Chapter 525 – Cities with Fourth-Order Everywhere, Nine Layers of Nether Prison

“Sir, let me ask you one more time – are you certain your Rank is only at the sixth level of the official profession?”

The nun maintained her smile, as if merely performing a routine verification.

Yet somehow, the Middle-aged Man felt an inexplicable chill.

Must be an illusion!

He had indeed only infused a minimal amount of power. While such testing crystal balls weren’t easily deceived by ordinary Lords or common practitioners, for an experienced Lord like him – a peak Fourth Order expert thoroughly familiar with various artifacts – fooling a mere testing crystal ball was child’s play.

What truly surprised him was the tedious process this territory imposed on refugees. This Lord Tianyuan was utterly wasteful with time and effort.

“Yes, this is all the Rank I possess. For common warriors like us with only ordinary two-star grades, reaching this level is already our limit.”

He adopted the demeanor of a down-on-his-luck practitioner, his words tinged with self-deprecation.

After speaking, he added, “May I enter the city now? I see many people still waiting in line behind me – it wouldn’t be proper to delay others further.”

The nun narrowed her eyes with a faint smile. “Not yet.”

Her voice remained gentle, yet now carried a frosty edge, as if chilled winds had begun to blow.

She pointed toward a nearby area. “According to Tianyuan City’s laws, deliberately falsifying one’s Rank – particularly when the discrepancy is substantial – will be treated as ‘attempting to disrupt public order,’ and we will take appropriate measures.”

Tianyuan City wasn’t unwelcoming to outsiders.

Those entering as visitors faced less stringent checks and weren’t required to declare their Ranks. Naturally, their energy levels would still be covertly assessed, with varying degrees of monitoring applied according to their status.

But this was the refugee registration center.

Registered refugees would be formally incorporated into Tianyuan City’s system.

For common refugees, this simply meant finding shelter. But for powerful individuals, this represented a pledge of allegiance.

Either refuse and depart.

Or enter with sincere commitment.

Peak Fourth Order – this stood at the very summit of mortal cultivation.

The Middle-aged Man glanced around and noticed several Tianyuan City guards in patrol uniforms already encircling the area, separating other refugees from the scene.

He couldn’t pinpoint where he’d slipped up.

He was the Lord of a sixth-level territory, a noble from the major power known as the Tower Federation.

Unfortunately, his territory had been destroyed in the recent catastrophe. Forced to flee, he’d become separated from his surviving commanders and somehow wandered into this region.

He didn’t know exactly where he was, but through certain means had learned this was Tianyuan City’s domain.

And Tianyuan City was also a sixth-level territory, just like his former holding.

Since he’d drifted into Tianyuan City, and this city appeared to be situated on the disaster frontlines where collapse could occur at any moment… then there might be opportunities for profit here.

Having just lost his territory, he desperately needed capital to rebuild his power.

And Tianyuan City seemed quite wealthy. He’d recognized that this section of the City Walls was actually constructed at Excellent Grade.However, it seemed his plan had been exposed before it even began.

He felt a bit panicked.

After all, he was in someone else’s territory, and a direct confrontation would only bring him losses.

But he wasn’t overly flustered.

After all, he was a Peak Fourth-Order Expert, one of the top-tier existences just below the great Legendary Realm.

The Middle-aged Man patted the dust off his clothes, and an authoritative dignity radiated from him.

He stopped pretending. “Indeed, this Count is no Mortal. However, you commoners are not qualified to speak with this Count. Summon your Lord. I have a business proposition to discuss with him.”

His gaze swept across the surroundings.

The refugees around him lowered their heads, some even on the verge of kneeling.

Not just the refugees—the patrol members and registration clerks were all insignificant commoners in his eyes.

Yet, these ‘commoners’ paid him no mind, only slowly tightening their encirclement.

Once they had closed in to a certain distance, a young man with a sword at his waist stepped forward from the crowd.

Deputy Chief of the Public Security Bureau.

The Middle-aged Lord had already heard others refer to the youth as such, but the Public Security Bureau was nothing more than the most basic of departments.

Equally insignificant.

That is, until the youth slowly drew his sword.

A chilling aura spread out, and the Middle-aged Lord’s eyes narrowed. “I misjudged him. He’s actually a Fourth-Order Expert. Could it be that in Tianyuan City, the Public Security Bureau serves as the city defense force?”

But even among Fourth-Order Experts, there was a Sky Abyss of difference.

The Middle-aged Man snorted coldly, and his unremarkable robe suddenly shimmered with brilliant light, ripples of radiance spreading out.

A luxurious staff appeared in his hand.

“Gravity Nine-Layer Fall!”

“Earth Spike Needle Hell!”

Using his equipment’s effects, he instantly unleashed two Advanced spells in succession.

Invisible ripples spread, the air grew sluggish, the ground sank, and rubble turned to dust. Immediately after, dozens of spikes pierced through the earth with a series of sharp sounds.

The earth spikes sealed off the space and targeted the young swordsman’s limbs.

The Middle-aged Man intended to hold back, as he didn’t want to fight to the death with the local Lord. Piercing the limbs to teach a lesson would suffice.

But no sooner had he thought this than he realized the young swordsman had vanished from within the gravity field, as if the immense gravitational pressure didn’t exist at all.

‘What? Where is he?’

“Clang—”

A flash of cold light shone brilliantly, the sword’s hum piercing metal and shattering stone.

A plain longsword struck horizontally, piercing eighteen times in an instant. The protective barrier of his top-tier, excellent robe shattered like a bubble.

Bamboo Stick, holding the longsword, didn’t pause for even a moment as he slashed out streaks of sword light.

While evading the Needle Hell and Flash Stepping to this position, he had already considered several possible responses from the enemy and the corresponding tactics he would employ.

Yet, even after he effortlessly pierced the barrier and his sword light nearly severed the Middle-aged Lord’s neck, the enemy before him seemed to be frozen in shock.

Bamboo Stick hesitated for a moment before quickly shaking his arm.

Ssshh—

A faint blood trail spread across the Middle-aged Lord’s neck.

He wasn’t pretending—he was genuinely weak.

How could he be this weak?

During his usual training and sparring sessions, the Fourth-Order seniors he encountered were all incredibly powerful.

Was this man truly a Peak Fourth-Order?

Bamboo Stick fell into thought.

But he was also relieved that he hadn’t struck directly. According to the law, this Middle-aged Man before him had not yet committed a crime worthy of death.He despised nobles—of course, excluding his own lord—but he wouldn’t let emotions cloud his judgment.

The middle-aged lord snapped out of his shock and fear.

Him? He lost?

What kind of power was this?

He hadn’t seen it clearly at all.

Staggering, his body bumped against the table. Thoughts raced through his mind, “I can’t stay in this damned place any longer.”

He had a vague sense of foreboding, but he didn’t believe he could escape from this absurdly powerful young swordsman before him.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man caught sight of a figure.

It was the nun behind the registration desk.

Only two meters away from him.

You’ll do.

With a thought, the incomplete lord’s mark on the back of his hand glowed.

Instantly, six members of his personal guard were summoned. They were the rare unit, ‘Silver Iron Guard’!

Three of the Iron Guards positioned themselves in front, while the other three appeared behind the nun, pressing their sabers against her.

“Let this Count…”

He had just begun to speak when he heard the clatter of weapons hitting the ground and the thud of bodies collapsing.

The three Silver Iron Guards had somehow fallen unconscious, and the nun, who moments ago had been gentle-voiced and sweet-faced, was now propping one foot on a chair, cracking her knuckles.

Thud—

Another Silver Iron Guard was sent flying backward, knocked out cold.

The middle-aged lord suddenly understood why he had felt a chill when this nun smiled earlier.

This was a Fourth-Order nun! And definitely no ordinary nun!

A regular staff member recruiting refugees and handling registrations was actually a Fourth-Order Commander Tier!

What was the difference between this and having a General sweep the courtyard?!

The Tianyuan Lord must be insane!

And this nun was crazy too! How could a dignified Fourth-Order Expert willingly stoop to such work?

—To be fair, Lord Mu hadn’t required registration office staff to possess Third or Fourth-Order strength. Security was handled by patrols and city defense forces; the registration office was just for paperwork.

It’s just that all the literate nuns happened to be Fourth Order.

In their Tianyuan City, soldiers who completed elementary education and became literate were basically all Fourth Order already.

Reaching Fourth Order was easy, but passing the basic education graduation assessment was hard—this was common knowledge among Tianyuan City soldiers.

The middle-aged lord knew none of this. All he knew was that he was in grave danger.

“Wait, this Count… I’m a lord of the Tower Federation! My uncle is one of the Federation’s Nine Tower Masters! I can pay…”

Before he could finish, he was knocked unconscious by a punch from the nun.

“Too fragile.”

The nun flexed her fist, glanced around, then revealed her sweet, gentle smile again. “Shall we get back to work then?”

…

At the City Lord’s Mansion, Lord Mu, buried in paperwork, soon heard about the incident.

What should be done? His subordinates couldn’t decide.

Legion Commander Lu Liu was currently out teamed up with Asun—Mu Yuan considered that instead of having Dolai escort supplies like the Sky Patrol Robe back to the territory, it would be more efficient to send generals like Lu Liu, Red Robe, Uta, and Tree Spirit Grandma directly to Boulder City.

Once equipped, they could immediately head to various locations to carry out missions.

With Lu Liu unavailable to make decisions, Lord Mu had to handle more work himself. Though he considered making Isloria handle it, he thought better of it since he had time and decided to handle it personally.

“What else can we do? Lock him up in prison according to the law.”

He said.

Tianyuan City naturally had prisons, though they hadn’t housed many criminals before. Most offenders were assigned to mine work in the mountains.It was indeed quite difficult for Tianyuan City’s prison to hold a peak Fourth Order captive.

Killing him would be simple.

However, Tianyuan City was a place that followed rules and reason, and he, Lord Mu, was a man who advocated for peace—how could he casually resort to violence?

At most, he would find a way to extract every last bit of value from the prisoner.

“Before being knocked unconscious, this man kept shouting that he was a Lord of the Tower Federation and had a close relationship with one of the Nine Tower Masters,”

Secretary Moli reported, “I’ve checked the records, and the Tower Alliance does exist. It’s a moderately powerful faction, but since it lacks the authority of a major faction, its territories are scattered all over the place. The Nine Tower Lords each rule over one region.”

Moli was very capable; even before Mu Yuan gave the order, she had already gathered all the potentially useful information.

Mu Yuan skimmed through it.

The Tower Federation was a faction from the same era as one of the Seven Great Nations, the Seven Cities Federation.

Just as after Blue Star descended into the Eternal World, besides the two major nations, Taixuan and Divine Radiance, there were numerous small and medium-sized factions. The Tower Federation was a mid-sized faction that had been established for over a hundred years and had developed quite well.

Beneath the major nations, it had some reputation.

The Nine Tower Lords of the Federation were powerful enough to step onto the world stage.

“If what that man said is true, well, he does have some value. For now, let’s keep him imprisoned. I’ll see if I can upgrade the prison,”

Mu Yuan said.

With that, he took out the Sky Patrol Mirror and channeled energy into it. This precious artifact, besides locating battle gear, accepting missions, sharing information, and facilitating communication, also allowed for direct online shopping. This saved him the trouble of running to a Secret Realm to find an official agent.

The simplest way to upgrade the prison was to find a suitable Miracle Blueprint and place an order directly.

However, Mu Yuan wasn’t particularly impressed even by Excellent-grade prisons.

What kind of prison couldn’t hold someone in the Legendary Realm?

He wasn’t really concerned about holding Fourth Order captives; he could just assign a few prison guards to keep watch. There was no need to waste money on that.

Mu Yuan pondered.

A series of notifications chimed in his ears.

He switched his perspective and, sure enough, saw a brilliant golden light soaring into the sky, accompanied by celebratory sounds echoing throughout the world.

Ding!

Prompt: Your Hero ‘Rakshasa’ has bathed in the miracle of evolution. ‘Three-Phase Body,’ ‘Slay Evil,’ and ‘Fiendish Sea’ have been enhanced.

Prompt: Hero ‘Rakshasa’ has evolved into the Legendary One-Star lifeform ‘Rakshasa King’ and has awakened the legendary power ‘Ninefold Underworld.’

—

Ninefold Underworld

Description ①: The Rakshasa King has carved out a realm of punishment within the Netherworld Void. This realm will grow by devouring sin and evil karma.

Description ②: The Netherworld has nine layers. The first to sixth layers are: Tongue-Plucking Netherworld, Mountain of Blades Netherworld, Sea of Flames Netherworld, Flaying Netherworld, Flesh-Devouring Netherworld, and Bone-Crushing Netherworld, each inflicting physical punishments. The seventh to ninth layers are: Reincarnation Netherworld, Fall into Evil Netherworld, and Sinful Hell Pool, each possessing extraordinary powers.

The Rakshasa King can gather evil karma within the Netherworld to forge his own great power.

The Netherworld possesses the concept of ‘Eternal Existence.’

This was a legendary ability that could be developed and managed.

Having seen many legendary abilities, Mu Yuan could roughly judge this one.

At first glance, the Ninefold Underworld seemed similar to the Netherworld Market or the Undead Territory, but a legendary ability couldn’t possibly have only such “territory-type” effects.”The Ninefold Underworld, with its first six layers serving as offensive means, allows the Rakshasa to directly capture enemies into the Netherworld and subject them to torture. This is the most direct application of the Ninefold Underworld.”

Unlike the Undead Holy Mountain, which requires extensive time and resources to restore once its territory is damaged, the Netherworld does not.

The Netherworld is extremely difficult to destroy, and even if damaged, it can swiftly restore itself to its original state. No matter how vast the Netherworld expands, it can recover to its full extent.

This is the principle of ‘Eternal Existence.’

“The seventh layer of the Netherworld guides beings toward ‘good,’ allowing the sinful to experience Rebirth within decaying bodies. The eighth layer guides them toward ‘evil,’ enabling them to harness darker, more powerful forces and integrate into the Netherworld’s system. The ninth layer accumulates ‘Sin Power,’ quantifying and materializing the concept of ‘sin’ for one’s own use.”

This is the legendary existence—the Rakshasa King.

Mu Yuan stroked his chin.

What he was contemplating at this moment was…

“If my judgment and experience are not mistaken, isn’t this Ninefold Underworld simply a perfect, top-tier foundation for a prison?”

(End of Chapter)