The Machinery race had already obtained reports regarding Earthlings tyrannizing the Heavenly Treasures Street and even intentionally reduced the number of patrol officers there in order to nourish the ambition of these Earthlings and create a better assessment environment for Wang Zhong. Thus, this was not a coincidence. Even Rhode D’s question to Wang Zhong on whether he wanted to take over the Shell Shade Street was a part of the assessment. Asking the Machinery race to help you get around the rules or even propose this in the first place would be overthinking.Of course, the assessee could not know about these. Everything had to be carried out in the dark. Fortunately, Wang Zhong had passed the assessment.

However, this was only the first assessment. There was still a very long path to truly obtaining the trust of the Machinery race.

Old Cow and Mugthol arrived very quickly. When they understood the current situation, they were deeply ashamed.

They knew about Wales Karon gathering a few Earthlings and tyrannizing Heavenly Treasures Street. However, they took Wang Zhong’s reputation into consideration and had closed one eye to this situation. Back then, Old Cow wanted to let Wang Zhong know about this problem, but in the end, he had the attitude that he would wait and see, give indirect advice, and provide the Earthlings with another chance. Thus, he had overlooked this situation.

After all, they were from the same race as Wang Zhong, and he knew that there were only over two hundred Earthlings in the divine territory. Furthermore, most of them had lost contact, and only a few dozen Earthlings were gathered in the Heavenly Treasures Street. Moreover, they had simply caused minor problems like living off others or causing a small commotion. It would have harmed Wang Zhong’s reputation to punish them. However, they had never expected that the Earthlings would dare to seize females in public, finally needing intervention by Wang Zhong.

“Wang Zhong, this is my…” Old Cow felt slightly awkward. Looking at how Wang Zhong had dealt with this incident, Old Cow now knew his attitude towards this. Old Cow had not done his job well. If not, he could have prevented Earthlings from losing their reputation like this.

Wang Zhong waved his hand and did not allow Old Cow to continue talking about this incident. The past was in the past. In the future, the Heavenly Treasures Street would know what to do. “Brother Cow, help my friends to arrange their accommodations.”

Rhode D laughed and interrupted him, “There’s no need. We will go to the court in a while and rest at the law enforcement squad dorms at night. Tomorrow afternoon, the transmission array will send us back to the Heavenly Gates. Just remember to meet us there early.”

Wang Zhong nodded his head and did not insist on them staying. He was planning to bring Rhode D and the others to walk around the Heavenly Treasures Street, but after this incident, he was in no mood for a leisure stroll. He was a frank person. “Sure. Then I’ll look for you tomorrow morning.”

After he bid goodbye to Rhode D and the others, the surrounding neighbors who were watching the commotion also dispersed. Wang Zhong graciously declined his neighbors’ suggestion to set up 300 tables with alcohol in a hotel in order to celebrate. This time, he had come to the Heavenly Treasures Street for official matters.

“Who in the world is it? Why is this so mysterious?” Wang Zhong was also curious. It was fine that Old Cow did not reveal who the person who wanted to meet Wang Zhong was in the letter, but Old Cow would not tell him even after he arrived. Did he have to go to Old Cow’s house and personally meet him?

Old Cow felt awkward as well. “This is their request, but they didn’t explain the reason why either. But relax, it’s a friend you are very familiar with. They have been in my house for three days. Furthermore, they said that it was an important matter. I should not make arbitrary decisions.”

A very familiar friend? Lao Wang thought for a long time, but he did not seem to have any close friends in the divine territory, unless it was an old friend from Earth? However, if it was an old friend from Earth, why did they have to be so mysterious?

They traveled to Old Cow’s house. Then, when Wang Zhong opened the door to the second floor of Old Cow’s house, he immediately saw a familiar figure.

“Grai?!”

He had just experienced a depressing incident that involved disappointing Earthlings, but he never thought that he would be met with a massive surprise soon after.

“Senior Wang Zhong.” Grai turned around and smiled. “Long time no see.”

“Damn, it’s really you!” Wang Zhong was shocked and overjoyed. He walked over and gave Grai a fierce hug. He was surprised that Grai’s body felt rather solid and was different from the average standard of Earthlings that was below the average standard here. It seemed like this little fellow had encountered a miracle after coming to the divine territory.

“Old Cow wasn’t willing to reveal your identity, and I was left guessing who you were. Why were you so mysterious?” Wang Zhong laughed out loud. He pulled on Grai’s hand and sat down before anxiously asking him questions. He had too many things he wanted to know. “Also, how did you find this place? Did wolf goblin Basir look for you? Furthermore, your body… Ha ha ha. Look at me. I’m so excited that I’m asking so many questions, one after another!”

“Don’t blame Old Cow.” Grai laughed and answered, “My current identity is somewhat sensitive. For now, no one is allowed to know that you have a relationship with us, let alone my status as an Earthling.”

“Us?” Lao Wang was rather sensitive and captured this key word. “Who else is with you?”

“You definitely won’t be able to guess.” Grai winked and laughed knowingly. He did not leave Wang Zhong in suspense. “It’s Mu Zi.”

It was actually Mu Zi!

He never expected this, but after hearing news about one of his brothers, Wang Zhong simply felt that blessings followed trials today. There were just too many surprises. “Hurry up and tell me! I want to know everything about you two!”

Grai would definitely not hide anything from Wang Zhong. He had specially come here to tell him a few things.

Unlike Wang Zhong who experienced the blockage of information to the Heavenly Gates to make them focus on cultivation, Grai and Mu Zi had already heard the news about Aiolos. Even though he was in the Arena, Aiolos’s reputation had spread to many places. Of course, his fame was mainly spread among the low- and mid-leveled civilizations.

As the first Earthling who had accumulated his Void Core, he was a forerunner and a pioneer in their civilization! This in itself gave him massive fame, let alone the mighty name that Aiolos had made for himself in the Arena by killing his way through! To be frank, Aiolos’s current reputation was not something that Wang Zhong, who had entered the Heavenly Gates, could compare with.

When Lao Wang heard this news, there was no doubt that he was shocked and excited.

To be honest, after coming to the divine territory, including the journey to the Heavenly Gates, Lao Wang felt that he had been rather successful. However, it was inevitable he would feel that he could not save the situation alone and that he was all alone. It was as if he was opposing the entire world by himself. However, Wang Zhong’s attitude was good enough. If someone else had been in his shoes, they would definitely have become depressed early on.

However, even though his attitude was good, he was bearing too many things, and his burdens were too heavy. Even Lao Wang would frequently feel lonely when he listened to Jhonas’s heartless snore in the quiet night. But now, he had finally heard good news from his comrades! It was as if people had suddenly appeared beside him. He now had support and assistants.

“Have you contacted Aiolos? How is his situation now?” When Wang Zhong heard about Aiolos’s achievements, he was fired up. Back then, if he had not chosen to join the Heavenly Gates, he might have gone to the Arena to train as well, but with the identity of a free being.

Grai shook his head. “Not yet, for now. We only heard some rumors about him. The journey from the underground world was not easy…”

“The underground world?”

Grai smiled and said, “Then I should probably talk about me and Mu Zi. This is also the reason why I cannot expose my identity.”

Frankly speaking, with the legend of the Netherworld King and his identity as the Netherworld River Messenger, the waves that Mu Zi caused in the underground world were definitely much more significant than the reputation that Aiolos had earned for himself in the Arena. Furthermore, unlike how Aiolos had been forced in the Arena, Grai and Mu Zi could truly decide for themselves and were doing splendidly!

“The Arena that Aiolos is in is rather conspicuous. Thus, we haven’t contacted Aiolos for now. On the contrary, after hearing about you, Mu Zi anxiously prompted me to come and look for you.” Grai laughed and said, “Our current identities are rather sensitive. Once people know that the legend of the Netherworld King and the Netherworld River Messenger is simply two Earthlings causing trouble, they will definitely not be able to accept it. When that time comes, it will be ineffective.”

Wang Zhong understood. “So your plans are…”

“In the divine territory, strength is still the standard that everything is assessed and judged by. We don’t have any great plans for now, except to accumulate resources and improve ourselves.” Grai took out an inconspicuous cloth bag. It was gray and radiated a gloomy aura that people detested. One look and one could tell it was a product of the underground world.

He stretched his hand into the bag and dug around. The bag was a spatial storage artifact. In the divine territory, for the dimensional space that was created to not collapse under the extreme gravity and spiritual pressure here, this meant that this was a high-end product. Lao Wang’s fragment world had simply collapsed the moment it came into contact with the air in the divine territory.

He took out three things from the table and placed them on the table.

The first item was a palm-sized square seal with a carving of a coiled dragon on the surface. Upon closer inspection, no spiritual power seemed to be exuded. However, Lao Wang had experienced equipment refinery with Lavel. Thus, he was able to determine that this was a rather exquisite antique equipment just by looking at the shape of this ancient seal. Furthermore, he could sense that massive energy was concealed under the unassuming surface.

The second item was a black banner that was about two meters long. The deathly aura from the banner was extremely heavy. With just the naked eye, Wang Zhong could see wisps of black air on the surface, creating the terrifying feeling of one being bewitched.

The third item seemed rather simple. It was a green mirror. Other than the fact that the material seemed rather strange, there did not seem to be anything prominent about this item.

“This is…” Lao Wang was slightly uncertain.

Grai laughed and said, “Experts occasionally fall into the Netherworld River, and their equipment will naturally be lost within. After countless years, no one knows how many of such treasures have accumulated at the bottom of the Netherworld River. Furthermore, Mu Zi is the only person who can salvage items from the Netherworld River. These were all found by him.”

“Other than these three items, we also salvaged many others. Mu Zi and I were able to use some of these items, while we simply sold some others. However, these items are rather special,” Grai said. “One can see that the level of these three pieces of equipment is much higher. Mu Zi and I are in no lack of money for now, and we felt that it was too much of a pity to sell these objects after some discussion. However, they are all equipment that have been refined previously. Unless someone refines them again, they cannot be used. With our identity in the underground world, finding someone to refine them again will carry a very high risk of exposing ourselves…”

Lao Wang understood. Asking someone to help you refine a piece of level-4 equipment would cost an exorbitant price. Furthermore, even if one had the money, they might not be able to find someone. However, if it only involved refining the equipment using the existing foundation and erasing the mark of the previous owner to make it one’s personal equipment, even a piece of level-2 or level-3 equipment would not be an issue, let alone level-4 equipment.

“I will go back to the Heavenly Gates and ask someone to refine this again.” Lao Wang immediately agreed. “Once it’s done, I will get someone to contact you.”

“These are actually for you.” Grai laughed. “Mu Zi said that these items have extraordinary abilities, and possibly, extraordinary origins. It’s not good to reveal them easily. It would be best if you could refine them yourself.”

With Wang Zhong’s current insight, he might not be able to determine the level of these three artifacts. However, regardless of whether it was in terms of the energy they contained or other aspects, he could see that they were at least above the level-5 artifact that Lavel had previously refined. Furthermore, they did not just surpass that artifact by a small margin. That artifact was no match for these objects at all!

Wang Zhong nodded his head. He knew that one could become a criminal just for owning a precious item. He turned and asked about Grai and Mu Zi’s cultivation in the underground world.

They had increased their spiritual power with the aid of the Netherworld River. For now, Wang Zhong could not understand the principles behind this. In reality, even Grai and Mu Zi had not been fully able to figure them out. They only knew how to use the power of the Netherworld River and reform their cultivation methods, but they did not know the details. Furthermore, their cultivation methods were completely different. Mu Zi’s Netherworld River techniques mainly used deathly aura, while Grai’s Netherworld River blood techniques had the power of his bloodline mixed in. They were still in the process of studying the Netherworld River.

However, they had been dealing with the underground world, as well as the respective top Factions and experts. Thus, they had a rather thorough understanding of the cultivation systems in the divine territory.

“Thunder techniques, goblin arts, and body arts? The cultivation methods of Combat Cultivation pupils?” Grai laughed and said, “These can be called ‘techniques’ as a whole. The power systems in the divine territory are split into three broad categories and do not differ in level.”

“The first is the techniques, which are the greatest in number. The thunder techniques, goblin arts, and body arts that you mentioned are all combat techniques with the physical body as their foundation, which is a type of art. Experts who have reached the peak of arts cultivation are all top kings who are well-read. They fight as they please and have monstrous strength. But in truth, body arts and goblin arts will never beat thunder techniques.”

“The second category is the equipment one uses. Those who are skilled in using equipment do not just use weapons to engage in close-combat slaughter in battle. True artifacts can move mountains, fill oceans, and change the world!”

“The third is pills. Pills can revive the dead, increase combat level, and assist in combat. Furthermore, the divine pills of legend can allow anyone to transcend and advance. They are simply omnipotent!”

“Techniques, pills, and equipment. These three categories can encompass all the cultivation methods in the divine territory.” Then, Grai paused slightly. “Senior, if we Earthlings want to rise, having a few Earthlings with sufficient strength to support us is only the first step. If we are to be able to gain a stable footing, bringing about knowledge for improvement for our entire civilization is more necessary.”

“Perhaps Aiolos, Mu Zi, and I have found our own paths and have no problems in the individual cultivation aspects. However, if we want to help humans accumulate knowledge on the techniques, pills, and equipment, we are helpless even if we want to do it.”

Wang Zhong understood his words. Aiolos, Mu Zi, and Grai had now developed their own cultivation routes. Furthermore, it was obvious that all of them had the confidence to realize certain achievements in the near future and help Earthlings open up a new world. However, pioneering work was easy, but building on and sustaining what had been built was difficult. Supporting a civilization and maintaining a stable footing in the divine territory would still depend on the civilization’s knowledge system.