Chapter 616: Gathering

"Mmm... mhm..."

Mantou didn't catch the underlying meaning in Yan Jing's words and nodded happily.

After resting against Yan Jing's chest for a while, she fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know what was wrong with her lately; she had been unusually sleepy.

Yan Jing found a chair and sat down. Looking at Mantou's peaceful face resting in his arms, he looked up at the sky.

Above Old Sin City, a faint, almost imperceptible curtain of light now draped across the sky.

That curtain of light was transforming this once-forgotten city.

Vegetation grew wild, the sun and moon seemed to be plummeting, and every single resident in the city was experiencing a surge in their Tier.

Such a mutation was definitely not a good thing.

Just as the Inner World was viewed as a catastrophic scourge by the Surface World, if any Domain within the Inner World began undergoing highly uncontrollable mutations, then...

That Domain would become an anomaly.

Something was definitely altering this Domain.

Just as the Dungeon description stated, he had to find the item serving as the source of this change...

Yan Jing's eyes darkened. Only then could he seize the initiative in this Dungeon.

He had two days at most.

Nobody could guarantee what Old Sin City would look like after those two days.

Eerie Capital.

The Fear Family.

"How is the situation now?"

San Yan looked at Yi Dao.

Yi Dao pursed his lips, his expression complicated.

"Hard to describe."

San Yan frowned.

"I'm asking if it's good or bad."

"Bad... hard to answer," Yi Dao replied, practically repeating himself.

San Yan was losing his patience.

"Just tell me, have they arrived?!"

"They've arrived." Yi Dao sighed.

"But everyone has arrived."

"Not just Sin City. Pure Blood City, the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom, the Life Heavenly Kingdom, Train, Immortal Anomaly, and even those guys from Chaos are all here." As San Yan listened, his eyes widened.

"What are so many of them doing here?"

Yi Dao shook his head helplessly.

"I don't know whether to say our luck is good or bad, but there really seems to be something inside Old Sin City."

"What thing?" San Yan froze. He knew what those people from Sin City were after.

But it was impossible for that thing to exist... right?

San Yan fell silent for a moment, his breathing suddenly turning heavy.

He looked at Yi Dao, his already bloodshot eyes appearing even redder.

"Did Yi Ji go to Old Sin City?"

Yi Dao blinked, then took a deep breath.

"Are you saying that kid knew there was something in Old Sin City all along?"

After saying that, he didn't dare utter another word.

If Yi Ji had known about the item in Old Sin City early on, then San Yan's recent publicity campaign was basically shooting himself in the foot.

Or, taking it a step further, why was a greenhorn like Yi Ji so strong in the first place...

Had he already gotten his hands on it?

"Xiao Chuan and Xiao Cheng are both still at home, right?"

After a few seconds of silence, San Yan finally spoke.

Yi Dao paused in surprise before replying.

"That's a bad idea, Big Brother. Wouldn't sending those two just be throwing their lives away?"

"Who said I was just sending them?!"

San Yan clearly couldn't control the fury in his voice. He paused before forcefully lowering his volume.

"You're going too."

"Me?"

Yi Dao pointed at himself.

"And take the Coffins of two of our ancestors with you."

San Yan's words finally stunned Yi Dao into silence.

He hadn't expected San Yan to go completely all out this time, actually intending to use their ultimate "Coffin" reserves.

"Is that really necessary, Brother? They're our own children."

Yi Dao pursed his lips, trying to persuade him.

San Yan's expression remained rigid.

"It's precisely because he is my son that he only has one path to walk. He must obediently take over the Fear Family. One day, he will understand this."

"I've already paved the road he needs, no matter which side it's on."

Hearing this, Yi Dao sighed and turned to leave.

Cat Ship.

Yan Jing stood at the bow of the ship, gazing into the distance.

"How much longer?"

Beside him, Bobo wore a solemn expression.

"It will take most of the day."

"But according to the latest intelligence, several factions have already arrived."

"That Domain is extremely abnormal. All the residents inside seem to have received a mission, turning into game NPCs. If anyone wants to obtain the item, they have to follow the rules of the games within."

"The people from Immortal Anomaly ignored the rules and opened fire directly on the residents of the Domain. Five Ninth Tier and one Tenth Tier expert died."

"They weren't killed by the rules; it's because the residents inside are simply too strong. Under this mutation, even an old man on the side of the street has become a Summit entity."

"Any news on the format of these games?" Yan Jing asked, glancing at the documents Bobo handed him.

"They're all very simple games."

Bobo sighed.

"There's no complex strategy involved. They seem like children's games—riddles, comparing numbers, eating contests, and things like that." Yan Jing looked over the documents.

They contained a more detailed briefing.

It was very straightforward.

By playing games within the mutated Old Sin City, one could earn a pass for each game completed.

Collecting all the passes would make one the winner.

As for the winner's reward.

No one knew.

Yan Jing flipped a few pages further back.

He actually already knew all this information. After all, Yi Ji was currently in Old Sin City with Mantou.

What he wanted to see were updates—how things currently looked from the perspective of the other Domains.

Soon, he found exactly what he was looking for.

Right now, the Domains were roughly divided into two factions.

One faction advocated for a forceful assault.

Even though Old Sin City had mutated, there were no instantaneous rule-based executions. Several powers intended to ally with each other and forcefully conquer the city.

After all, while Immortal Anomaly had lost people this time...

...Old Sin City had also lost quite a few residents.

The other faction advocated for playing the games.

This group preferred sending a few teams to scout the way first, then deploying the true trump cards of their respective Domains later.

Fair competition.

Yan Jing's expression was calm.

He had been in Old Sin City a day ago when Immortal Anomaly launched their forced assault.

The enemy had suddenly attacked, killing several usually active residents. This caused the city's hatred toward outsiders to surge continuously. After Mantou asked for his opinion, she understood that launching a counter-assault would ultimately cost more than they stood to gain, so she could only placate the public every day. But...

Continuing like this was definitely unfeasible.

"Put the word out."

Yan Jing handed the documents back to Bobo, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"Tell them that if they want to force their way in, they can go right ahead."

"But no matter what, I, Cat Fourth Master, will prove that I am the strongest among all the participants of the Advent Day."

"If they refuse to accept that, they can wait there until Cat Fourth Master arrives, and we can see who is superior."

"If they don't even dare to show their faces, only daring to hide behind their elders..."

"Heh, then Cat Fourth Master has no interest in meeting such trash."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Bobo's eyes widened.

In her view, Mao Si's actions were just painting a target on his own back for absolutely no reason.

If it were up to her, the current situation outside was perfectly suited to their tastes.

They could take advantage of the chaos, fish in troubled waters, and maybe even rob a few people along the way.

But Mao Si had already spoken, so naturally, she couldn't object.

She just grumbled a bit in her heart, feeling that such words probably wouldn't have any effect. After all... while Mao Si was strong enough, he wasn't particularly famous in the Inner World yet.

For this kind of declaration, a reputation was very important.

If a person had no fame, whatever they said would likely just be treated as a joke.

However, about an hour or two later, Bobo hurriedly ran over to Yan Jing's side.

"Captain! Over there... quite a few heavenly prodigies from various Domains have responded!"

"Hmm, what's the situation?" Yan Jing took a sip of lychee milk, his expression leisurely.

"The Xue Family Heir has made a statement. The meaning behind his words is exactly the same as yours; he wants to use this opportunity to flaunt his might."

"The youngest son of the Fear Family also stood up, stating that he absolutely will not use any family resources, and he declared that he will win this showdown. The successor of Path of Destiny spoke up as well. He bluntly stated that he has already made a prophecy: all heavenly prodigies who dare not show their faces in this event will lose the protection of the God of Fate."

"Lord Wen also released a statement after receiving the news. He said he is currently in a state of Dao comprehension, and once he is finished, he will participate in the showdown. He doesn't care at all about those who only dare hide behind their elders."

"Besides them, experts from the Peace Heavenly Kingdom, Minhu, and Five Elements Heaven have all spoken up, saying they will only acknowledge those who don't rely on the elders behind them in this match. Oh, right, Mr. Chen also spoke out, saying he will directly discipline his older brothers and sisters."

"You're truly a god! It was practically a single call rallying a hundred responses."

"Now, those Domains that originally wanted to hide their trump cards can no longer keep them hidden."

"The ninth Mechanical Emperor of the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom has emerged, claiming that he will personally slay the Xue Family Heir in this showdown."

"Two of the Three Saints who recently rose to prominence in the Life Heavenly Kingdom have come directly. They claim they will use this battle to announce the absolute dominance of the Life Heavenly Kingdom among the Heavenly Kingdoms. The Son of Chaos of this generation from Chaos has also arrived! Since his birth, Chaos has never let him show his face."

"Things are even more exaggerated over at Immortal Anomaly! They directly sent a candidate known as the Exiled Immortal! Rumor has it that he could combat Tenth Tier experts while only at the Ninth Tier. When he reached the Tenth Tier, he already had no equals within that realm. Now, he only needs to step into the Demigod Realm Stage to secure a place in the Advent Day!"

"News has come out from Train that their youngest-ever Deputy Train Conductor will participate in this showdown. Although he is still a bit green and not as famous as the Deputy Train Conductor of another train, this battle will accelerate his rise to fame. To guarantee his safety, the Train Conductor of the Train of Time has come as well!"

Bobo rattled off all the news she knew in a single breath, leaving her mouth feeling parched.

It wasn't just because she had read too much aloud.

It was truly because each piece of news was more explosive than the last; she was feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

Any single one of these names was enough to shock the Inner World for a year, and any one of them placed in previous generations would have been enough to dominate an entire era. Yet now, they were all appearing at the same time.

Yan Jing began to laugh.

"This is how it should be. This is exactly how it should be."

"Then what about us..."

Bobo looked at Yan Jing tentatively.

But Yan Jing leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

"We'll wait and see."

Half a day later.

Old Sin City.

Outside the city.

The gloomy sky seemed draped in a thin veil of gray gauze, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars, and masking any clustered clouds. A multitude of figures stood like a forest just beyond the road leading into the city.

They were scattered in clusters, standing grouped together. Even without deliberately releasing their auras, they still emanated an utterly terrifying sense of oppression. It was as if merely standing there represented a will of pure destruction.

There were massive gaps in temperament between each group.

One group consisted entirely of handsome men and beautiful women, dressed impeccably and fashionably. Yet, whenever they opened their mouths, a bone-chilling scent of blood hit you right in the face. Another group seemed to share similar temperaments and wore nearly identical attire, but they guarded against each other intensely, their eyes carrying deep hatred. Still others looked completely unrelated to "humans," their massive mechanical bodies exuding a freezing chill.

But no matter which group they belonged to, all eyes were currently fixed on the empty space that had been deliberately left open.

That was the spot reserved for Mao Si.

The very same Mao Si who had been the first to stir up this tidal wave.

Pairs of eyes landed on that clearing, and most contained very little goodwill.

"How much longer do we have to wait for him?"

A voice rang out.

The crowd looked toward the source of the voice.

A group of "monsters" stood there.

Although everyone present could be called a monster, weirdness was relative.

Compared to those guys, the rest of the crowd felt they looked quite approachable.

Some of those figures wore green robes, and beneath those robes were nothing but swirling masses of chaotic gas. Some were the size of a palm, looking like gingerbread men. Others consisted of just a single eyeball, which served as their true body.

And the one who had spoken was a youth standing in the center of the group.

He appeared to be the closest to a "human" among all the figures. Aside from a glass bead embedded in his forehead, he looked entirely like an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old boy.

Faced with the youth's sudden question, although the people around felt it was somewhat inappropriate, no one dared to speak up.

After all, the place those figures hailed from was a First Level Domain.

And it was the most mysterious place among all the First Level Domains:

Chaos.

Moreover, the youth's identity was even more astonishing.

He was the Son of Chaos of this generation.

"We need a little patience, Lord Son of Chaos."

Faced with the Son of Chaos's question, the one who answered him was the figure wearing the green robe.

The Chaos Merchant, Haiti.

Haiti leaned down, moving close to the Son of Chaos, and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Mr. Cat is with Mr. Wen, and Mr. Wen is our friend."

"No matter what, they shouldn't make us wait this long, should they?"

The Son of Chaos frowned.

"Uncle Haiti, you don't need to treat me like a child. So many people are watching; if you have something to say, just say it straight."

Hearing this, Haiti felt a bit awkward. He stood up straight and coughed twice.

"It can't be helped. Everyone is waiting. They should be here soon."

"Why do I get the feeling he leaked the news on purpose and hasn't actually shown up at all?" The Son of Chaos furrowed his brows again.

"I'll give him ten more minutes at most. If he doesn't come, I'm heading in first."

Before his voice had even faded, the Son of Chaos suddenly sensed something and looked up toward the distant horizon.

Following his lead, many figures in the crowd also raised their heads to look at the sky.

Haiti felt it too and tilted his head back.

They saw an "island" flying across the sky, directly blocking out what little light remained and plunging the area into overcast darkness in an instant.

The next second, two figures plummeted from the sky, crashing down into that specially reserved clearing.

"Hello everyone, hello everyone."

Yan Jing stood on Chen Nian's shoulders, raising both hands to salute his surroundings.