"You folks aren't from Shadowlin City, are you? Just looking at your outfits, I can tell. I don't know which city you came from, but anyone who can make it to Shadowlin City isn't weak!" The middle-aged shopkeeper said with a grin.
Evan Chu glanced at the man and was stunned to sense that this middle-aged shopkeeper was at least at the fourth-layer Saint Martial Realm. Even a guy selling odds and ends had this kind of power—no wonder the Netherworld was such a dangerous place.
Evan’s companions—Ethan, Roxanne, and Ryan—could sense it too. In that moment, they finally understood the Netherworld was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; from now on, they’d really have to keep a low profile.
"Senior, you flatter us. The four of us are sect siblings—out on a mission, but we ran into some enemies and ended up here by accident. My master once mentioned that Joyous Arrival Inn in Shadowlin City might be able to help us, so we came here to ask." Evan Chu replied calmly, his words smooth and unflustered, without a hint of panic.
"Since you’re human, I won’t make things difficult for you. In the Netherworld, the human clan is the weakest of the Five Netherworld Races. If it weren’t for Zander Xiang, the super-expert holding things together, our clan probably would’ve been wiped out ages ago by the others." The shopkeeper explained, his tone a mix of regret and realism.
Joyous Arrival Inn is one of Zander Xiang’s businesses. If you’re hoping to join him directly, you’re probably not qualified—without at least sixth-layer Saint Martial Realm, they won’t even look at you. But in half a month, Joyous Arrival Inn will hold an outer disciple selection. Maybe you can try your luck then." The shopkeeper added, matter-of-fact.
"Outer disciples? Joyous Arrival Inn actually recruits outer disciples? What are the requirements? If you know, please tell us honestly, Senior—I’d be truly grateful!" Evan Chu asked, full of respect and curiosity.
"No need to stand outside—come in! I’ve been in the Netherworld for almost three hundred years, and I’ve never seen four young folks as good-looking as you. I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll close shop for a bit. Money’s endless, anyway!" The shopkeeper said, waving them inside.
His words stunned Evan Chu and his companions. Luckily, the Demon Lord had warned Evan that in the Netherworld, you can’t judge age by appearance—plenty of people look young but are actually terrifyingly old. This middle-aged shopkeeper was a perfect example. He’d already lived over three hundred years, which was hard to believe.
"Thank you, Senior. I called you 'big brother' earlier—sorry for the disrespect. Please forgive my rudeness!" Evan Chu immediately changed his address, grateful to have met such a warm-hearted local. Of course, if this man ever tried anything against them, Evan wouldn’t hesitate to strike back—he could kill him in an instant if needed.
After Evan Chu and his three companions entered the general-goods shop, the middle-aged man led them into the back hall and said, "Sit down, make yourselves at home. Shadowlin City is really just a small city—you rarely see unfamiliar humans here. Where did you all come from, anyway?"
That question stumped the four of them—they'd never even heard of Shadowlin City before, let alone other cities. Evan Chu laughed, "Senior, we're from a very small city ourselves. The Netherworld is so vast, even if we told you, you might not have heard of it."
Seeing Evan Chu didn't want to elaborate, the middle-aged man stopped pressing. He sighed, "The Netherworld's entrance to the outside world has been sealed for ten thousand years. Who knows when it'll open again? I really want to see what the legendary sun and moon look like one day. So, why are you heading to Joyous Arrival Inn? Are you really out of options and just hoping for a miracle?"
"To be honest, Senior, the four of us really are desperate enough to try our luck at Joyous Arrival Inn. Since you've lived here so long, you must know Shadowlin City inside and out. Could you explain a bit about this place? We're disciples who've never left our sect before and know nothing about the world outside." Evan Chu said respectfully.
The middle-aged man glanced at them and said, "You must be their eldest senior brother, right? Just from how you talk, I can tell you're a cautious guy. Don't worry, I've got no bad intentions toward you. Those three seem to have already broken into the Saint Martial Realm, but you still feel like you're stuck at Divine Martial. What's up with that?"
Evan Chu replied immediately, "Senior, you really have sharp eyes. I haven't broken through to the Saint Martial Realm yet—mainly because I don't have a Netherghost Violet Orchid. Our sect is weak and doesn't have any spare orchids for me, so that's why. I once asked my master how to get one, but he wouldn't say. Do you know, Senior?"
The middle-aged man laughed, "Kid, you came to the right person! Back in the day, Netherghost Violet Orchid wasn't worth much, but after that big war destroyed Netherghost Lake—where the orchid grew in abundance—it's gotten a lot rarer. These days, only the big sects still have some. Your sect having even a few is already pretty lucky."
Hearing this, Evan Chu felt a wave of disappointment. "Senior, honestly, I'm not going to force fate with the Netherghost Violet Orchid. Everything depends on luck. What I really want to know is, since the Netherworld has five major races and five major cities, I know about the races but not the cities. Could you explain them to us? Our sect is so remote, we never learned any of this."
"Sounds like you're from one of those hidden sects, huh? Not many left these days. The five major cities are closely tied to the five races—each race rules one city. The human clan's city is Xianglong City, ruled by City Lord Zander Xiang."
The Ghost Clan's city is Blackspirit City, controlled by Ghost King Hadeon—it's considered the strongest city in the Netherworld. The Shade Clan's city is Nine-Shade City, the most mysterious and eerie; there are basically no humans there. Same with Blackspirit City—no humans except a handful of really powerful ones.
As for the Netherbeast city, that's Beast King City. It's got the largest population of the five—billions of Netherbeasts live there. No other race dares mess with them, but Netherbeasts usually don't attack outsiders either.
The last is the Netherkin's city, Hellsward City. It's said to be made up of eighteen smaller cities, all ruled by the Netherworld King. Zander Xiang, Ghost King Hadeon, the Nine-Shade City Lord, the Beast King, and the Netherworld King have all reached the Venerable Martial Realm—they're the absolute peak in the Netherworld. No one knows who's really the strongest.
Back in the ancient war, nobody won because they were all afraid of getting weakened and letting the other races take advantage. Nobody dared go all out." The middle-aged man rattled off all this in one breath, leaving Evan Chu and his companions dumbfounded.
Now they finally understood how power was distributed in the Netherworld. To complete their mission here, they'd have to earn the approval of Zander Xiang, the strongest human. Evan Chu realized this was their chance—maybe the four of them could enter Xianglong City.
"Senior, what are the requirements for Joyous Arrival Inn's outer disciples? Can any human participate?" Evan Chu asked.
"Not quite. Even outer disciples are ranked by strength—the weakest still need to be at ninth-layer Divine Martial Realm. Talents from the other four races can join too, but most candidates are human. If you make it from outer to inner disciple, you get to enter Xianglong City, but only humans are allowed to become inner disciples." The middle-aged man explained.
Lin Ruoxi spoke up, "Linfeng, this time we have to get chosen as outer disciples! If you can become an inner disciple, maybe we can go home sooner."
The middle-aged man immediately poured cold water on their hopes, "Even getting picked as an outer disciple isn't easy. You have to register and pay a processing fee, and the selection bouts are dangerous—you could lose your life at any time. Don't get your hopes up too high."
Evan Chu replied, "Don't worry, Senior. We've been eating bitterness since we were kids—otherwise our master wouldn't have let us leave the sect. No matter how dangerous it is, we're not afraid. But we don't even know what counts as a processing fee here, and we're flat broke. What should we do?"
The shopkeeper was briefly stunned by Evan Chu's words, but quickly composed himself—though Evan Chu caught the flash of disappointment. Maybe the man was upset there was no 'oil and water' to skim from them.
"Do you have anything valuable? I can take you to the pawnshop nearby to trade. You can't do anything in Shadowlin City without money. Honestly, I don't know how you even made it here." the middle-aged man said helplessly.
Evan Chu took two Ice Crystals and Fire Crystals from his storage ring. "Can these be traded?" he asked.
"Ice Crystal and Fire Crystal can barely get you a hundred Netherstones, but that's not enough to cover the processing fee. Got anything better?" the shopkeeper asked.
Evan Chu pulled out a top-grade Starstone and asked, "How many Netherstones could this Starstone get me?" He remembered how the gate guard had been thrilled by Starstones—clearly they're valuable here too.
"You actually have Starstones? Why didn't you say so earlier! Starstones and Netherstones are equal in value—one top-grade Starstone equals one top-grade Netherstone. If you want to register for the outer disciple selection, you'll need eight top-grade Starstones." the shopkeeper said with a smile.
"Eight? I've got them!" Ryan Ouyang said, instantly producing dozens of top-grade Starstones, plus one supreme-grade Starstone. The shopkeeper's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Excellent, excellent! If you need to exchange them for Netherstones, I'll do it right away. Honestly, absorbing Nether Qi from Netherstones all day makes people crazy. How about this—why not just trade your Starstones to me? I'd love to try absorbing Stellar Power for a change." the shopkeeper suggested.