"Number Nine, are you kidding me? How could someone who just ascended to the God Realm have the power to kill a God-Lord? Forget God-Lord—even a Heavenly God couldn't do it! You do realize this Ascension Pool is the lowest grade, right? No matter how talented you are, the best you can do here is break through to mid-stage God-Man. Do you really think someone at mid-stage God-Man could have that kind of strength?" one of the black-clothed men said.
"Looks like there's something fishy about this. Maybe the ascendant got killed too. If someone was willing to kill, there must've been something unusual going on. We have to report this to the City Lord—Protector Liu can't have died for nothing!" another black-clothed man said.
With that, the four figures vanished into the sky like streaks of lightning—their speed was so fast that Evan Lin couldn't even hope to match it, though he hadn't actually seen them leave.
Those four black-clothed men were none other than the Ten Dead Guards, the personal kill-squad of the All-Stars City Lord. As their name implied, they were the kind of fanatically loyal dead-soldiers who only took orders from the City Lord himself. This time, they'd been sent because Protector Liu's soul-link pendant had shattered, drawing the City Lord's attention and prompting him to send four men to investigate.
Protector Liu had left because something strange happened at the Ascension Pool. That part was easy to trace, but now the trail was cold and the four had no choice but to return and report honestly.
All-Stars City lay to the east—the exact direction Evan Lin was headed. In this whole region, only All-Stars City counted as a halfway decent second-grade city; the other three directions had nothing but small towns scattered over tens of thousands of li. Evan's random choice had turned out to be the right one.
The four black-clothed men returned to the City Lord's Mansion and reported everything about the Ascension Pool incident to the All-Stars City Lord. The City Lord was a middle-aged man with white hair but piercing eyes—one look and you could tell he was a formidable figure.
Upon hearing the Dead Guards' report, he frowned slightly. "Someone actually dared kill in my All-Stars City? And killed one of my Protectors, no less? This must be thoroughly investigated. But with no leads, it's a real headache. Looks like I'll have to make a trip to Shadow Divine Palace."
"City Lord, are you planning to borrow the Moonspirit Mirror from Shadow Divine Palace to replay what happened?" one of the Dead Guards asked.
"That's right. Protector Liu may have been a minor figure in the City Lord's Mansion, but it's been ages since anything like this happened in All-Stars City. Plus, Drifting Cloud Guild has been unusually active these past few years. I'm worried it might be their people stirring up trouble—if so, things could get messy," said the City Lord.
"City Lord, should we go check inside All-Stars City and see if any suspicious people have shown up? This whole region only has All-Stars City as its main city—if the killer hasn't left yet, they're likely to come here. Why not send people to investigate first, before heading to Shadow Divine Palace?" another Dead Guard suggested.
"You're right. Shadow Divine Palace isn't a place just anyone can enter—even though I'm a City Lord, I'm only in charge of a second-grade city, which doesn't mean much to them. We'll do as you say: pass my order to search the entire city for suspicious people. If anyone resists, bring them straight to the City Lord's Mansion for harsh interrogation," said the All-Stars City Lord.
With that, the four quickly left the City Lord's chamber, while Evan Lin was still making his way toward All-Stars City, completely unaware of the trouble brewing there.
By dusk, Evan Lin arrived on the main official road. There were still plenty of travelers moving along it, and for the first time, Evan saw so many native God Realm cultivators, which made him feel a bit excited.
Scanning the crowd's strength, he found that many were late-stage God-Man or Heavenly God level, with both old and young present—pretty similar to what he'd seen in the lower realm.
It wasn't long before Evan spotted a massive city rising up ahead. The city was guarded by numerous sentries, each standing motionless like ancient pine trees.
When he reached the city gate, the crowd was thick—people were constantly coming and going. Many wore anxious expressions, as if something had happened, which left Evan puzzled.
But his cultivation had improved, and he'd already changed his appearance, so he wasn't too worried. Besides, he'd stashed his God Stones from the Coiling-Dragon Ring into his storage ring, making it even less dangerous.
He glanced up at the three big characters above the city gate—he recognized them as Immortal Realm script: 'All-Stars City.' The city walls were built entirely of black stone, resembling obsidian, though Evan knew it had to be far more valuable since this was the God Realm, the place every cultivator dreamed of reaching.
Everyone entering or leaving had to pay an entry fee, and Evan saw them handing over a kind of purple crystal. It wasn't a God Stone, so it must be some kind of 'purple gold coin' currency.
He didn't rush to enter the city—instead, he turned around and walked away. This was the God Realm, where you had to be careful about everything. He wouldn't reveal his God Stones unless absolutely necessary; he was well aware that the reason they used these purple-gold stones here was probably because God Stones were far too precious.
Evan followed behind an elderly man, whose strength was around mid-stage Heavenly God. "Senior, do you have any purple-gold stones left? I've run out and would like to trade with you!" Evan transmitted secretly.
The old man was briefly stunned, then stopped and turned to look Evan up and down before saying, "You want to enter All-Stars City?"
"Yes, I want to go into the city to buy a few things, but I've run out of purple-gold stones, so I was hoping to exchange a little with you," Evan replied.
"You mean Violet Cloud Crystals! That's the standard currency in the God Realm. What do you plan to trade for them? You know, Violet Cloud Crystals are as precious as God Stones. They're essential materials for forging divine-grade artifacts and also crystals for boosting your strength," the old man said.
Evan was a bit dumbfounded—the old guy's words left him at a loss. He hadn't expected there to be a crystal in the God Realm nearly as valuable as God Stones, though he was sure Violet Cloud Crystals couldn't be quite as rare.
"All I have are a few God Stones—this is my first time out since ascending to the God Realm, so I don't know much about local customs. Please don't laugh at me, Senior. How do you exchange God Stones here?" Evan said earnestly.
He knew his story was full of holes, but it was the best he could do—who would believe a new ascendant had God Stones?
"God Stones are the highest currency in the God Realm. They're rarely used here—only in major cities do people pay with them. If you use God Stones in this place, you'll probably attract trouble. You're a smart kid."
"One low-grade God Stone can be exchanged for a hundred low-grade Violet Cloud Crystals; mid-grade trades for mid-grade, and so on. The higher the quality, the rarer and more expensive both God Stones and Violet Cloud Crystals become—people like us can't afford those. So, how many low-grade God Stones do you have?" the old man asked.
Evan was startled—his storage ring only had mid-grade God Stones at best, and even those were running low. The rest were high-grade and supreme-grade God Stones, with a few God Crystals left in the Coiling-Dragon Ring...