Chapter 18: The Red-Haired Young Woman
The black-robed, purple-haired youth had an indifferent expression. He swept his gaze over the others in the hall, then directly paid the fee at the counter and, under the guidance of a staff member, went to check in.
“This is getting more and more interesting.” Linley smiled, holding his wine glass and taking a small sip. “Bebe, the allure of that Netherworld Fruit is truly immense.” As he spoke, Linley also actively spread his divine domain to isolate his and Bebe’s voices from the outside world.
Otherwise, their conversation might provoke others.
“Everyone wants a sudden surge in strength, to obtain a Sovereign artifact and become a Sovereign’s emissary,” Bebe snorted. “I just can’t figure it out. What exactly is that Netherworld Fruit? Eating it actually grants a huge boost in power, and you even get summoned by a Sovereign to become an emissary. I don’t get it, I just don’t get it!”
“I don’t get it either,” Linley shook his head. Suddenly, Linley thought of an item—the blackstone!
The blackstone he had obtained back in the Violet Crystal Mountains!
“That single precious blackstone gave me a massive boost in power. Without it, even with my strength as a Highgod who has fused three profound mysteries, and even adding my innate divine ability, Dragon Roar, and the Coiling Dragon ring, I’d only be at the level of an ordinary Seven Star Fiend. But with that blackstone… I was able to easily kill a Seven Star Fiend.”
Linley suspected that the Netherworld Fruit might be a treasure similar to the blackstone.
“Very likely!”
“In countless years, only three Netherworld Fruits have appeared.” Linley made this guess in his heart.
After finishing their meal in the restaurant, Linley and Bebe left and returned to their standard courtyard lodging.
The days at the hotel were peaceful, and soon it was the fifth day. Early that morning, Linley and Bebe came to the restaurant again, ordered some dishes and two bottles of wine. They found a quiet corner in the restaurant and sat down, ready to eat, drink, and chat while waiting for nightfall.
“Boss, there are a lot of people in the hall today,” Bebe said, scanning the surroundings.
“Everyone is preparing to enter the Netherworld Mountain tonight. They’ve all come out today,” Linley noted, also observing the hall. There were many people in the restaurant, over thirty. And every single one of them was a Highgod. As for what level of Highgod, that couldn’t be determined yet.
Linley couldn’t help but marvel at the immense allure of the Netherworld Fruit.
“But we’re different from them,” Linley transmitted. “Reaching the summit of Netherworld Mountain and meeting the Sovereign is our goal.” As for the Netherworld Fruit, Linley had no real interest in it. Though it was a treasure, only three had appeared in countless years. The difficulty of obtaining it was unimaginable.
“Screech—” A chair next to them was pulled out, and the black-robed, purple-haired youth sat down.
Linley glanced at the youth, who was only four or five meters away. “Him again!”
The black-robed, purple-haired youth only ordered wine, nothing else. He sat alone, quietly drinking. Though he simply sat there, Linley felt… this person was like an iceberg. If someone provoked him, he would erupt like a volcano.
“Big Sis, we have guests.” The green-robed youth ran into the hall, followed by a burly young man with a single vertical eye. This burly young man strode in, his single eye casually sweeping over the group in the restaurant.
But with that one glance—
“Hmm?” The burly young man’s expression suddenly darkened. A long blade, a full two meters in length, appeared in his hand, flames swirling around it.
“Swish!”
From the counter to the restaurant, a distance of over twenty meters, the burly one-eyed youth left only a trail of fiery red shadow. The long blade slashed directly toward the black-robed, purple-haired youth’s head. As the blade passed, it left cracks in the space itself.
The suddenness of the attack shocked everyone else in the restaurant.
“Hmph!” The black-robed youth, who had been drinking, let out a low snort. He hurled his wine glass with force. The small glass, crackling with electric light, shot through the air with a low, roaring sound. Like a meteor, it smashed directly onto the blade’s edge. A deep, vibrating clash rang out—
The glass instantly turned to powder.
But the black-robed youth himself dissipated, retreating rapidly as streaks of electric snakes. “Stop!” The green-robed woman at the counter couldn’t help but shout angrily.
However, the burly one-eyed youth paid no attention to the green-robed woman. Like a divine dragon soaring into the sky, he pursued the purple-haired youth with his blade. His speed was so extreme that it caused violent spatial tremors. The ripples of these tremors spread out, turning tables, chairs, bottles, and dishes into powder.
“You’re asking for death!”
A low, hoarse voice echoed through the restaurant as a flash of eerie lightning lit up.
“Bang!” The fiery red figure and the lightning figure clashed in the restaurant.
“Whoosh!” The two figures immediately retreated in opposite directions!
The fiery red figure was about to crash into the counter. The green-robed woman inside, her face cold, flipped her delicate left hand. Her palm turned emerald green, almost transparent like jade. This jade-like palm directly slapped onto the fiery red figure.
“Bang!” The retreating fiery red figure was stopped in its tracks by this slap.
Meanwhile, the lightning figure, as it retreated, clearly affected Linley and Bebe, who were nearby. Linley frowned but kept holding his wine glass. A layer of earthy yellow light naturally emanated from his body, forming a hemispherical shield that protected both himself and Bebe.
Blackstone space—repulsive force!
As the lightning figure’s retreating form entered the blackstone space, it was repelled by the astonishing force, staggering before stabilizing. The purple-haired youth, his body flickering with lightning, turned his head to look at Linley. His eyes held undisguised shock and fervor.
“So strong!” This purple-haired youth actually felt a surge of battle intent.
“Daring to cause trouble in our Netherworld Hotel, you have quite the nerve!” An angry shout rang out as the green-robed woman stepped out from behind the counter, glaring at the two who had just fought. But the two combatants were now staring at each other, not even glancing at the green-robed woman.
“Buron!” The burly one-eyed youth glared at the purple-haired youth. “What a coincidence, running into you here!”
“You’re still too weak. Come find me when you’re stronger,” the purple-haired youth said coldly. Then he glanced at Linley nearby, his icy gaze filled with intense battle intent. The black-robed, purple-haired youth had clearly noticed Linley’s strength and was eager to fight him.
The other Highgods in the restaurant watched this scene in shock.
“So strong,” they thought, trembling inwardly.
The burly one-eyed youth, the purple-haired youth, the green-robed woman, and Linley—all had briefly revealed some of their power in that instant. But even that glimpse was enough to make the others’ hearts quake.
“You two!” The green-robed woman’s face was like a sheet of ice. “You’ve gone too far!”
“Swish!”
The green-robed woman charged directly at the burly one-eyed youth. Countless green palm shadows appeared, each looking so soft and weak. The burly one-eyed youth roared and slashed his blade fiercely at the green-robed woman.
“Pfft!” “Pfft!” “Pfft!”
The green palm shadows struck the long blade. The blade, capable of tearing space, became entangled in the sea of green palm shadows. Other palm shadows then slammed into the burly one-eyed youth’s chest. “Crack!” The burly youth’s chest caved in, blood spraying as he was sent flying.
This scene silenced the restaurant instantly.
“Oh!” Linley’s eyes lit up. “A water-element expert!”
The green-robed woman who collected fees at the Netherworld Hotel was actually an expert close to the Seven Star Fiend level.
“And you!” The green-robed woman turned to the black-robed, purple-haired youth. “I’ll have you leave too!” With a flick of her hand, she produced an emerald-green whip. The whip instantly transformed into countless willow branches, snaking toward the purple-haired youth.
The purple-haired youth’s eyes lit up.
“Good!” With a roar, a dazzling, blinding bolt of purple lightning appeared. An eerie sword shadow tore through the countless willow branches, slashing at the green-robed woman.
“Bang!” The countless willow branches all collapsed, and the green-robed woman was forced back.
“You’re no match for me,” the black-robed, purple-haired youth declared arrogantly.
“Boss, this guy is really strong,” Bebe transmitted in praise. Linley nodded slightly. “His lightning sword technique is quite eerie, very similar to my Violet Blood Soft Sword.”
Just then—
“Thump, thump.” Footsteps sounded on the hotel stairs. The red-haired, pretty young woman, carrying a fishing rod and a small bucket, came down. Her brows furrowed slightly as she coldly glanced at the black-robed, purple-haired youth. “What’s going on?”
“Boss!” The green-robed woman immediately bowed slightly. “This purple-haired youth and that outsider started a fight here. But this purple-haired youth is very strong, stronger than me. I can’t handle him.”
“Thump, thump.” The red-haired young woman, carrying her fishing rod, walked step by step toward the purple-haired youth, a faint smile on her face. “Daring to cause trouble in our hotel, you’ve got some nerve! I won’t make you pay for the damages, but… there must still be a punishment.” As she spoke, the purple-haired youth sneered.
“Swish!”
The red-haired young woman suddenly flicked her fishing rod. The fishing line traced a strange trajectory, directly winding toward the purple-haired youth.
“Hmph!” With a cold snort, the purple-haired youth’s body shot forward. The lightning sword in his hand flashed across the air, space seeming to crack.
“Whoosh!” The moment the lightning sword touched the fishing line, the entire sword slid to the side. The purple-haired youth’s body uncontrollably tilted, and his sword’s deflection swept toward other guests who were drinking and watching.
Those people scrambled to dodge. The sword was too fast, and this errant swing affected guests within a dozen meters, including Linley and Bebe. The other Highgods dodged, but Linley and Bebe didn’t move, because—
“Pfft!” A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the lightning sword’s blade.
The purple-haired youth was stunned, and the red-haired young woman also looked over in surprise.
Bebe, holding the lightning sword with his right hand, said discontentedly, “Hey, we weren’t fighting in your hotel. If you two want to fight, fine, but don’t disturb me and my boss while we’re drinking!” He then casually tossed the lightning sword aside. This scene left the entire restaurant dumbfounded.
A Seven Star Fiend’s sword strike, caught with a bare hand?
Linley couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. Even if he himself dragonized and tried to catch it, even if he succeeded, he’d be injured. There was no way he could do it like Bebe, with his hand completely unharmed.
“Oh… impressive.” The red-haired young woman smiled. “You’re right. We shouldn’t disturb you.”
With that, the red-haired young woman flicked her fishing rod again. The fishing line began to dance wildly. Strangely, under the line’s swirling, the entire space rippled like waves. A spatial vortex formed, directly enveloping the purple-haired youth.
Linley and Bebe’s expressions changed instantly.
“A super expert! A water-element super expert!” Linley was shocked. The swirling of the fishing line caused the entire space to tremble and rotate. In a daze, Linley felt as if countless invisible spatial threads were twisting and tangling together, forming a dense net covering the purple-haired youth. The youth was like a fish!
No matter how desperately he struggled, he was bound tighter and tighter by the countless spatial threads.
In the blink of an eye—
The fishing line had completely bound the purple-haired youth. A green light flickered on the line, and the youth couldn’t move at all. His eyes were filled with nothing but terror. He stared at the red-haired young woman in disbelief. “You? Who are you?” He was at least a Seven Star Fiend, but compared to this red-haired young woman, he was far inferior.
“You can’t be an ordinary member of Emerald Castle. Yes, you must be… one of the castle lords of Emerald Castle!” the purple-haired youth quickly said.