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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
Because of Gu Changge’s appearance, the entire Battlefield of Hundred Worlds was in an immediate uproar despite the calm facade.
Regarding this appearance, the rulers of the six regions were frowning as they quietly speculated on the purpose of Gu Changge’s visit. They considered Gu Changge’s current status to be equivalent to almost standing at the top of the Upper Realm, with him practically being unparalleled. [Is there something else he wants on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds that brought him here? Is he trying to pick a suitable follower? Could he be seeking some kind of divine ability or some kind of divine object?]
The one who truly had control over the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds was a few Immortal Forces with unfathomable backgrounds and vast territories under their jurisdiction. To put it bluntly, although six leaders seemed to be in charge of everything in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, they were merely put in their position to carry out tasks for others. They dared not ask too many questions about certain things, for fear of being killed.
“I heard that Young Master Changge personally came to the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. Do you think he came here to get a follower?”
“Sounds unlikely to me. After all, Young Master Changge only has to say the word, and every young prodigy of the Upper Realm will volunteer. Why would he come here to pick someone to be his follower?”
“I’m guessing he is here in search of someone or something.”
Those in the ancient city had already received news and rumours about Gu Changge’s arrival. Naturally, they were discussing it. Chatters filled the streets and alleys, and even the pavilions and palaces. After all, no one had a brighter limelight than Gu Changge in the Upper Realm as of now. Even the True Daoists and Ancestors of various Forces have to bow down in front of him.
The ordinary people, on the other hand, might not even be able to stand properly in front of him. His every move naturally resulted in storms everywhere.
…
The person involved in all that commotion, Gu Changge, was in a magnificent palace in Vermilion Bird Hall, which was in the east of the six main regions. He was blowing the tea in his cup, calmly listening to the various reports from his subordinate.
“Reporting, Young Master Gu, the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds is divided into six regions. They are called Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Dark Net, and Sky Phoenix.
All six regions have a total of 108 cities in each region. As enemies of each other, they attack, and rob resources, property, and women from one another. Wars break out almost every month between them. Killings and chaos have always been the rules of the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. If someone does not follow the rules, they will be beheaded by the patrol guards in their city.”
There was once someone nicknamed Hermit Huo who appeared on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. He almost single-handedly broke the rules of the Battlefield. In the end, he was pushed to his end by the experts who had joined hands from all six regions.
For so many years, this place has been extremely stable. Those from the Lower Realm never dared to violate the rules here. They can only fight and kill to become the new blood of each region.”
The person respectfully making the report in front of Gu Changge was an extremely wealthy middle-aged man with a smile, intending to butter up to Gu Changge. As a treasurer of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants in charge of the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, he was responsible for the transactions here. He was a Sacred King Realm expert, who was an enigma to outsiders. In fact, he rarely showed his face in public, but he made many arrangements and took care of everything in an orderly manner.
It was hard for even the big shots from the six regions to request to meet him. After all, he held control over the business, and the power he had was beyond impressive. Furthermore, the Alliance of Thousand Merchants was a terrifyingly powerful Force in the Upper Realm as it had a wide network that reached almost every world in existence. Not even the Immortal Forces dared to turn against the Alliance.
Standing beside the rich man was a delicate girl in a pastel yellow dress. With her fair complexion, big eyes, and fluffy locks, she gave off a slight sense of craftiness. She was currently standing on her tiptoes, looking at Gu Changge, who was sipping on tea with his back towards her. She had curious and unconcealed admiration in her eyes.
Gu Changge put down the teacup in his hand and sighed softly as if he felt somewhat regretful when he heard those words. [This is a good place to raise ‘Gu Insects’. I never thought of coming here before.]
The reason why he came to the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds was due to what Bai Hua had seen. The scenes deduced by the Chaos Purple Scripture showed clues that Pagoda and Neraka were here. Gu Changge sent someone to look into it after he arrived here, and he later found out that Bai Hua’s deduction was true.
Naturally, taking in new blood could continuously replenish their supply of potential killers. This was the basis Pagoda and Neraka operated on.
“The regions are ordered to be each other’s enemies in order to cultivate their desire to kill from a young age. What a brilliant method.” Gu Changge shook his head and uttered those words that sounded like he was lamenting. Although he understood the reason for the existence of the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, it was impossible to destroy Neraka and Pagoda by simply destroying everything here.
He would alarm his targets if he let his intention be known. Nevertheless, he planned to get rid of all obstacles, including the extermination of the two ancient assassin’s guilds, Neraka and Pagoda, before the wedding. When these two guilds were at their peaks, they used to assassinate True Daoists and even Immortals. It was clear that they came from unfathomable backgrounds.
The rich man’s expression changed slightly when he heard those words. Being a core figure of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants, he knew well that Gu Changge was the real Master behind the Alliance now. So even though he did not know what was said in between the lines, he didn’t have the courage to ask any more questions. All he could do was stand there with his hands hanging on both sides as he awaited Gu Changge’s order.
Gu Changge, who wasn’t worried that the wealthy man would divulge anything, took a glance at him.
“I plan to stay here for the time being,” he informed.
“Rest assured, Young Master, for this subordinate of yours has already arranged everything,” the rich man assured with a solemn expression.
Gu Changge nodded and waved to dismiss him.
However, the rich man looked at the pretty lady beside him with a sour look on his face. He seemed to hesitate before he gritted his teeth and mentioned, “Young Master, this is my daughter Ah Qing who grew up here. She has always been an admirer of yours. How about you leave it to her to arrange your stay during this period of time? She is familiar with all 108 cities of each region. She can do many things for you.”
The eyes of the charming woman named Ah Qing also went wide after she heard the words, and she clenched her milky hands tightly as undisguised anticipation filled her. There was no doubt that she was the Young Lady of the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. Even the Masters of the six regions had to show the Alliance of Thousand Merchants respect.
As the daughter of the wealthy man, she was able to do as she pleased on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, and no one would dare to get on her bad side. Despite that, she still wanted to serve Gu Changge. She even took the initiative to ask the rich man to make it happen.
“Ah Qing?” Gu Changge didn’t seem to expect the rich man to suggest something like that. He raised his brows slightly and briefly looked the girl named Ah Qing from head to toe. He didn’t need to think about it much as he nodded. “Familiar with the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, huh? Alright. Stay, then.” [There is a shortage of manpower by my side since I have just come to the Battlefield. This lady looks smart. Having her will probably make things easier for me.]
Seeing that Gu Changge agreed, Ah Qing put on a surprised expression. Her voice trembled when she stuttered, “Thank you… Thank you, Young Master Gu, I won’t let you down…”
The end of her sentence was barely coherent.
The rich man also widened his eyes in amazement and pleasant surprise. He thought that Gu Changge would refuse. [After all, someone of Gu Changge’s status must have seen all kinds of goddesses. Anyone who wants to serve him will probably have to at least be a saintess or a goddess of an Immortal Force, right? Why would my daughter catch his eyes?]
He was even worried that he would upset Gu Changge if he suggested such a thing.
After the rich man dutifully left, Gu Changge looked at the restless girl and chuckled. “Tell me about the rules of raising your ‘Gu Insects’ in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. I’m curious to see how things are for myself.”
“The rules of raising ‘Gu Insects’?” Ah Qing was stunned for a moment before she realised that Gu Changge must be talking about the order for the six regions to kill each other. Cultivators from the outside world would indeed regard this kind of rule as akin to raising Gu Insects. However, she was used to this as she grew up in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds.
Her face turned slightly solemn when she began to explain and introduce her world to Gu Changge.
“All regions’s 108 cities blow their horns every two months. Everyone who wants to join the regions must participate in this fight, or they will be killed before the battle to be made an example. Only neutral Forces can avoid being involved in the fights. The youths from the Lower Realm will start battling over the Realm’s Fortuity after joining the regions. They will fight each other and leave only the strongest even if they are from the same region.
After they join a region, they will each be given a Point Accumulator Commandment Token. They will then accumulate points according to how powerful the person they killed was.
There will also be deathmatches every day in the arenas deep in the different regions. Among those overlooking, some just watch the fights and gamble. Meanwhile, some join in the fun. As for those from the outside world, they intend to become someone’s servant or followers by making a name for themselves.”
[The Arena and Point Accumulator Commandment Tokens?] Gu Changge nodded when he suddenly understood the rules here after Ah Qing introduced them to him. It sounded somewhat like a survival game where every cultivator who set foot here had become a ‘point accumulator’ of some sort, and only the person with the highest points could get out alive.
In addition, the points in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds could be used as currency in the cities of the six regions. They could be exchanged for various divine spells, pills and weapons. This was also in line with the assassin’s guild’s method of cultivating young prodigies. However, most that participated in this were completely unaware of it.
“According to what you said, there will be a deathmatch in Vermilion Bird tonight, yes?” Gu Changge asked. He sounded somewhat interested.
Ah Qing nodded and replied, “Young Master, there are 108 cities in Vermilion Bird, and deathmatches are held in almost every city. But the main city where we are now has the biggest arena, which means that there will be more cultivators here. Those who participate in the deathmatches will also get more points.”
“Oh? I would love to watch this so-called ‘deathmatch’ tonight,” Gu Changge hummed with a faint smile on his face. He had a feeling that powerful Forces were controlling everything behind these deathmatches. As long as he followed the clues, he could eventually find where Pagoda and Neraka were hiding.
“You want to watch the fights, Young Master? I’ll make the arrangement then.” Ah Qing was surprised when she heard those words. She thought that Gu Changge was just interested in it, and she didn’t expect him to want to see it. Growing up on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, she had long been used to watching these brutal deathmatches. None of them interest her anymore.
…
And just when Gu Changge was on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, trying to find out where Pagoda and Neraka were, a slender figure with a beautiful face appeared on a certain island engulfed in divine light and Celestial Energy hundreds of millions of kilometres away. The fairy-like lady in green looked in a daze as she gawked at the misty spiritual lake in front of her in disbelief.
“This is the Lake of Rebirth. You can peek into the past and explore the future… You just need to quietly recite what you know, and it will be revealed in the lake.” A seemingly-balding big red bird stood beside the girl in green as it shook its head and sighed. However, its voice sounded as childlike as a little girl despite its mature demeanour.
“I passed your trial…” The woman in green only murmured as if she hadn’t recovered from what had happened before. Her face, which was as beautiful as a fairy, now seemed a little dazed. It was because she believed in Hong’s nonsense and was deceived all the way to this very remote island, which she had no idea how far away from the centre of the Upper Realm it was. To make things worse, there were all kinds of terrifying arrays left behind and horrible checkpoints that were set up at some point on this small island.
In order to pass these checkpoints and go back to where she came from, she failed countless times, and she even almost encountered a life-threatening incident in the middle of it. It went on for a long time as she risked her life passing through the checkpoints and breaking through protective arrays before she was able to leave safely.
However, there were many benefits in doing so. She had improved a great deal in both her cultivation and comprehension. She even felt like she could challenge and defeat a certain annoying bastard when she got out of here so that he would never take advantage of her again!
Hong disdainfully peered at the woman from the corners of its eyes as it urged, “Snap out of your daydream. The Lake of Rebirth is about to dissipate. Don’t you have anything you want to see?”
“The Lake of Rebirth? Is this the real deal? Can I really see the past or future if I think about it?”
The woman was sceptical as her crystal-like eyes fell on the spiritual lake in front of her. Soon, she gently closed her eyes and thought about the future. Compared to the past, she was more curious about what the future would be like.
*Hum!*
As the woman closed her eyes, ripples began to appear on the Lake of Rebirth. Immediately afterwards, the crystal-clear lake water suddenly became as shiny as an ancient mirror which could reflect the past, present, and future.
The woman expectantly opened her eyes when she sensed the fluctuation.
However, it felt like she had been struck by lightning the instant she saw what was showing on the lake. She promptly turned pale in disbelief.
Silavin: Ah Qing – damn same name again… Maybe her surname is different.
Where did we see Ah Qing? I don’t remember her at all
Wasn’t that a lady who came to mc during the fight in Eight Territories and Wastelands? The one that wanted to be the leader of her clan and stole Immortals tear.