Chapter 277: So Many Obsidian Disciples—did They All Crawl Out Of The Ground Or What?
“Deal with a prisoner who is still alive?”
“Are there still living prisoners in Wushan Prison?”
After hearing this, Lin Qi froze for a moment, then looked at Xie Feina in great surprise.
According to what Di Luoya, the City Lord of the City of Light Chasing, had said, Wushan Prison had existed for an extremely long time. Under normal circumstances, there should no longer be any living beings in the prison. After all, the vast majority of the prisoners locked up were in the Blood Condensation Realm and simply could not live that long, and even those above Blood Condensation could not either.
Although different races have very large differences in lifespan—for example, as long as members of the Long-eared Tribe cultivate to the Blood Condensation Realm, rumors say they can live for five hundred years, making them the race with the longest lifespan among the Myriad Races; humans who reach the Blood Condensation Realm can live up to two hundred years; even some short-lived races can live to one hundred and twenty years—
Wushan Prison has existed for more than ten thousand years. It is absolutely impossible for any race to live that long, let alone while imprisoned.
If such a being really existed, he could not even imagine how terrifying that creature would be.
“That prisoner cannot exactly be called alive either,” Xie Feina thought for a moment and explained. “That prisoner is a robot. Before he died, he uploaded all his consciousness and memory into a guard robot. And he is not the only prisoner like this in the lower level. All the prisoners in the lower level are the same.”
“Does that mean the entire lower level of the prison is filled with these mechanical prisoners who possess complete consciousness and memory?” Lin Qi’s eyes lit up uncontrollably as he listened.
Although from Xie Feina’s words he understood that these prisoners were indeed dead, they had survived as mechanical bodies.
The prison’s lower level was very likely filled with beings above the Blood Condensation Realm. One could say that all these mechanical bodies were absolute treasures. As long as they could be captured or their data extracted, one could directly obtain that civilization’s cultivation methods, and even that civilization’s technology.
As if she had seen through Lin Qi’s thoughts, Xie Feina smiled and said, “That’s right. If we talk about what has the highest value in the lower level, it is precisely these imprisoned prisoners. As long as you can capture one, you can gain enormous rewards from them. But, Hall Master Lin, do you know how many we from the Four Regions’ major powers have captured in total after sending in our teams?”
“Is that number very small?” Lin Qi asked curiously.
“Not very small. None. Not a single one,” Xie Feina said with a wry smile. “We don’t know what metal those guard robots are made from. Even Tier 3 Weapons cannot damage them in the slightest. Each one possesses strength and speed at least at the Blood Condensation Realm, and on top of that they wield those prisoners’ skills. Any one of them can easily suppress several super geniuses at once. They usually move in small groups. We have absolutely no way to fight back. Just surviving is already fortunate.”
“If that’s the case, then even if we join forces, how are we supposed to deal with them?” After listening, Lin Qi roughly understood why those prisoners were so hard to handle.
Bodies that cannot be killed, outstanding skills, and large numbers. It was practically unsolvable.
“After many explorations from our Domain City, we have developed some methods to deal with those prisoners,” Xie Feina explained. “Those prisoners are robots. Once their energy is fully consumed, they cannot move. As long as we can entangle one and keep dragging things out until its energy runs dry, we can capture it.”
“However, even among the prisoners in the lower level, their strength varies widely. For those powerful prisoners, even if our entire team goes all out, we would be wiped out. But for weaker prisoners, a few of us super geniuses working together can restrain them. Those are possible to take down. But the weaker prisoners’ information is limited, and what they have learned is weaker too, so it’s not very worthwhile to risk it.”
“Last time our team explored, we discovered a prisoner with pretty good strength. But our team alone did not have enough confidence, so we wanted to cooperate with Hall Master Lin. As long as we succeed, I can personally guarantee that in the future any Blood Condensation Realm experts from Earth Star Pharmaceuticals will be unable to harass Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
Regarding Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, she had not initially planned to cooperate. After all, what they had done was merely kill two super geniuses from Earth Star Pharmaceuticals whose strength had been piled up with drugs. That was far inferior to cooperating with other teams from the Domain Cities. But cooperating with those Domain City teams required a very high price.
However, once she learned that the super genius Bert of Earth Star Pharmaceuticals had died in Chiyue Town, and that he had very likely died at the hands of Hall Master Lin Qi, her thinking changed.
It was rumored that Hall Master Lin Qi was only in the Bone Forging Realm. A Bone Forging Realm could kill a Blood Condensation Realm super genius like Bert. Even among the top-tier teams, there were not many super geniuses capable of that. In terms of personal strength, he might even rank in the top twenty among those entering Wushan Prison. Adding Obsidian’s team on top, they would not be far behind those top-tier teams.
This was why she had personally come to confirm whether Lin Qi was truly in the Bone Forging Realm.
If he was not in the Bone Forging Realm, then this trip would be for nothing. If he was, then they could cooperate.
Fortunately, Hall Master Lin Qi did not disappoint her. Although she could not be completely certain just from his qi and blood, her intuition said he was in the Bone Forging Realm.
“As for guaranteeing that Earth Star Pharmaceuticals’ Blood Condensation Realm experts will no longer harass us, that won’t be necessary,” Lin Qi thought for a moment, then looked at Xie Feina and said, “I would like to exchange it for other conditions.”
“Other conditions?” Xie Feina was slightly surprised. “May I ask what conditions? If it is that prisoner’s skill information, then I am afraid I must apologize. Our Domain City will never share any skills from Wushan Prison with others. Apart from that condition, anything else can be negotiated.”
In her view, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was on the brink of disaster.
Although Earth Star Pharmaceuticals had not yet taken concrete action, they had clearly decided Obsidian Martial Arts Hall must disappear. Especially Hall Master Lin Qi: in private, Earth Star Pharmaceuticals would definitely send High-level Blood Condensation Realm Martial Artists to infiltrate and assassinate him, and Lin Qi, as someone in the Bone Forging Realm, could not possibly block the assassination of a High-level Blood Condensation Realm Martial Artist.
Instead of focusing on stopping the infiltration of Earth Star Pharmaceuticals’ Blood Condensation Realm experts and prioritizing his own survival, Lin Qi was aiming at Wushan Prison. This genuinely surprised her.
“The quota to enter Wushan Prison,” Lin Qi said with absolute certainty. “The more of those quotas, the better.”
“The quota to enter the prison?” Xie Feina was even more confused as she looked at Lin Qi, unable to understand why he wanted so many. Wushan Prison was extremely dangerous. Forget the lower level’s prisoners—for the traps and mechanisms in the middle and upper levels, numbers alone were useless. Still, she replied, “At most, I can get nine keys, which means nine hundred quotas. Is that enough?”
“Nine hundred quotas? That will barely do,” Lin Qi nodded.
“In that case, it is settled. When the time comes, I will send a sky battleship to pick you and your people up, Hall Master Lin.” Seeing Lin Qi satisfied, Xie Feina did not dwell on it further and directly took her leave.
Only after Xie Feina and the other two had boarded the flying transport vehicle and left Obsidian Martial Arts Hall did Precia, who had been following by her side, finally speak, somewhat hesitantly.
“Senior sister, our cooperation with Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is something the leader likely will not agree to easily.” Precia glanced at the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall outside the car window and said slowly, “The leader has close ties with Earth Star Pharmaceuticals. If he learns that we are working with Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, he might kick us out of the team. Then it will be even harder for us to capture that prisoner.”
She did not understand at all what her Sixth Senior Sister Xie Feina was thinking.
She knew something of the strength of the grey-clothed people; each one was indeed formidable. Especially those peak high-level martial artists: once they transformed, they would possess power at the level of a top Bone Forging Realm Expert, some even reaching Vice City Lord Level. They could form a very strong hundred-man group.
As for Hall Master Lin Qi, it was rumored he had killed the Blood Condensation Realm super genius Bert. In terms of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s team strength, among all those entering Wushan Prison, they were also top tier.
But compared with the representative teams of the Four Regions and those first-class major powers of the Four Regions, they were still somewhat inferior. As the hegemon of a region, a representative team required that each member who did not master two or three Extraordinary Martial Skills, especially at First Level Perfection, simply had no qualification to enter.
The only reason she could join this time, apart from the face given to her by her Sixth Senior Sister, was that she had recently learned a Sequence Extraordinary Martial Skill. Although she had only reached the entry-level, she could count as half a super genius.
And the leader often conducted transactions with Earth Star Pharmaceuticals. Now that Earth Star Pharmaceuticals was furious, the leader would definitely have to make a statement. Otherwise future advanced potions would become problematic.
Within the whole Mist Mountain Domain City delegation, the vast majority of members followed the leader’s lead.
If the leader found out about this cooperation, even expelling this Sixth Senior Sister from the team would not be impossible.
“Junior sister, what are you thinking?” Xie Feina looked at the puzzled Precia and shook her head. “Why do you think I would share the prisoner I discovered last time with that leader?”
“Senior sister, you mean…” Precia stared at Xie Feina in shock.
“That old guy has sat in the position of leader long enough. Thirty years of rising, thirty years of decline. It is time for a change,” Xie Feina said in a calm voice, as if she were speaking about a trivial matter. “I have already discussed this with another vice leader. At that time, he will support me. I will fight that old guy to decide who is the number one below the Blood Condensation Realm in Mist Mountain Domain City. As long as I win, the other members will naturally follow me. At that point, with the combined strength of our two teams, we will have a ninety percent chance of taking that prisoner.”
“Senior sister, you have broken through to that level?” Precia gaped at her Sixth Senior Sister.
The position of leader of the prison delegation was not something just anyone could hold. Although there was no explicit rule, it was usually reserved for the number one person below the Blood Condensation Realm.
And that leader’s strength was unfathomable. Rumor had it he had reached Second Level Perfection in Sequence Extraordinary Martial Skill. He was a true monster, not someone an ordinary super genius who merely mastered Sequence Extraordinary Martial Skills could resist.
To challenge such a leader, if one’s Sequence Extraordinary Martial Skills had not reached the Second Level Perfection Realm, it was simply impossible.
“Yes. After so many years, I finally broke through,” Xie Feina nodded, a trace of ambition unknowingly igniting in her gaze. “Next, as long as I can obtain the cultivation method above the Blood Condensation Realm from that civilization, I will be qualified to apply to become a preparatory elder.”
She had never taken competition between Bone Forging Realms, or between Blood Condensation Realms, seriously.
Because she had only one goal.
Above Blood Condensation.
And not just any realm above Blood Condensation, but one capable of facing beings above Calamity head-on, to become a true giant within the Four Regions.
Meanwhile, in the reception room of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
“Hall master, why do we need so many quotas? If Earth Star Pharmaceuticals later sends a large number of Blood Condensation Realm experts here, and the Domain City does not intervene, it will be very difficult for us to block them,” Qin Mu said with some concern.
Although Lin Qi had indeed killed the Initial Stage Blood Coagulation Bert, he was still only one person. If Earth Star Pharmaceuticals sent several Blood Condensation Realm experts, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would be doomed. For now, they had no expert or ally they could rely on.
The only thing worth celebrating was that two of the grey-robed disciples had reached the Bone Forging Realm, but in front of Earth Star Pharmaceuticals, that was nothing.
“These quotas are of great use. They are even the key for our martial arts hall to resist Earth Star Pharmaceuticals,” Lin Qi looked at the worried Qin Mu and could not help but laugh, not explaining too much. “All right, you must work hard on cultivation during this time. Now that Yinuo, the former leader of the Light Chasing garrison, has joined us, if you and Meng Wei do not improve quickly, it will be hard to keep your vice leader positions.”
For other factions, the number of quotas for Wushan Prison might not be very useful. Many factions could not even gather one hundred qualified people, since anyone not in the Bone Forging Realm would be going to their death in Wushan Prison.
But for him, it was different.
No matter how weak they are, players are still players. If their strength is insufficient, they will make up for it with numbers and wage a war of attrition. He did not believe anyone could outlast the players.
As long as he set a resurrection point inside Wushan Prison, the entire Wushan Prison could become his back garden. By then, all of that alien civilization’s skill inheritance would become his.
He did not believe that Earth Star Pharmaceuticals’ skills could surpass the skills of a civilization that had once produced demigods. In his transcendent state, relying on Startling Swan, his speed in the air already exceeded the speed of sound. Meanwhile, although Blood Condensation Realm experts could fly, it was more like drifting; their speed was nowhere near as fast as on the ground. This was true even for High-level Blood Condensation Realm experts. If he wanted to run, there was truly no Blood Condensation Realm Martial Artist who could do anything to him.
As for those above Blood Condensation, it was absolutely forbidden for them to step into foreign regions by decree of the various domains. He did not know why, but this rule was the main reason Holy Blood Mercenary Group could confront Red Moon Merchant Guild and remain unscathed.
If he truly could not defeat Earth Star Pharmaceuticals, he could imitate Smiling Skull and hide in the Mountain of the Dead, slowly letting players develop inside the prison and not step out until they reached above Blood Condensation.
Of course, he would not let just any player enter Wushan Prison to develop. At the very least, for the sake of Wushan Prison’s dignity, he would set the requirement that only those at martial artist level could participate in this special super-large dungeon.
Once Lin Qi made the announcement, all the players in the martial arts hall went wild.
“Damn! What is this? A thousand-man super-large team dungeon!”
“Explore the entire Wushan Prison, and after completing the main quest, capture guard robots and hand them over to the hall for a chance to gain qualification to learn Sequence Extraordinary Martial Skills and cultivation methods for hidden advanced professions. Is this dungeon really this generous?”
“Are they unlocking hidden advanced professions?”
“Why is it only open to martial artists? I am a newcomer who has only been here a few days, what should I do?”
“There are still several days before the dungeon starts. If newcomers are currently limit apprentices, they can still try to rush it.”
“I heard that after class change into an advanced profession you become insanely strong, with outrageous attributes. I wonder how strong these hidden advanced professions will be. Will they be even stronger?”
“No way, I have to cultivate, I have to break through to martial artist! I must get this hidden advanced profession!”
The players who received the news were all boiling with excitement. They had never expected the game manufacturer to suddenly drop such a huge event in silence. Not only could they learn higher-level martial skills, but hidden advanced professions were also being unlocked. They had no choice but to go all out.
A few days later, a sky battleship hovered above Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, filling all the powers of the City of Light Chasing with shock and curiosity—not just curiosity about the fact that this sky battleship came from the Domain City, but even more shock at the strength of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
At a glance, all the grey-robed disciples of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were martial artists, and there were more than a thousand of them.
Even Precia, who had come as a liaison, widened her beautiful eyes at this scene.
“How can there be so many grey-robed martial artists? Were Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s disciples grown out of the ground?”
Among these grey-robed disciples, not only were they all martial artists, but many had terrifying qi and blood that even made her feel alarmed. Compared to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall she had seen just a few days ago, it was like heaven and earth.
(The chapter ends here.)
