Chapter 437: A Fishball (Two-in-One)

"I—Ice cream—"

Sheng Xia paused, a sudden, deep sense of powerlessness washing over her. "Probably not."

"Okay, that's fine, Miss Sheng. I can pay for one on the way."

Yan Jing nodded.

Sheng Xia opened her mouth, but ultimately dropped her head in defeat. "Okay, Mr. Yan."

The fourth team's guide, the youth, naturally caught sight of this. He looked at Shui Nianshuang beside him in confusion. "What's wrong with her?"

Shui Nianshuang had given him a heads-up yesterday that a weirdo would be arriving today, but he hadn't expected this so-called weirdo to look completely normal.

Instead, it was Sheng Xia who seemed completely abnormal.

Granted, Sheng Xia had the best temper out of all of them.

But it shouldn't be this good.

"Leave it alone,"

Shui Nianshuang said flatly. "Don't get close to that guy, or you'll catch his bad luck."

The youth looked away. Though he had a fiery temper, Sheng Xia hadn't asked for help, so he had no reason to intervene.

After all, if two shrewd people like Shui Nianshuang and Zhou Kai weren't getting involved, it meant the situation was genuinely tricky.

Besides, he'd heard that those two had already reported everything to her, so this was likely her intention as well.

In his eyes, Yan Jing's current behavior was undoubtedly courting death.

That woman was no saint.

Soon, the group finished packing and set off.

The city they were currently in was Chaotic City.

Like Crime City in the First Ring Domain, it was a highly unique existence.

During the day, the broad streets were nearly devoid of pedestrians, forming a stark contrast to the brightly lit, bustling scenes of the previous night.

Sitting in the bus and looking through the windows, the group could feel malicious gazes stabbing out from between the shops and dark corners, silently watching them.

Creeped out by the staring, someone couldn't help but mutter, "Damn it, a place like this should be purged. Every single one of them is just trash who couldn't survive anywhere else and had to hide here. How dare they harbor killing intent toward us? Do they have no idea who we are?"

As his words fell, his team leader, Shui Nianshuang, spoke flatly. "Chaotic City has a very strict promotion mechanism: one mayor, two vice mayors, four secretary-generals, and eight Order chiefs. If you're willing, you can fight your way to the top."

"As long as you win every fight, no one will bat an eye even if you order everyone in this city to die. Furthermore, there's a highly impressive item in this city—one that even she was once tempted by."

"She said that if she were only at the Sixth Tier or the Seventh Rank, that thing would have allowed her to take another step forward."

Hearing this, quite a few people were tempted.

After all, if it was an item that tempted someone of her caliber, the value of such a treasure was hard to imagine.

However, those who were tempted were mostly the more impulsive members; the outstanding individuals across the teams remained perfectly calm.

"I heard from my family that someone who had just advanced to the Seventh Rank once had designs on Chaotic City," said Xie Lingling from Yan Jing's team. "He died."

"He couldn't even get past the final one of the four secretary-generals. After being defeated, he was hammered to death by a vice mayor who rushed over."

The group's expressions changed.

They had assumed a Seventh Rank expert would only lose to the strongest person here, or at the very least, a vice mayor. Yet he hadn't even managed to get past a secretary-general.

The city was clearly far more terrifying than they had imagined.

Seeing the group fall silent, Zhou Kai scoffed and looked back at his own team members. "If anyone wants an in-depth experience of this city, you can get off the bus now."

"As long as you survive out there for a day, you won't need to participate in the trial at this checkpoint. I'll give you full marks."

The crowd remained completely silent.

Except for Yan Jing.

"Miss Sheng, do we have that mechanism on our team?"

He looked at Sheng Xia.

"N-no, we don't have anything like that."

Sheng Xia hurriedly shook her head, her expression turning serious. "All trials must be executed according to procedure. Mr. Yan, you cannot get off the bus."

"What a pity."

Yan Jing sighed, looking at the wide, quiet streets outside the window. "I think learning to be flexible is also very important sometimes."

Sheng Xia forced herself not to reply.

As the vehicle drove on, Yan Jing soon noticed something interesting. "The bus hasn't made a single turn," he pointed out.

"That's right. You fell asleep before we landed yesterday, Mr. Yan, so you missed it. Chaotic City only has one main road stretching forward for nearly a hundred kilometers. That's why there's a strict limit on the number of vehicles in the city."

"Do you see those buildings in the distance?" Sheng Xia continued.

"That's where the city's leaders—the ones Guide Shui just mentioned—are located."

Following Sheng Xia's gesture, Yan Jing looked toward the distant horizon. A few exceptionally tall and bizarrely shaped buildings lined up sequentially along the road.

At the very end of the road, the faint silhouette of a massive house was visible. It featured several colossal chimneys, thick smoke steadily billowing out of them.

"So our trial checkpoints are inside these buildings?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Yes, we'll be checking in sequentially at the buildings of the four secretary-generals," Sheng Xia said.

"And among them is—" Before Yan Jing could finish, Sheng Xia nodded. "The one I told you about beforehand."

"Nice."

Yan Jing nodded.

He didn't actually feel much about this upcoming encounter.

What truly attracted him was what the others had just mentioned—the treasure hidden within the city.

About ten minutes later, the bus stopped in front of a building.

It was a bamboo tower.

It stood hundreds of meters tall and consisted of dozens of floors. From the handrails and carved balustrades to the stairs and pavilions, absolutely everything was made of bamboo. Lacking even a single trace of reinforced concrete, its retro design stood out like a sore thumb amidst the modern architecture.

"Heaven and Earth Restaurant"

The massive wooden signboard hung high at the top of the bamboo tower. Far larger than any typical billboard, it commanded a grand presence.

As soon as he stepped off the bus, Yan Jing smelled a faint, lingering fragrance in the air.

Quite a few stomachs began to rumble.

This wasn't normal. At their level, they should have had absolute control over their bodies.

Yet not only were they unable to control it, some even found themselves growing hungrier by the second.

From within the bamboo tower came the sounds of people clinking glasses and gorging on food.

The noise only seemed to deepen their hunger.

Unable to bear it any longer, someone swallowed hard and reached out to push the door open. However, a guard dressed as a waiter extended a hand to stop him. "You can't enter here, sir."

"Why can't I go in? We're here for the trial—" The man's eyes widened, but before he could finish, the waiter pointed upward. "Then you're in the right place, sir. But you need to head upstairs. This floor is for those below the Third Tier. When you come here, you have to follow the rules."

The man was a little confused. "But you still have to let me go upstairs."

"You'll have to figure that out yourself." The waiter shook his head, then glanced behind the man. "If you don't hurry, you might miss out."

The man was taken aback. He turned around, only to realize that many of the others had already started scaling the exterior of the bamboo tower.

"Hurry up! Don't embarrass us!"

"The target this time is the thirtieth floor."

The youth urged the members of his team, roaring until the veins bulged on his neck. "If anyone places in the bottom five overall, you don't eat today! If anyone takes first place and brings me glory, today's physical punishment is waived!"

"This is part of the trial!"

Realizing that this was the first stage of the trial, everyone immediately deployed their abilities.

Some climbed purely with their bare hands, while others sprouted fleshy wings from their backs and flew straight up. There were also those whose Ritual halos flashed as their bodies levitated into the air...

Others used stranger methods. Xie Lingling, for instance, relied entirely on her long hair. Her black tresses cascaded like a waterfall, continuously extending to hook onto the upper floors and haul her upward.

Naturally, there were a few who possessed neither strong physiques nor mobility techniques. Mostly serving as support in their teams, they were in a very awkward position right now, forced to slowly inch their way up with bodies that were only slightly stronger than those of average humans.

Some felt it was unfair and muttered complaints, only to be coldly shut down by Shui Nianshuang. "Every team has support members. You should be asking yourself why, after all this time, you still haven't found a trusted partner to bring you up."

"If you can't learn to coexist with others, there's no need for support members to exist at all."

Her words rendered them speechless, leaving them with no choice but to climb in silence.

In the end, only five people remained on the ground.

The four guides, and Yan Jing.

"Mr. Yan, why aren't you climbing?"

Sheng Xia asked.

"Do we have physical punishments?" Yan Jing asked.

"—No."

"Then is there a reward for getting up there first?"

"—No."

After answering, Sheng Xia couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. "But didn't you want to eat breakfast, Mr. Yan? If you go up late, the food might be worse."

"Alright, then I'll make my move." Yan Jing suddenly perked up, looking quite spirited and ready for action.

"Wait, hold on a second—" Sheng Xia suddenly felt a wave of uncertainty.

Yan Jing said helplessly, "Miss Sheng, do you want me to be proactive or not?"

"I—I just want to make sure you aren't planning to knock everyone else down." Sheng Xia eyed Yan Jing with deep distrust.

Yan Jing looked greatly surprised.

"Isn't that the rule of this trial game?"

High up on the bamboo tower, quite a few people had already begun fighting, unleashing all their techniques to secure first place.

Sheng Xia felt miserable inside, but she couldn't voice it.

That was indeed the rule of the game, but—

She felt like tearing her hair out, ultimately resigning herself with a sigh. "Mr. Yan, just wait quietly down here. I'll take you up in a moment."

"Alright, thanks." Yan Jing nodded, immediately dropping his battle stance.

The other three watched the exchange with varying expressions.

"Actually, before we came here, Her Ladyship gave me a mission to bring someone back," Shui Nianshuang said, gathering her curled hair. "But she temporarily canceled it later, deciding to swap me out."

"Why?" the youth asked.

"She said my temper wasn't good enough." Shui Nianshuang sighed. "I think she was right."

Soon, when the rest of the group had almost finished their climb, the few people remaining on the ground finally began to move.

Zhou Kai reached out and grabbed the bamboo tower. With a light swing, his body shot upward like an arrow. In an instant, he reached a height of tens of meters; with another swing, he propelled himself further up.

As for the youth, a raging fire ignited in his pupils. He snapped his fingers lightly, and the air currents beneath him rapidly expanded from the heat, launching him straight up.

Shui Nianshuang's method was similar. She condensed a sphere of water beneath herself; as weird energy surged, the water sphere steadily ascended.

"It's our turn."

Sheng Xia sighed and extended her hand. A staircase constructed of white light stretched out from beneath their feet into the air, leading all the way up to the pavilion floor.

"Elegant,"

Yan Jing praised as he walked up the stairs alongside Sheng Xia.

Under the crowd's watchful eyes, the two of them were the last to arrive.

Inside the pavilion sat a massive bronze pot. It was so large that it would take more than ten people to encircle it, and the colorful liquid inside bubbled continuously.

It seemed that part of the strange fragrance everyone had smelled earlier was emanating from it.

"Everyone."

A woman dressed as a Female Cook sat cross-legged on a pillar behind the bronze pot, her arms crossed over her chest. "The 'Robber's Dish' is meant to make you all understand the rules of survival in Chaotic City. Even the simplest act of filling your stomach requires fighting and snatching."

"The ingredients inside this bronze pot can increase your physical strength."

"Every person can take one ingredient from the bronze pot. First come, first served. The brighter the light radiating from the ingredient, the more physical strength it grants."

"There are no limits on the methods you can use, but once someone secures an ingredient, you can no longer attack them. Once the food leaves the pot, even if someone else snatches it, eating it will have no effect."

"Are there any questions?"

She glanced around. With her slightly high cheekbones, her face exuded a unique, overbearing aura, like a lion surveying its territory.

However, Sheng Xia had a bit of PTSD regarding the phrase, "Are there any questions?" Hastily, she turned to look at Yan Jing.

Sure enough—

Yan Jing had already raised his hand. "How often can we eat the ingredients in this pot?"

"Once a day."

The Female Cook glanced at Yan Jing, who was standing the furthest away having arrived last, and spoke flatly.

"Does it increase your strength by a lot?"

Yan Jing asked.

The Female Cook did not answer the question. Instead, she silently rolled up her sleeve and bent her arm.

Unimaginably knotted veins spread across her thick, sturdy arm. Every muscle bulged to an inconceivable degree, looking as though it would burst at any moment, overflowing with a sheer sense of power.

"You can come and experience it yourself." The woman smiled.

Yan Jing wanted to step forward, but Sheng Xia was quick on the draw, immediately grabbing his sleeve.

"Don't go getting handsy with her, or your investor won't be happy to see it."

Sheng Xia said.

Yan Jing actually wanted to point out that his Teacher Shen definitely knew he wasn't trying to get handsy. On second thought, however, he really shouldn't cause trouble, so he stayed put. Instead, he smiled and said, "One more question."

"Speak."

The Female Cook had a poor impression of this guy who had arrived last.

"What is the best ingredient inside?"

Yan Jing asked.

"It's that Fishball."

The Female Cook pointed to the very center of the pot, where a sparkling golden Fishball bobbed in the liquid.

She smiled. "But you won't be able to eat it."

"Why not?"

"First, a lazy fellow like you has already lost too much ground at the starting line; you simply don't deserve the best food. Second, if anyone tries to go for the Fishball, I will personally step in to stop them."

The woman flashed a wicked smile, revealing a sharp canine tooth. "This Fishball only appears once every half a year. It's an ingredient I've reserved for myself."

"Understood. I have no more questions."

Yan Jing smiled warmly.

Beside him, Sheng Xia gulped.

She felt that something was wrong.

Every time Yan Jing's smile grew warmer, she felt that things were about to get worse.

The woman nodded, then declared, "In that case, I announce: begin!"

As if a starting pistol had fired, the crowd exploded from their spots with a bang, sprinting madly toward the bronze pot in the center.

Many of them had already suffered injuries during the climb, but their strikes were as decisive as ever. Countless Ritual lights flashed throughout the hall.

Sheng Xia watched Yan Jing nervously. Seeing that he had no intention of joining the fray, she let out a sigh of relief.

But in the next second...

"Fishball."

Yan Jing suddenly raised his right hand and spoke.

"What Fishball?"

Sheng Xia looked at Yan Jing in confusion.

"This Fishball."

Yan Jing opened his palm. The sparkling golden Fishball lay quietly in his hand, as if it had been there all along.

Sheng Xia immediately whipped her head around in shock to look at the bronze pot. To her disbelief, the Fishball inside the pot was truly gone!

She rapidly turned her head back, only to find that the Fishball in Yan Jing's palm had also vanished!

"Still not full."

Yan Jing's expression was completely calm.

'You ate it way too fast!!'

'No, that's not the main point at all!'

Sheng Xia was losing her mind.

At this moment, quite a few people—including the Female Cook—finally noticed that the Fishball was missing.

The Female Cook's expression changed, and she stood up to look around.

Everyone was clearly still quite a distance from the bronze pot. She had kept her eyes on it the entire time; absolutely no one had gotten close.

'Did the Fishball just vanish out of thin air?!'

What she didn't notice was that, off in the distance, Yan Jing and Sheng Xia were playing poker.

"Why are we playing poker?"

Sheng Xia stared at Yan Jing in deep bewilderment.

"It's a way to hide ourselves, Miss Sheng. I have experience with this."

Yan Jing said, his tone and expression inexplicably reassuring.

"But I didn't even eat anything."

Sheng Xia truly couldn't hold it in anymore.