GDK 730: Any questions?
A divine tablet cannot be made without at least basegod strength? Han Shuo was stunned. From the frightened performance of Jeff, it seemed that he was telling the truth. With that, only a few of them could get a divine tablet made.
“Then get one for those who can,” Han Shuo swung his arm and threw Jeff to his table. Jeff repeatedly nodded in a frightened manner as though afraid that Han Shuo would finish him right away.
Jeff knew that given Han Shuo’s relationship with the House of Sainte, with his current position in the City of Shadows, it wouldn’t be much of an issue for Han Shuo to kill a small character like him. Although Jeff was Dolores’ minion, he knew how to adapt to the situation when his life was at threat.
Stratholme, Ayermike, the Emperor of Flames, and a few others very quickly obtained their own divine tablets from Jeff. As for Fanny and the others who had yet to reach basegod strength, Han Shuo decided that it had to be put off until the future.
After completing the procedures, Jeff carefully handed Han Shuo the exact change. He dared not to utter a word lest he provoked Han Shuo’s anger.
“Tell me where Dolores is and I will spare your life,” instead of receiving the crystal coins, Han Shuo threatened Jeff in a chilling voice.
“Please spare me, sir. I really have no idea where Dolores is!” Jeff cried out in a terrified manner.
“Bryan, that’s enough,” Fanny advised softly.
Han Shuo lightly groaned and said, “Fine. I’ll let you off for today. But you better be careful for Dolores is finished. I heard that it was you who sent the prisoners to Profound Continent. This is no small crime. Prepare to be punished.”
Upon finishing those words, Han Shuo starting leaving the facility with Andrina and the party in the direction of the City of Shadows.
After returning to the city, Han Shuo need only speak to Erebus, Andre, or Carmelita about the matter and Dolores and Jeff would pay the price for their deeds. It was only a matter of time before they would get busted and Han Shuo did not mind waiting a little longer to exact their vengeance.
As the gravity on Elysium was much stronger, most of the people from Profound Continent had lost their ability to fly. Therefore, the party had to travel on foot. This set them back significantly.
It was also at this point in time that Han Shuo realized he had not been thoughtful enough. In hindsight, he should have bought an airship before bringing them to Elysium. With an airship, they wouldn’t need to spend as much time traveling. It was too late to buy an airship now and they were only sold in big towns. Given the remote placement of the interplanar transportation facility, they were still a long way from the nearest town.
But Stratholme and the others were not in a hurry. Having just arrived on Elysium, they were in awe of this new world around them. They exclaimed in admiration time and time again how vast the Elysium was and its abundance in elemental energies. Even the plants and sceneries fascinated them. The ladies, especially, had taken the journey as a sightseeing trip. They were chattering and laughing with each other.
Three days after Han Shuo left the valley, Dolores returned.
He was informed of the situation by Jeff. His face turned grave as he remarked hatefully, “This kid is really quite hard to kill. He actually managed to return to Elysium in one piece.”
“My Lord, what should we do? He knows that we have sent prisoners to his material plane. Given his relationship with the House of Sainte, he just needs to speak and the two of us will be finished!” Jeff was panicking. He was truly afraid.
“What are you losing your head for!” Dolores chided. After thinking for a moment with his brows bunched, he asked, “You said that he brought a group of weaklings?”
“Yes, not one of them was a lowgod and only some of them have reached demigod and basegod realm. With strength like that, they wouldn’t even be able to defeat a child,” Jeff replied.
“I see,” Dolores sneered, “With this group of burdens weighing him down, he won’t move very fast. All we have to do is figure out a way to prevent him from ever returning to the City of Shadows and we will be fine.”
“My Lord, you mean?” Jeff stared blankly for a moment before he asked. Having failed to kill Han Shuo the last time, he knew that Han Shuo wouldn’t be that easy to take care of. After carefully thinking about it, he thought that there wasn’t any unresolvable hatred between him and Han Shuo. He was also afraid of the influence Han Shuo held in the City of Shadows and had actually become rather reluctant to provoke Han Shuo any further.
“This you can ignore. I will arrange the matter myself,” Dolores’ eyes glistened with malicious and chilling rays. He instructed Jeff, “You take care of any troubles in the valley. I will be leaving again.” Dolores departed soon after returning to the valley.
***Hushveil City: Godswamp Pharmacy headquarters.
Inside an underground, pitch-dark secret chamber, Avery was meditating. All of a sudden, he was roused. He turned his head and saw that a magical device beside him was flashing. Dolores’ figure gradually grew from blurry to clear inside the device.
“What’s the matter?” Avery asked in a deep voice.
“Uncle, that fella came back alive,” replied Dolores.
“How is that possible?” Avery was shocked. “Even if those prisoners couldn’t kill them, they would have immediately destroyed the interplanar transportation matrix in that low-level material plane. Without an interplanar transportation matrix, they should have had great difficulty returning to Elysium. Have you checked the status of the transportation matrix on that material plane?”
“It is sealed. Only those who know the seal could teleport to that transportation matrix,” answered Dolores.
“Huh?!” Avery cried out in surprise. “Could it be that they have an expert cultivating in the edict of space? Otherwise, how could they seal an interplanar transportation matrix?”
“I have no idea,” Dolores shook his head.
“Tell me everything in detail,” Avery’s face turned cold and he instructed in a deep voice.
After Dolores explained everything, Avery sneered, “It’s quite surprising that the youngster would be carrying so much baggage with him. Alright, I know what to do. They would be dead before they could take a step into the City of Shadows.” Upon finishing those words, Avery disconnected the call with Dolores. He reconfigured the magical device and a moment later, another person appeared inside the magical device – the master of Godswamp Pharmacy.
“Hello, Avery. Are you used to staying at my place?” the elderly man who had a head full of white hair asked smilingly.
“It’s wonderful, thank you for the hospitality, Mister Hassling,” Avery first smiled and thanked the elderly man before he put on a solemn expression and said, “I have received intel that Bryan of the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy has just returned from a low-level material plane. He had taken over your properties in the City of Shadows. I believe Mister Hassling would be interested in teaching him a lesson?”
“Is that so? Well, go on,” Hassling said smilingly.
After Avery explained to him the situation, he nodded with a slight grin and said, “I see. You may continue resting. Leave this matter to me.”
Hassling disconnected the call with Avery and phoned another person with his magical device. When a blurry figure appeared in the magical mirror, Hassling said, “Brovst, I have something interesting for you. That little girl you are looking for has just left the interplanar transportation facility of the City of Shadows. Also, if you bring me the head of that youngster Bryan who is traveling with her, I will give you an extra hundred bottles of poison.”
“Consider it done,” a deep voice sounded from the magical device and Hassling was disconnected before the person’s appearance was clearly displayed.
“Meddle in my business? Young man, it’s not cheap to take away things that belong to me and you shall pay for it – with your life!” Hassling said to himself, wearing a grin.
***
“Elysium is really big. We have taken more than seven days just to cross a valley,” remarked Phoebe. The crowd from Profound Continent agreed to those words as they all came to recognize just how immense Elysium was. They had gradually adapted to the new environment as they traveled.
However, some of them remained very self-restrained. People like Graeae, Pegasus, and a few others could be considered the crème de la crème of experts back on Profound Continent with basically no rivals. But after arriving on Elysium, all those they met along the way were all at least lowgods. The aura emanating from the lowgods made them instinctively terrified and intimidated. They stuck closely behind Han Shuo like glue.
“Yes. This material plane is incredibly vast. Even a small valley is bigger than the territories held by the Lancelot Empire. We need to hurry to the nearest town to buy an airship. Otherwise, at the rate we are going, we won’t reach the City of Shadows for another year or two,” said Han Shuo.
“Bryan, are godhunters really that awful?” asked Fanny. She had heard Han Shuo briefly describe godhunters and she felt frightened when she thought of those gods who specifically hunted for other gods.
“The godhunters are a special bunch of jerks on Elysium. They raise their own strengths by hunting and killing others and are the most abominable of all. I’m going to kill every last one I find!” Andrina said hatefully.
“Don’t worry, godhunters wouldn’t be interested in you people. As none of you have reached lowgod realm, without divine energy in your body, they wouldn’t think about attacking you,” Han Shuo consoled Fanny.
“Well, doesn’t that mean that we aren’t even qualified to be hunted?” Stratholme sighed with a grimace. He shook his head and sighed, “We’ve been living under a rock all this time. I know that this world is filled with powerful experts, but still, that’s such a huge blow to my psyche!”
“Calm down. Every one of you here has amply demonstrated yourself to be astonishingly talented in cultivation to have worked towards this stage even in an environment as poor as Profound Continent. Now that you are here on Elysium, with me providing crystal coins, resources and shelter, given the intense elements in this world, your powers will improve very rapidly. I know it won’t be long before every one of you is a lowgod,” Han Shuo assured Stratholme.
This was also the reason behind Han Shuo sparing no effort in bringing them to Elysium. Given their aptitude, after coming to this environment more suitable for cultivation, they would strive even harder to become stronger. With Han Shuo’s backing, they would surely make rapid improvement in their strengths. Perhaps in the future, they might become the main powers behind Han Shuo’s future family clan.
After a month, the party finally crossed the valley. Weeks later, they entered a mountain range which was much bigger than the valley they previously exited. However, the good news was that after crossing this mountain range, they would find a decently sized town where they likely could purchase an airship.
After a few days of traveling into the mountain range, Han Shuo, using his demon generals, suddenly discovered that there were many more people than usual around them. These people had disguised themselves as normal gods but were secretly observing Han Shuo and his party.
“Something isn’t quite right,” Han Shuo said to Andrina.
Although Andrina’s divine soul was very sensitive, it was limited in coverage area and couldn’t observe scenes extremely far away like Han Shuo could using his demon generals.
“What’s the matter?” Andrina asked, puzzled.
“There is a large group of people covertly gathering towards us. They were all extraordinarily powerful. They have been very careful in concealing their auras and keeping an eye on us. I think they are godhunters – not the scattered and independent type, but the organized type,” Han Shuo said in a deep voice.
“You mean the Godhunter Alliance?” Andrina was astonished but shortly after, she remarked furiously, “Good, they have come to die. I have been wondering where to find them!”
Han Shuo shook his head. Wearing a grave expression, he clarified, “They seem to know that you are here and therefore don’t dare to get close to us. I think we are in big trouble.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Andrina stared blankly for a moment before a thought crossed her mind and she cried out in surprise, “It can’t be…?”
Han Shuo nodded and said in a deep voice, “The situation could be similar to the one we faced at Greenfire Swamp before. They seem to be waiting for the few leaders to arrive before attacking us.”
Andrina was stunned. She said, “If that’s the case, even I have no way of safely bringing them to the City of Shadows.”
“I know.” Han Shuo took a deep breath and continued, “That’s why I now propose that we separate. You will stay with them, conceal everyone’s presences using boundaries, and hide in this mountain range for a little while. Meanwhile, I will go alone and find a way to draw those godhunters away. After the godhunters have left, you will bring them to the nearest town, purchase an airship, and send them to the City of Shadows.”
“How are you going to draw them away? I’m their target. If they don’t see me, they won’t follow you,” Andrina said anxiously.
A demon general flew out from the Cauldron Spirit and gradually congealed into material form right beside Han Shuo. It became a clone of Andrina. After that, a few more demon generals flew out and transformed into the images of Stratholme, Fanny, and the others. They were carbon copies with no visible distinctions from the real versions of themselves.
“What, what the.” Every one of the party was shell shocked by the scene.
“This is how I will draw them away. Any more questions?” Han Shuo smiled and asked Andrina.
“Dude, how in the world did you do that?” Andrina shook her head and said in a wry smile, “The last time, you told me that this lifeform could only be used for spying and scouting. And all of a sudden now, it turns out that they can also shapeshift. How many more secrets are you hiding?”
Hey folks, I think it’s obvious that I’m struggling to keep up with the release rate. I thought I could handle the extra workload but I’m wrong. Therefore, I’d like to lower the release rate to 3.5 chapters per week (Alternating between 3 & 4 chapters per week) until I could hire a translator to bridge the gap. What do you think? -Hedonist
