pretty crowded. Do you want to take a look?" Bloody turned her head to look at Lin Huang.

"Let's finish our business first. We have plenty of time for shopping when we're done," Lin Huang said and turned to his left to go up the spiral stairs.

The spiral stairs was actually a ladybug. It opened half of its shell and treated it as a flight of stairs, bringing everyone to the floors that they desired to go.

The ladybug was a bug monster with many legs and extremely small brain capacity. Its head looked a little like a centipede's, giving it a terrifying appearance. However, it was actually very gentle and generally would not attack other creatures as long as nobody triggered it.

Though double mutated, the ladybug had low intelligence. It ranked almost the last among the double mutated monsters.

As it was tame and gentle as well as obedient, it liked chasing their own tail and did not mind people climbing onto its body, so it was usually treated as an elevator in the monster world.

However, ladybugs were more than happy to be at their service. They thought having people climb on their bodies was like having people play with them, so they did not despise such a job at all.

Lin Huang and Bloody stood on the ladybug's shell and arrived on the 12th floor of the Secret Loft within some ten seconds.

The 12th floor of the Secret Loft was a place where intel of all sorts were sold.

A succubus with a voluptuous figure came as soon as Lin Huang and Bloody arrived.

The succubus looked 70% human. She had fair and clear skin while her body was semi-transparent. She wore a white dress on her body, and there was a layer of faint, white mist lingering around her. She looked like a fairy.

"May I know if both of you are here together?" The succubus peeked at Bloody and had her eyes on Lin Huang when she asked the question. Her voice was elusive and sounded completely different from the voice a human would make.

"We're together," Lin Huang responded.

"That's great. There's only one room that's vacant now which is the Secret Room No. 13. I'll bring both of you over," the succubus said and turned around with her feet hovering above the ground. She led the duo to the vacant secret room.

The succubus stopped when the three of them arrived at a room with the number '13' written on it a moment later.

"Please go in."

Lin Huang nodded and flicked a Divine Stone at the succubus. He then went in with Bloody.

The succubus held onto the Divine Stone and became stunned, "This is… a Divine Stone?"

The Secret Loft did not force their customers to pay tips to the attendants. However, most of the customers who were generous or held a high status would tip.

The succubus had been working for some ten years at the Secret Loft. She had received hundreds of tips, but it was her first time getting a Divine Stone.

One must know that a beginner-grade demigod relic would cost about 100 to 300 Divine Stones.

It might be nothing to people above demigod-level. However, to an immortal-level succubus, it was undoubtedly a hefty tip. It was almost her three-year salary working at the Secret Loft.

However, Lin Huang had no idea about that. All he knew was that the monster in the mask and the rest would tip the attendants whenever they come to the Secret Loft.

The basic currency that the virtual zone used was different from the currency used in the gravel world and the great world. They used a type of energy crystal that was called the White Crystal which was produced locally in the virtual zone.

Lin Huang did not have such a thing with him. He felt bad not tipping, so he thought he would give a Divine Stone instead.

After all, the Divine Stone containing Divine Power was used in the virtual zone and the great world as it was a strong currency.

He had no idea that the succubus would mistake him as a tycoon unintentionally. He would not bother even if he knew.

Lin Huang and Bloody could not help but peer around when they entered Secret Room No. 13.

There was nothing else in the room apart from a counter and a black-robed man sitting behind the counter.

The man had his entire body shrouded in the black robe. Nobody could tell what he was since he had a white plain mask on his face. There were only four tiny holes revealing his eyes on the mask. The rest of the mask was pure white.

Two bar stools appeared out of thin air before the counter when Lin Huang and Bloody walked in.

The black-robed man only asked slowly after waiting for the duo to take their seats, "May I know what both of you would like to know?"

The voice sounded like it came from far away instead of from before them.

Lin Huang did not find it odd since he had slightly gotten used to this world where there were more monsters than humans.

"I want information about the ruins and sites that are opened ever since 1,000 years ago. It's best if it's detailed. The more detail, the better," Bloody spoke directly before Lin Huang could say anything.

The black-robed man turned his head to look at Bloody, feeling confused. He thought Lin Huang was the one who would be speaking.

However, the confusion only lasted for a moment before he named his price. "30,000 Divine Stones."

"So much?" Bloody raised her brow.

"It's inevitable that it's expensive since some of them involve the Three Sovereigns," the black-robed man gave a short explanation.

"Is it detailed?" Lin Huang asked.

"Everything that should be included is there. If there's none, it's something that shouldn't be included," the black-robed man affirmed while staring at Lin Huang.

Lin Huang and Bloody glanced at each other. He then turned his head back and nodded at the black-robed man. "Sure."

"Secondly, we want ways to leave the virtual zone. It has to be a viable way. The more detailed, the better." Bloody gave her second request.

The black-robed man was quick to name his price. "One million Divine Stones."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Lin Huang frowned a little upon hearing the price.

"Don't be mad, sir. Let me explain," the black-robed man said calmly.

"In reality, everyone in the virtual zone knows the way to get out of the virtual zone. This piece of information is worthless. The reason why I asked for one million Divine Stones from you is that the Secret Loft can contact the person who can send you guys out directly.

"The one million Divine Stones is just the recommendation fee for the person so that you guys can meet her. However, the kind of price the person asked to send you guys out is out of our range. It has nothing to do with us whether you guys can come to an agreement with that person eventually.

"Of course, we can provide you the information if you guys don't want the Secret Loft's recommendation. It will be free for the first request. It's complimentary."

Lin Huang and Bloody looked at each other and secretly discussed it through voice transmission.

The black-robed man did not rush them and waited for their answer patiently.

Two to three minutes later, Lin Huang finally turned around to look at the black-robed man. "Alright, we'll pay you one million Divine Stones then!"

Chapter 1218: You Got The Wrong Dog

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Huang and Bloody checked into a hotel in Shelter No. 7 after leaving the Secret Loft.

Apart from trading markets, there were also hotels in the virtual zone where monsters dominated.

Those were clearly borrowed from humans. The overall business model had no difference from the human world.

If one had to distinguish the difference, the size of the hotel rooms differed from the human world.

As monsters had various body sizes, each hotel in the virtual zone had rooms of different sizes on each floor. Not only were the sizes different, but even the heights varied.

The biggest room might go up to 100 meters high and tens of thousands square meters wide. Meanwhile, the smallest room might be less than a square meter.

The hotel room that Lin Huang and Bloody were staying in was similar to a room in the human world. The difference was that the room was simple without many decorations and miscellaneous items like the hotels in the human world. To be exact, apart from the living room, the bedroom, and the bathroom, there was no other room with a fourth function. There was not even a couch, chairs, a table or a bed, let alone other decorations.

The image that appeared in Lin Huang's head was the sharing apartment which was less than ten square meters that he rented when he had just graduated from university upon seeing the setup in the hotel room. Although it was much bigger, it was almost as simple as this. The sharing apartment even had a bed and a wardrobe.

"It seems like they didn't grasp the essence of the hotel industry," Lin Huang could not help but joke.

"Humans enjoy life but not monsters. Apart from a minority of them who have outstanding intelligence, most of the monsters lived by instinct. Only killing and hunting for food make them happy, not staying in a small, enclosed place and enjoying services from others," Bloody explained.

"After all, the direction of the human evolution was different from other beings since the beginning. Since they found out that they could tame other lives, humans began to grow crops and keep animals to feed themselves. They no longer needed to kill and hunt. As for houses, the function of it at the beginning was to take shelter from rain and protect themselves from wild beasts. Therefore, a house has been carved in our genetics since the beginning of time for the security that it provides," Lin Huang voiced his understanding.

"Indeed, it's just like what you said. Monsters love killing and hunting. It stems from their genetics. The reason being they would die from hunger if they don't hunt or kill." Bloody nodded in agreement.

Both of them soon shifted the subject to a more serious matter after chatting for a while.

"Looking at the information the Secret Loft provided, the ruin called the Miracle should be the ruin Qi Muxiong left behind. It was discovered over 200 years ago and is also located in the southwestern region in the entire virtual zone. It was the Dragon Sovereign who sealed it himself, so everything matches. The photos of it since being healed is basically the same as the one that we saw before."

Lin Huang nodded in response. "Only people below virtual god-level can enter. This limitation matches Qi Muxiong's character too."

"This ruin is currently under the Dragon Sovereign's jurisdiction. It only opens once every year, and the opening period this year happens to be in five days. However, only a 100-person quota is given each time it's opened. It's the Dragon Sovereign who hosts it, so I'm afraid it's difficult to get in." Lin Huang frowned slightly as he analyzed the situation.

"It's not difficult to get in. Just find a monster that's already on the list and substitute it." Bloody had come up with a plan since the beginning. "Since your card disguise can't be seen through even by True Gods," she added

"That's a great idea!" Lin Huang nodded while smiling.

"The Butterfly Sovereign, on the other hand, isn't that easy," Bloody proceeded to speak, "Looking at the information provided by the Secret Loft, that lady lacks nothing. She usually has many conditions whenever she sends someone out of the virtual zone. She's fickle-minded. Compared to the Dragon Sovereign, such an unfathomable behavior is more difficult to handle."

"Let's meet her and see if she's willing to discuss. If it doesn't work, we can resort to using violence."

In reality, Lin Huang was most afraid of people of such character. He had done sales on Earth in the past and got to know all kinds of people. The most difficult one was not those customers who had many requests. Instead, it was those who were fickle-minded and always changing their minds.

Those who had many requests were, at least, sure of what they wanted. All you had to do was what they requested. However, those who were fickle-minded and always changing their mind would want this today and something else tomorrow. They would snap the day after tomorrow and ask for something else. Moreover, the things that they asked for were of low standards. Those people were the most difficult to deal with.

A commotion erupted outside the hotel all of a sudden as they were chatting.

Just when Lin Huang was going to see what happened with his Divine Telekinesis, he sensed two silhouettes moving at a high speed within his sensing range. They stopped before his room.

Subsequently, someone knocked on the door and a voice came later.

"Dear Masters, the honorable Dragon Sovereign wants to see you!"

Lin Huang raised his brow upon hearing that, and he looked at Bloody.

In reality, Bloody expected someone to ask for them but she never thought it would come so soon. Somebody had come to them less than ten minutes they checked into the hotel.

Lin Huang used his Divine Telekinesis to open the room door.

The two monsters at the door were gigantic. They could not get in, so they could only squeeze their heads in to look at Lin Huang and Bloody. They were eager to see exactly how the duo looked like to have the Dragon Sovereign invite them personally.

On the other hand, Lin Huang and Bloody also studied the two inviters.

They were a gigantic double-headed boa and a toad. Both of them were demigods that were clearly triple mutated.

Just when Lin Huang was going to speak after observing the two monsters for a while, another bout of commotion came from outside.

He sensed another two monsters approaching at a high speed within his territory range.

Bloody clearly noticed changes in the expression of the two monsters at the door.

A moment later, a human and dog appeared at Lin Huang's door.

It was a seductive lady with a fluffy, white tail under her white dress. The other dog beast looked like a husky with a white crystal between its brows.

"Masters, our honorable Master Lion Sovereign wants to see both of you!"

They seemed to be selling like hot cakes whereby both the Dragon Sovereign and the Lion Sovereign sent people to invite them within a minute the first invitation arrived.

It was a no-brainer for Lin Huang to figure that their quadruple mutation grade had been found out. The reason being there were only over a hundred Virtual Gods in the entire virtual zone. They were only on Virtual God rank-2. Theoretically, they were unworthy of being approached by two True Gods at all.

"Hu Xiaobai, how dare you jump the line? What are you trying to do?!" the toad monster asked immediately.

"We can fight if you're not happy about it." The husky glared at the giant toad with a side-eye in disdain.

"Let's fight. I'm not afraid of you!" the boa monster's left head shouted while its right head had steam coming out of its nostrils. "You take Husky No. 2's words too seriously. He was just barking."

"Boa No. 2, you've got the wrong dog. He's Husky No. 1," said the lady in the white dress, smiling while covering her mouth.

The toad and double-headed boa became silent. They looked a little scared when they looked at the husky now.

In her white dress, Hu Xiaobai looked at Lin Huang and Bloody cheerfully. "Masters, who would you like to meet first?"

"The Dragon Sovereign first then. His people came first after all, so we must follow the sequence when we do things," Lin Huang answered while smiling.

Chapter 1219: Good Luck

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the virtual zone, the Shelters where the Three Sovereigns lived had no codes to avoid unnecessary competition. Codes would only be given to the Shelters after the Shelters of the Three Sovereigns were assigned.

The Shelter where the Dragon Sovereign lived was called the Dragon Sovereign Shelter. The same applied to the Shelters where the remaining two sovereigns lived. They were named after the Three Sovereigns' titles as a rule in the virtual zone. If any of the sovereigns resigned and the new heir was enthroned, the Shelter would be named after the new sovereign. Such a system was simple and easy to remember whereby one would not get the name wrong.

The Dragon Sovereign Shelter was situated in the eastern region of the Central Shelter.

The surface of the Shelter was the biggest Lin Huang and Bloody had ever seen since they entered the virtual zone. The entire Shelter was floating mid-air like a floating continent.

In reality, the Dragon Sovereign Shelter covered 63 million square kilometers. Indeed, it was considered a continent. It was even a little bit larger than the biggest Eurasian Plate on Earth.

However, residency in the Shelters where the Three Sovereigns lived was hard to obtain. Even entry was restricted. There were over five million monsters staying long-term in the massive Dragon Sovereign Shelter, but less than 10,000 monsters were permanent residents.

Meanwhile, compared to obtaining residency, seeing the Three Sovereigns was even more difficult. Monsters below virtual god-level almost had no eligibility to apply at all. Even virtual god-level monsters that were eligible would need to pass the assessments set by the advisors around the Three Sovereigns even if they had submitted their applications.

The assessment would only usually go through when the advisors thought it was necessary for the monsters to see the Three Sovereigns. However, one could not see them immediately even if they passed the assessment. It depended on whether the Three Sovereigns were free. If it was not urgent, determining an appointment with the Three Sovereigns depended on their moods. It was plausible for one to only see the Three Sovereigns one to two months later even if they passed the assessment.

That was the main reason why Lin Huang and Bloody were willing to pay a million to meet the Butterfly Sovereign. They could only stay in the great world for a year and could not afford to wait for one to two months.

However, this time, the Dragon Sovereign had invited them, hence naturally, they did not have to go through the regular process.

The boa monster and the toad monster brought the duo to the Dragon Sovereign Palace directly.

The Dragon Sovereign Palace that was located in the central zone of the entire Dragon Sovereign Shelter was a massive golden palace. Lin Huang and Bloody could tell that it was a god relic by just looking at it.

The double-headed boa monster and the toad monster stopped when they sent them to the entrance of the palace.

The palace door opened automatically. A thick and deep voice came from inside. "Come in."

It was clearly meant for Lin Huang and Bloody. The duo stepped right in without any hesitation. The palace door closed slowly as they walked in.

Lin Huang ignored the door shutting behind them and lifted his head to peer around.

The Dragon Sovereign Palace was like the Emperor Palace, whereby the surface inside was much greater than it looked like outside. Even the decoration inside was even more sophisticated.

The ceiling in the Dragon Sovereign Palace alone looked much higher than that in the Emperor Palace. It was at least 100 meters. Meanwhile, the ice crystal pillars were as thick as old trees that were 10,000 years old. They connected the ground and the ceiling.

Each pillar had a different dragon carving on it. Those carvings writhed like they were alive when Lin Huang and Bloody looked away from the pillars.

They were looking around while walking deeper into the palace.

However, they did not see the Dragon Sovereign when they arrived at the deepest part of the palace a couple of minutes later. All they saw was a massive ice wall.

Just when Lin Huang and Bloody were puzzled, the ice wall experienced a tremor all of a sudden. They lifted their heads to look and saw a massive head checking them out in a condescending way. The ice wall was just a part of his body.

Lin Huang looked a little solemn now. He realized that his territory and Divine Telekinesis had not sensed the Dragon Sovereign's existence at all. Although Bloody had no expression standing next to him, she fell into silence.

The massive dragon head only mumbled to himself after staring at the duo for a while, "That aura… You're really quadruple mutated!"

The Dragon Sovereign spoke again a moment later before waiting for Lin Huang and Bloody to respond, "I'm Bai Bing, a pure dragonkin that's quadruple mutated and a second-rank True God. Everyone calls me the Dragon Sovereign in this virtual zone. Both of you just came into the virtual zone, am I right? Can you tell me what happened?"

Lin Huang and Bloody nodded and gave a simple self-introduction one after another.

"Grimace, a mysterious-type of quadruple mutated on Virtual God rank-2."

"Bloody, a wisdom-type of quadruple mutated on Virtual God rank-2."

"Mysterious-type and wisdom-type?!" The Dragon Sovereign's eyes lit up when he heard that. The two types of monsters were rare tribes.

The Dragon Sovereign spoke again as his eyes rolled around. His tone was gentle like never before. "It's my first time seeing a mysterious-type monster, but I've seen a few wisdom-type of monsters in the great world. They're extremely intelligent. We dragonkin are close to wisdom-type monsters, and we've worked together many times in the wars."

"Lady Bloody, you guys can stay at our Dragon Sovereign Shelter temporarily if you'd like to stay in the virtual zone. You can also stay for a long time if you like it. I'll welcome you with all of my heart."

Lin Huang wanted to ask, "How big is your heart?" but he thought about it and decided not to. It would be unwise to create trouble at such a time.

"Master Dragon Sovereign, thanks for your kindness, but we're not interested in staying in the virtual zone." Lim Huang declined the offer directly. "We walked into the virtual zone unintentionally this time. All we want now is to return to the great world."

"Since you've already come in, why don't you stay a little longer? You can treat it as a vacation," the Dragon Sovereign said while smiling.

"We would love to do that too, but we really have something important that we need to deal with in the great world and we must complete it within a year. We can't even waste a week in this virtual zone," Lin Huang replied helplessly.

"If that's the case, I won't trouble you guys." The Dragon Sovereign could tell that Lin Huang was not lying. He thought of recruiting them under him, but since they clearly had no intention to stay, it was meaningless to force them. With that, he decided to let them go.

At least, according to what Lin Huang said, it was pretty impossible for them to join another team. Since nobody would get them, he would not lose anything by letting go.

"But let me warn you guys," the Dragon Sovereign added while smiling, "I'm afraid it's not that simple a task for you guys to leave the virtual zone. I'm sure that you guys should know by now from asking around throughout the day that you can only look for the Butterfly Sovereign, Cai Yi, if you want to leave the virtual zone. But be warned that she won't let you guys simply leave."

"Do you have any tips, Master Dragon Sovereign?" Bloody asked immediately.

The Dragon Sovereign peered at Bloody and shook his head amusedly. "You guys are on your own. That lady is fickle-minded, so I can't deal with her either. The only thing that I can say to your guys is 'good luck'."

Lin Huang and Bloody went speechless right away after hearing the Dragon Sovereign's answer.

Chapter 1220: The Same Comment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When they left the Dragon Sovereign Shelter, Lin Huang and Bloody saw the human and the dog waiting at the entrance.

Hu Xiaobai and Husky No. 1 clearly had been waiting for a while.

Seeing Lin Huang and Bloody walk out of the Dragon Sovereign Shelter, they did not ask anything. Hu Xiaobai expressed, "Let's go to the Lion Sovereign Shelter."

A black spider the size of a palm appeared in Hu Xiaobai's palm as soon as she was done speaking.

Its eight little beady eyes looked at the four of them once it was summoned. It then spat four threads out all of a sudden, tying the four people's wrists.

Lin Huang and Bloody did not dodge the threads and allowed its spider threads to tie them up because they knew what the spider was doing.

The spider was called the Dragnet Spider which was a unique dimensional monster that was an expert in dimensional transportation for short and long-distance. They could construct space tunnels and made them into webs. They used such a web to transport itself wherever it desired.

Nonetheless, the Dragnet Spider held no threat. Its timid characteristic whereby it always ran away from fights made them the main source of transportation in the monster world.

The Dragnet Spider lifted both its front legs after tying its four customers up. A black whirlpool soon appeared automatically, revolving around in the air.

The spider leaped from Hu Xiaobai's palm and dragged the four of them into the whirlpool.

When Lin Huang snapped back to his senses a couple of seconds later, they had arrived above the Lion Sovereign Shelter.

The Lion Sovereign Shelter was located in the western region of the Central Shelter. Just like the Dragon Sovereign Shelter, it was also a massive floating continent. Its surface was almost 61 million square kilometers, slightly smaller than the Dragon Sovereign Shelter.

Hu Xiaobai recalled the Dragnet Spider, then led Lin Huang and Bloody into the Lion Sovereign Shelter.

The style of houses in the Lion Sovereign Shelter was similar to those in the Dragon Sovereign Shelter. Even the appearance of the Lion Sovereign Palace looked no different than the Dragon Sovereign Palace.

However, they realized the style of the decoration inside was different when they walked into the Lion Sovereign Palace.

The overall decoration in the Lion Sovereign Palace had warm colors. The pillars and ceiling were gold with white accents. Naturally, there were far fewer pillars compared to the Dragon Sovereign Palace.

Lin Huang and Bloody finally saw how the Lion Sovereign looked like when they arrived at the deepest section of the Lion Sovereign Palace.

To be honest, Lin Huang thought he saw an animation character when he saw the Lion Sovereign.

The Lion Sovereign wore a dark blue suit and stood on both feet. Apart from his massive lion head, the rest of his body looked completely the same as a human man. He was a lion-man without a tail.

As Lin Huang and Bloody observed the Lion Sovereign, so was the latter. A gleam of surprise flashed through his eyes as he could tell that the duo was both on quadruple mutated mythical-level.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Leon, and I'm the Lion Sovereign of this virtual zone. Quadruple mutated, second-rank True God."

Unlike the Dragon Sovereign who proudly announced his pure dragonkin identity, Lin Huang and Bloody noticed that Leon did not tell them his tribe and type. The Lion Sovereign did not talk about it. Either it was a secret whereby he could not tell which tribe he belonged to or he had no sense of belonging to his tribe, hence he was unwilling to talk about it.

The duo did not ask further. Instead, they shared their identities.

"Grimace. Mysterious-type, quadruple mutated, Virtual God rank-2."

"Bloody. Wisdom-type, quadruple mutated, Virtual God rank-2."

Another gleam of surprise flashed through Leon's eyes again. However, he became collected again and said to them with a grin, "I heard from Xiaobai that you have met the Dragon Sovereign?"

"We did," Lin Huang replied.

"Didn't you guys come to an agreement?"

"No." Lin Huang shook his head.

The Lion Sovereign laughed when he heard the answer. "Seems like the Dragon Sovereign's offer isn't attractive enough. Why don't you tell me what you want?"

"We want to leave the virtual zone."

The Lion Sovereign was stunned to hear Lin Huang's answer. He finally understood why the Dragon Sovereign had failed to convince them.

The Lion Sovereign asked again after a moment of silence, "Aren't you considering staying for a while?

"Although the virtual zone isn't big, it's connected to many worlds and there aren't many competitors. If you join any of the Three Sovereigns' teams, you would obtain resources so much more easily than joining most of the organizations in the great world.

"There are many Virtual Gods in the virtual zone that are like you guys, whereby they came in by accident. They were eager to return to the great world in the beginning, but most of them decided to stay after living in the virtual zone for a while.

"It's too competitive in the great world. Those major organizations aren't interested in ordinary Virtual Gods. Only top virtual god-level powerhouses who have an ability on par with True Gods would have the eligibility to be selected and trained. For other Virtual Gods, lacking resources aside, they're not even eligible to enter some of the trial spaces."

The Lion Sovereign said sounded sincere, but it was actually half-true.

In the great world, indeed, the top organizations had no interest in ordinary virtual god-level powerhouses. However, a quadruple mutated mythical-level powerhouse would be trained seriously no matter which organization they went to.

Lin Huang and Bloody knew about that since the beginning. They did not expose the Lion Sovereign's lie nonetheless.

"Master Lion Sovereign, the Dragon Sovereign told us similar things. In reality, if not for our urgent matters, we'd hope that we could stay and only leave when we've cultivated up to true god-level," Lin Huang responded, sounding regrettable.

"The Dragon Sovereign even told us that we could stay at the Dragon Sovereign Shelter for a few months if we want. If we're not happy staying there, we can leave anytime we want and he won't stop us.

"However, there's something urgent on our plate now, hence we must return to the great world as soon as we can. Don't talk about a few months; we can't even afford to wait for a week."

The Lion Sovereign finally understood why the Dragon Sovereign failed to convince them as he listened to this point. The duo had no intention to stay, so no amount of benefits could entice them.

"If that's the case, then I won't force you. Go handle your stuff in the great world. You can visit the virtual zone again when you have time in the future. Our Lion Sovereign Shelter welcomes both of you at all times."

"Thanks!"

Lin Huang and Bloody had just stood up when the Lion Sovereign spoke again, "But it's best that the both of you are mentally prepared for the Butterfly Sovereign Cai Yi not to just let you go," the Lion Sovereign said the same thing as the Dragon Sovereign did.

Lin Huang and Bloody did not look comfortable when they left the Lion Sovereign Shelter.

The Lion Sovereign's last reminder was almost the same as the what the Dragon Sovereign warned them. It was inevitable that it concerned them.

They would not be so worried if only one person said that. After all, the Three Sovereigns were not at peace, so any comment might be biased.

However, the Dragon Sovereign and the Lion Sovereign had made the same comment on the Butterfly Sovereign. Lin Huang and Bloody basically confirmed that the Butterfly Sovereign was most probably incredibly difficult to deal with.