Being oppressed by those with authority and power in the Star Alliance was something that every low-leveled civilization had to face. A large majority of low-leveled civilizations chose to comply with them. Compared to survival, respect would forever be last. This was a creature’s instinct, but Earthlings were very strange. They could endure a lot when faced with suffering but placed the most importance on dignity… No one who had experienced this would think that this was very normal, but if one understood the Star Alliance and experienced the oppression from them, one would understand that only high-leveled civilizations could be particular about dignity.

Frankly speaking, Earthlings and the Heavenly Shell race back then were very similar just based on this point alone. Only races who could still maintain their dignity and ideals would be able to truly rise from the quicksand of the bottom-dwelling classes. Of course, having dignity and pride were necessary conditions to rise, but if one wanted to rise, just relying on these two things would not be enough…

Time passed very quickly. Even though they still had many things to talk about, they could not stay here and continue to chat forever.

Wang Zhong wanted Lan Daier to simply resign. He and Lan Daier had definitely been remembered by Kakadinme, and it would not be safe for her to continue staying in the club. He suggested that Lan Daier go to the Heavenly Treasures Street. Sister Ling was also considered a gourmet, and Lan Daier would find a very suitable place there. As for her contract with the Anoma Company, even if she violated her contract, the compensation would not be a high price for the current Lao Wang. Furthermore, they had Celeste with them.

“Actually, I think that it is better to leave Lan Daier here.” Celeste smiled and said, “This is the safest place. After all, this is the property of the Anoma Company, and of the Heavenly Shell race. I will send my regards to the steward and higher-ups in the company too, and Kakadinme will not be able to do anything here. As for the Heavenly Treasures Street that you mentioned, there is no form of protection there. If Kakadinme wants to harm Lan Daier, it will be truly unsafe outside.”

“Wang Zhong, you don’t have to worry about me. It’s good that you’re here. Don’t forget, I’m still your former teacher,” said Lan Daier gently with a smile. She did not want to give Wang Zhong an additional burden. Wang Zhong was shouldering the future of the human race.

After bidding farewell to Lan Daier, they walked out of the club. On the way back to the Heavenly Gates, Celeste finally had the chance to ask Wang Zhong about his future plans. This was also the other main reason why she had invited Wang Zhong today.

She could tell that Wang Zhong badly wanted to join the Pill Refinery Hall. Furthermore, with his standards at refining the level-7 Glazed Crystal Life Extending Pill today, Celeste also felt that Wang Zhong had sufficient qualifications to enter it. The key problem was how he would join the Pill Refinery Hall. She had the intention to help, not simply because she owed him a favor, but also because she had witnessed Wang Zhong’s natural endowments in pill refinery. Celeste felt that it would be a waste of a precious gem if this kind of person remained in the Combat Cultivation Hall.

As one of the ruling classes in the Land, the Heavenly Shell race also had to attract experts. As compared to following ingrained traditions, the Heavenly Shell race more urgently needed to attract new blood. There was no doubt that Celeste took a great liking to Wang Zhong.

Lao Wang had not hidden his desire to enter the Pill Refinery Hall.

“As long as I submit this level-7 pill, I can continue attending Elder Yimo’s classes, right?” After all, Lao Wang still placed more importance on Elder Yimo’s lessons. As for whether he could immediately join the Pill Refinery Hall, his objective desire for this was not particularly strong.

“Elder Yimo’s lessons are the most important, but I feel that for you, entering the Pill Refinery Hall as quickly as possible will give you even more assistance,” Celeste said. “Superficial things like resources and pill refinery conditions are only secondary. What is more important is—”

Celeste paused and cautiously said, “The top ten pupils with the highest number of points in the Pill Refinery Hall will have an opportunity to personally observe Elder Yimo refining pills. I believe you should know what this means.”

He was an almighty Great Master and a great pill-studies master that was acknowledged in the divine territory. No alchemist who had the will to improve would resist the temptation of personally witnessing him refine pills. Just hearing Elder Yimo’s pleasant voice was able to bring about such great inspiration to pill refinery, let alone if they could personally observe his actual pill refinery process in detail.

Wang Zhong could not help but be rather moved. This was obviously a hidden benefit that belonged to the Pill Refinery Hall which was not announced publicly.

“Will I only have a chance at the Pill Refinery Hall quota after the Heavenly Gates gives out the rewards and punishments?”

This had been announced during the Welcome Ceremony.

They believed that the Pill Refinery Hall would definitely push aside a group of people at that time, such as the people who were unable to complete the assignment of refining a level-7 Glazed Crystal Life Extending Pill within the specified time frame. Then, the top scorers from the Combat Cultivation Hall and the Equipment Refinery Hall would be chosen to make up for the numbers. With his pill refinery standards, as well as his points in the Combat Cultivation Hall, it would definitely not be a big problem for him to get in through the standard process. This was the reason Lao Wang was not anxious.

“Rules are rigid, but people are flexible.” Celeste smiled and said, “There will be privileges everywhere, as long as you attract the attention of those in authority. In the future, try to have a high profile while listening to Elder Yimo’s classes in the Pill Refinery Hall. If you have any chance to display yourself, you cannot miss it. With your abilities, as long as you attract Elder Yimo’s attention, I believe that you have a chance—”

Just as Celeste was speaking, her expression suddenly changed, and a wave of spiritual power suddenly burst forth from her body. She had reacted after a lag of less than a second. Wang Zhong had also sensed terrifying, threatening, and fatal harm suddenly coming from the road!

Just a second ago, it had still been bright and sunny. In a moment, it had instantly turned extremely dark, and gloominess grew from all around them for no apparent reason as shadows gathered. Closely after, the space around them suddenly shook. The ground within a 100-meter radius around them turned bright red, and a massive pressure burst forth. In the blink of an eye, countless dense thunderbolts appeared in the sky!

All of these changes occurred too quickly. Furthermore, regardless of whether it was the heavy gravity beneath their feet or the dense thunderbolts in the sky, their power far exceeded the limits that Wang Zhong could endure. Just the gravity alone almost caused him to be unable to step away, let alone run!

What was this?!

He did not know whether this was an array or someone’s killing technique, but one look at the situation and he could tell that this had a Spirit Energy Value of at least one million! This would definitely kill Wang Zhong in seconds. At this moment, even if he had the ability to fight back, he would not be able to accumulate it in time!

At that moment, a crystalline shell-shaped barrier appeared out of thin air and closed together just as the thunderbolts in the sky crashed down. Then, Wang Zhong and Celeste disappeared at the same time.

—— Hetereodimensional Barrier!

This was the legendary Shell True Form of the Heavenly Shell race. The Heavenly Shell race was able to achieve a level-8 civilization not just because of their outstanding natural endowments in pill refinery, but also because of this Heterodimensional Barrier that provided almost absolute defense. It was made through the natural space laws. It was also the superb transformation that the Heavenly Shell race had achieved through evolution and an ultimate technique to protect their lives!

Outside the Heterodimensional Barrier, the violent thunderbolts exploded persistently. If they had still been outside, they would have probably disappeared a long time ago. It was hard to guard against this kind of ambush attack. Celeste might have still been able to endure, but there was no doubt that Wang Zhong would definitely die, even if he relied on his divine cells.

At that moment, the two of them were in absolute safety… Yet, they were in an envious and ambiguous situation. Wang Zhong and Celeste were almost fully hugging each other. The so-called Heterodimensional Barrier could not be cultivated. It was a natural ability that peak members of the Heavenly Shell race possessed and was related to the special characteristics of their race. Thus, two people were now squeezed into a space that could only fit one person…

A second ago, they had both been shocked by this ambush. The next second, even though thunder was rumbling outside and around them, the two, who were almost completely pressed against each other, sensed that something was not right. In some things, the Heavenly Shell race were the complete opposite of the Seductress race. As the daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince, all the more, Celeste had to maintain a distance from the opposite sex. The aura of a mature male assaulted Celeste, causing her body to become somewhat limp.

With a beautiful woman in his hands, some things could not be controlled. Wang Zhong could only do his best not to violate her. However, Wang Zhong’s slight actions in this narrow space caused Celeste’s face to turn even redder.

“You… Don’t move…” The daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince was panting. At that moment, her voice was as fine as a mosquito’s.

Lao Wang felt awkward… He was not considered a veteran in this aspect, but he was also a mature man. He could only shift his attention outwards.

Just now, he had been prepared to pull Celeste into his fragment world, but he never expected Celeste to be even faster than him. The thunderbolts in the air continued in a frenzy. Even through the Heavenly Shell Heterodimensional Barrier that provided absolute defense, Wang Zhong could sense how terrifying this attack was from the brutal thunder and the swaying of the barrier.

The crystalline shell barrier continued to shine, and the terrifying attack did not seem to be able to shake this kind of defense. One could only say that strength was a necessity. Furthermore, the Heavenly Shell race did not have particularly strong combat power among the level-8 civilizations.

The thunderbolts suddenly disappeared, and the gravity vanished. Then the sunny skies returned. Celeste dispersed her true form, and her body went slightly limp. If Wang Zhong had not immediately supported her, she would have almost fallen on her knees to the ground. It was unknown whether this was because of exhaustion or something else.

While Wang Zhong supported Celeste, he was also on guard against anything in the surroundings. There was no antagonistic aura around them. If they had attacked near the Heavenly Gates and were not successful, they would definitely not dare to linger for long.

Celeste was gasping for air as she looked around with lingering fear. They were near the Heavenly Gates’ Boy Mountain, and it was open and spacious all around them. At that moment, the sturdy ground was in a very bad condition after being attacked by the thunderbolts. Furthermore, because of the terrifying gravity they had experienced just now, the ground within a thousand meters around them had caved in, making it seem like a square crater.

“The Rosa Ghost Thunder Killing Array, an assassination array from the underground world…” Besides severe fatigue and weakness on Celeste’s face, there was more anger. “Is the Blood Demon race crazy?! They actually dared to attack near the Heavenly Gates!”

The underground world had assassination methods that were usually arranged in advance. Since the array had been placed, it would not care whether there was anyone else with Wang Zhong. This was the most efficient and safest method, but it was not cheap. With the information network of the underground world, it would definitely not make any mistake in their target.

Thus, there was no need to make any further guesses. First, it was Balor, then it was Kakadinme. It was obvious that the Blood Demon race had the most reasons to want Wang Zhong dead. Celeste had just been unfortunately involved.

“I’m afraid that might not be the case.” They could sense that the murderous intent in the surroundings had dispersed. Since it was just an array, there were no follow-up killing techniques. Thus, Wang Zhong heaved a sigh of relief and responded to Celeste’s guess.

“You think that it’s not the Blood Demon race?”

Wang Zhong shook his head. In reality, he could not be sure either as this was just an innate instinct. Who would immediately assassinate someone when the entire world knew that they had established a profound hatred for that person? If the entire Blood Demon race was made up of fools, they should’ve been more thoroughly foolish and openly send an expert to slaughter them. The success rate would be much higher than using this rigid killing formation.

Celeste knew what Wang Zhong was thinking just by looking at his expression. At that moment, her tone was relaxed, and her emotions had calmed down greatly. “That’s possible, but it is also possible that they are using reverse psychology… It’s hard to tell whether this is real or a sham. Unless we have genuine evidence, who can say for sure?”

When faced with a murderous assault, even the daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince, who had seen this scene countless times, could not help but lose control of herself for a moment. However, Wang Zhong still seemed as if he was unaffected and could still calmly think of a more rational possibility. This kind of attitude was really…

They did not even need to notify the Heavenly Gates. Less than two minutes after he helped Celeste sit by the side to rest, this massive incident had attracted the patrol officers in the Heavenly Gates.

They had dared to set up a killing formation and engage in an assassination. Furthermore, they even ambushed Celeste, the daughter of the Crown Prince… This was truly a taboo. The law enforcement squad immediately gathered. Brain Insects from the insect race used their senses to get to the root of the matter, while the Machinery race relied on their unique examination abilities to scan all the clues in the surroundings.

However, frankly speaking, compared to any other type of incident, anything that had to do with the underground world definitely could not be investigated that easily.

The underground world was not a general term. Instead, it represented the oldest and the most powerful dark power in the divine territory. They had mysteriously existed since the day the divine territory was created. It was said that they were the remnants of some level-9 civilizations that had been destroyed or that had vanished after building the divine territory together with the four races in Heaven. They had gathered, wanting to overturn the authority that the four races in Heaven had over the divine territory. Others said that they were an organization from the Dark World. There were various guesses, but none of these guesses had ever been proven. However, there was one thing. The divine territory did not have jurisdiction over the underground world.

The higher institutions felt that this was due to the overall balance in the divine territory.

Unsurprisingly, the underground world was an old enemy of the Machinery race and the law enforcement squad. If the Machinery race and the law enforcement squad represented justice and the law, then the underground world represented darkness and chaos. Everyone was well-aware of what abilities they had. One enforced the law, while the other violated the law. One investigated, while the other went into hiding. They were like two opposites. Ever since the day the divine territory had been established, this had existed, and they continued to do research on each other. It could be said that 80% to 90% of the Machinery race’s various investigation methods were due to the endless crime methods that the underground world had used. However, after fighting for so many years, there was no true victory or defeat. Could they discover the instigator behind the scenes just based on this Rosa Ghost Thunder Killing Array that had disappeared?

Regardless of whether it was the Law Enforcement Association or the Heavenly Gates, they all knew that this was almost impossible.

There was no doubt that the Blood Demon race was at the top of the suspect list. There was no genuine evidence for now, and they could not do anything against the Blood Demon race. However, it was very obvious that the Heavenly Shell race — or any race that was close to the Heavenly Shell race, such as the Titans and the Natural race — would now look at the Blood Demon race with hatred, as if they would immediately attack them without a word. This was not just among the pupils. Only God knew what the situation was like among the higher-ups. The lives of the Blood Demon race would definitely be rather difficult, at least for this period of time.

…

In reality, Lao Wang still had his doubts about this assassination. His train of thought would not be as simple as the others’. The methods used in the entire incident did not quite resemble that of the Blood Demon race.

Even though Celeste had said that the Blood Demon race was possibly making use of reverse psychology to obscure their judgment and conceal themselves, for some reason, Lao Wang had the intuitive feeling that he did not just offend the Blood Demon race back then.

Of course, regardless of who the true perpetrator was, even if it was just the Blood Demon race, all of the “debts” would definitely land on Lao Wang; this would be true regardless of whether it was because of Balor’s or Kakadinme’s incident, or the various troubles he would cause the Blood Demon race because of this assassination. He would definitely have to fight to his last gasp with the Blood Demon race.

With such a powerful adversary becoming his sworn enemy, there would not be much difference if there was one more or one less trouble. If he could endure against the Blood Demon race, he would definitely be able to endure against the other enemies in the dark. If he could not endure, he would be on the road to destruction regardless of whether there were other enemies in the dark.

Thus, rather than worrying over what might not exist, it would be better to place his thoughts in other areas.

His strength and identity would give him the greatest assurance of safety. Just like what Celeste had said, if he was able to join the Pill Refinery Hall, it would definitely be an advance for his identity and position. Naturally, his safety would also be more assured.

Before the morning light shone, the sky was still cloudy, yet many people had gathered outside the Pill Refinery Hall. Not only had pupils from the Pill Refinery Hall gathered, there were also pupils from the Combat Cultivation Hall and the Equipment Refinery Hall. Furthermore, unlike the usual uneven attendance, almost all 1,500 pupils had gathered.

There was no other reason than today being Elder Yimo’s last public lesson.

According to the regulations that the Pill Refinery Hall had announced, only those who submitted the level-7 Glazed Crystal Life Extending Pill that they had refined themselves by the end of today had the qualifications to attend Elder Yimo’s in-depth classes in the Pill Refinery Hall. As for the others, the public Pill Refinery Hall classes would continue, but several supervisors from the Natural race would be the ones teaching. As compared to Elder Yimo’s profound teachings, it was obvious that the supervisors’ classes were not attractive to the pupils from the Combat Cultivation Hall and the Equipment Refinery Hall. They would only teach some professional knowledge and would not create the inspirations that Elder Yimo did. When outsiders listened to them, it was as if they were listening to divine texts, and would not be inspired and comprehend things through analogies.

“Those who have completed the mission, queue up here and start submitting the pills.”

Elder Yimo had not arrived, but supervisors from the Pill Refinery Hall had already set up temporary tables beside the stone furnace and started to take in the pills for the mission.

There was a line with not many people queued up in front of the tables. There was a total of 100 pupils in the Pill Refinery Hall, but only 60 to 70 people seemed to have been able to complete the level-7 pill mission within the specified time limit. About 30% of the pupils had been eliminated. The ones who had succeeded were the true elites in the Pill Refinery Hall.

At that moment, those who were observing also gathered in the dark or in the dense crowd of people. There were also many people hovering in the air. They all wanted to witness the works of these Pill Refinery Hall geniuses.

“The level-7 pill… Even in the most powerful pill refinery Faction in the Obryan District, probably only a few people would be able to refine the pill, but this is a requirement to maintain one’s level in the Pill Refinery Hall…”

“How freakish. As expected of the elite among the elites in the Land.”

“Ah, we can’t compete, regardless of whether it is in natural endowments or conditions— Have you heard? Just the cost of one batch of ingredients for refining the level-7 Glazed Crystal Life Extending Pill is over 300,000.”

“300,000… As expected of the special privileges that high-leveled civilizations enjoy. If they were from a level-4 civilization, wasting just one batch would have been very difficult to bear.”