A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 623 Young Master of the Yue Family
Ancient totems are carved on the city gate, and the crescent moon has an irregular, broken design with sharp edges like the fangs of a wild beast. Upon closer inspection, the crescent moon seems to conceal the outline of some kind of animal, subtly revealing another meaning.

Shen Tang didn't quite understand it at first; her attention was drawn more to the numbers below the totem.

Nineteen cities.

She turned to look at Bai Lei beside her and asked curiously, "Lei, why is this place called the Nineteenth City?"

Bai Lei explained with a smile, "Although the purification zone only occupies less than 10% of the planet's area, there are many powerful forces and quite a few cities within it. We are located in the nineteenth city on the outermost edge of the jurisdiction, and above us are the eighteenth city, the seventeenth city... and even the legendary first royal city!"

She continued, "Young people like us who have just been promoted are basically assigned to the nineteenth or twentieth city. It's already amazing that we were able to get directly into the nineteenth city! As our ranking improves, we can gradually advance to higher-level cities!"

Cole coldly replied, "Going to a higher-level city is not only a symbol of strength, but also allows you to obtain better resources... If you can enter the legendary First Royal City, that would be proof of being one of the world's top experts!"

Shen Tang seemed thoughtful. "So, every beastman who comes here has this goal in mind. Does that mean the competition inside the purification zone is even fiercer than outside?"

Qin Han stopped and looked back at Shen Tang, surprised that she saw things so clearly.

He nodded and said, "You're right. The purification zone is not the end, but the beginning of new challenges. There's no need for external struggles here, but internal struggles are inevitable."

Every orc in the purification zone will stop at nothing to earn points, trying to climb up the ranks and get more resources.

Far from the polluted areas, unable to hunt polluted species, the streets are full of carefully selected high-scoring teams—the intensity of the infighting is unimaginable.

Even if someone wanted to be content with the status quo and live a peaceful life in the purification zone, it would be impossible.

The principle of "if you don't advance, you fall behind" is perfectly exemplified here.

If they become complacent and unwilling to fight desperately, they will soon be harvested as "resources" by other teams.

Fighting mutants is simply a matter of who is stronger; but here, there's much more to consider than that.

Danger is not only in the open, but also in the shadows.

The danger level in the purification zone is only higher than outside!
The other members of the team gradually realized what was happening. Their initial excitement was dampened, and they slowly calmed down, their hearts racing once again.

The struggle for resources will never end.

They must work harder and beat even more competitors!
"We cannot let our guard down; we must be even more careful in the future."

Qin Han's gaze fell on Shen Tang again, and he instructed, "Stay with us, don't go out alone, and don't get separated."

Shen Tang nodded obediently, "I know! Don't worry, Captain, I definitely won't hold you back!"

Seeing the female's sweet and obedient demeanor, Qin Han's heart softened for some reason. He nodded and led the team to the city center to register their identities and collect their accommodations.

Shen Tang followed behind the group, the smile on her face slowly fading, and her guesses becoming clearer and clearer.

Yes.

Isn't this just like raising a venomous insect?

This seemingly endless promotion system drives the orcs to instinctively fight each other for survival, selecting the strongest among them.

The entire planet has probably already been transformed into a giant testing ground.

The more the orcs kill each other, the more they will believe in the temple, until these selected elites are completely brainwashed and become the temple's most powerful and loyal minions.

"Look!"

"The Divine Legion has arrived!"

"Get out of the way! Don't block the road!"

After registering their identities, the group headed to their accommodation when suddenly excited shouts came from ahead, filled with fervor and awe.

Immediately afterwards, pedestrians on the street parted to the sides like a tide, making way for the imposing army.

The moment Shen Tang saw this army, her eyes turned cold.

This legion is extremely powerful, with all of its thousands of orc warriors reaching the tenth rank! Their expressions are solemn and cold, like emotionless war machines, radiating top-notch terrifying combat power and carrying absolute military deterrence.

"My God, the Divine Blessed Legion is so awesome!"

"Those who can join the legion are all top-notch warriors. I wish I could join someday..."

The surrounding orcs showed a reverence for the Divine Legion that stemmed from their bloodline, even to the point of blind worship.

Shen Tang learned from the excited whispers of the orcs around him that the Divine Blessed Legion was responsible for managing and supervising the movements inside and outside the city, suppressing riots, and maintaining order and stability in the purification zone. They held extremely high prestige among the orcs.

The Legion holds annual selections, open to anyone residing in the Purified Zone, to identify promising newcomers. However, the requirements are extremely stringent; only the most talented orcs are chosen.

This is also the ultimate goal for many young orcs—to join the Divine Legion and become a member of its honor!
Like the other orcs around them, Zhai Chen and his companions were greatly excited to see the legion and dreamed of one day being able to join it.

"The best soldiers will be recruited into the legion, get a better life, and their families will be guaranteed... I don't know if we will have this opportunity in our lifetime."

"We doubt it, but the captain will definitely pull it off!"

As Qin Han listened to his teammates' words, his gaze toward the legion ignited with an obsessive fervor, his cold face filled with determination to win.

He suddenly turned to look at Shen Tang, "This year, I will participate in the legion selection and become a glorious soldier."

Shen Tang was taken aback, but shook her head, "Don't participate."

Qin Han was stunned. "...Why?"

He looked at the female in front of him with a puzzled expression. Females are naturally drawn to strong and outstanding males, and those who can enter the legion are the strongest and best representatives.

No female would not want a beastman serving in the Legion.

Unable to give the real reason, Shen Tang simply brushed it off, saying, "The legion's mission is very dangerous, isn't it? I don't want Captain Qin to take the risk."

What she actually wanted to say was:
I don't want to be your enemy.

Qin Han's throat went dry, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment. This was the first time he had encountered a female who cared about the safety of a male. Others would only fervently support their beastmen joining the legion, hoping to gain more glory and value for themselves.

She is truly extraordinary.

He admitted that he had fallen for her.

Shen Tang didn't notice the man's deep gaze; her attention was also focused on the Legion, making her seem no different from the other females who admired the Legion.

She noticed that the Legion uniforms not only had the totem of the Hand of Creation, but also the crescent moon symbol at the city gate.

She asked casually, "Is the purification zone also under the temple's control?"

Qin Han snapped out of his daze and answered first, "No, the rulers here are the Yue family. The actual control of the nineteen cities is in the hands of the Yue family. The temple only assists in the management."

Shen Tang became even more curious, "The Yue family? Can you tell me about the Yue family? And what about the rulers of other regions?"

She had initially thought that the alien planet was completely under the control of the temple, but it seems that wasn't the case.

There are other high-ranking rulers on this planet.

She remembered the snake clan member who called himself Uncle Xueyinzhou; he seemed to be the elder of the Youshe clan.

Could the Ghost Serpent Clan be one of them?

She seems to be getting closer and closer to the truth.

Zhai Chen flicked her forehead and took the initiative to speak, "Hey, your amnesia is really severe! Let me tell you!"

"The purification zone is controlled by the six major families. The temple and the six major families have a close relationship and cooperate with each other to maintain the operation of the planet. Just consider them as being in cahoots!"

"However, in our view, the two are not quite the same. The six major families have been the rulers from ancient times to the present, while the temple rose later. Rather than a military and political force, it is more like an organization united by faith, which is different from those ruling families in essence."

"Originally, because the wasteland was deteriorating, the higher-ups planned to abandon the lower-class civilians. It was the intervention of the great temple that gave us a way to survive." "But there were too many people at the bottom, and resources were simply not enough to go around. That's how this system of promotion rules gradually came about... The competition is brutal, but it also gave us hope to strive for!"

"So, for many lower-class orcs, the six major families are the rulers, but the temple is their spiritual faith. A delicate balance has been achieved between them, with each not interfering with the other and often cooperating... Of course, this is not something we should worry about; we're lucky to be alive! Hehe!"

Shen Tang seemed to understand something. "So that's how it is. The sign at the city gate belongs to the Yue family. What about the other five major families?"

Bai Lei continued to explain, "The Nineteen Cities are under the jurisdiction of the Yue Family. Further north is the Leopard Clan, followed by the Ancient Clan. To the east is the Nether Serpent Clan, then the Sky City, the Water Clan, and the Parasitic Clan."

Upon hearing the words "Nether Serpent Clan," Shen Tang's spirits lifted, and her breathing became rapid. However, she suppressed her trembling excitement to prevent anyone from noticing anything amiss.

Could the Hidden Boat be among the Ghost Serpent Clan?

That must be his hometown!
Shen Tang said calmly, "I seem to remember something... The Ghost Serpent Clan, I think I have relatives there... How can I get there?"

Yuna curled her lip and sneered, "You're dreaming! We just came up from the wasteland, and you're already thinking about going to the Serpent Clan? Dream on."

Qin Han and the others looked at Shen Tang in surprise. She had relatives in the territory of the Nether Serpent Clan.

But the two places are so far apart, how did she get here?
Bai Lei explained with difficulty, "Xiao Fu, are you sure you're not mistaken? The Ghost Serpent Clan is the farthest from here. There are layers of defenses between their cities, and so far there has not been a successful case of smuggling them out, let alone crossing their territory!"

"Even if we work ourselves to the bone our whole lives, we might not be able to rise to the eighteenth city, let alone go to the territory of the Nether Serpent Clan."

She quickly added, "And whatever you do, don't even think about smuggling yourself in. If you're discovered, you'll be shot dead! Don't do anything irrational."

Although Shen Tang was excited, she had not lost her mind.

Given her current weak strength and the combat power of the Divine Blessing Legion, the success rate of her smuggling is basically zero.

"Hmm... I understand, I won't do anything reckless. I feel a little dizzy, let's go to our place and rest first." Shen Tang gently rubbed her forehead, pretending to be dizzy.

The rest of the team remembered that she had suffered a severe head injury and might have had lasting effects, so they didn't ask any more questions.

After finding a place to stay and buying necessities, they were considered settled in.

Shen Tang couldn't think of a good way to go to the Nether Serpent Clan for the time being, so she had no choice but to stay with the team and live with them.

As for Qin Han and his group, although they no longer need to go out to hunt polluted species, there is a larger points leaderboard in the city center.

Those qualified to enter the Purification City are all top-tier individuals selected from hundreds. The rankings change constantly, and people can be eliminated at any time.

Whenever Qin Han and his team take a break, their ranking drops rapidly. When they first arrived, their ranking was already very low, almost at the bottom, and close to the elimination threshold.

Purification City is not a paradise where one can live a life of ease; it believes more in the survival of the fittest. Once your ranking falls below the red line, you will be labeled as "weak," lose your right to reside and resources, and be expelled back to the wasteland.

Who among the strong who fought their way in would willingly return to such a place?

So they all fought with all their might, desperately climbing upwards.

Qin Han and his team had to fight in the arena every day, earning points in the daily life-or-death battles to avoid being eliminated.

Two weeks later, the system finally woke up!

[Host, I'm back! This system has installed an auto-upgrade program and can now block the main system's detection!]

As the familiar voice rang out, Shen Tang almost burst into tears, as if a person who had been wandering alone in a strange world had finally found a companion!
"You're finally back! I missed you so much!"

[Hehe, I missed you too! How have you been lately, host? Have you gotten any important intelligence?]

Shen Tang nodded, "In the past half month, I have basically figured out the situation of this world. I never expected that the 'Hand of Creation' hidden behind the scenes would be regarded as a faith and savior by the orcs here. How ironic."

She took out a map of power she had bought at the market from her spatial storage and continued, "Look at the area under the jurisdiction of the Nether Serpent Clan. This should be Yin Zhou's hometown... I heard that the Nether Serpent Clan's royal city is currently hunting down a spy, and I suspect it's Yin Zhou!"

"The cities are strictly hierarchical and heavily guarded. If that spy really is Yin Zhou, then it's good news amidst misfortune..."

"This means he hasn't been captured yet and is still alive... but he probably hasn't escaped the territory of the Dark Serpent Clan, and the situation is still dangerous. I want to find him as soon as possible!"

The system understood her anxiety, but regretfully said, "I also really want to help the host find a beast mate, but my shielding function cannot completely counter the main system. If I use teleportation, it may be detected by the main system, bringing more danger. This function cannot be activated for the time being."

Shen Tang had anticipated this and didn't have much hope. "Then we can only use the second method. Promotion here is very strict. It's difficult to go from low to high, but it's easy to go from high to low."

"The wasteland is a chaotic, unmanaged area. I can go back to the wasteland first, detour to the vicinity of the Spectral Serpent Clan's territory, then try to accumulate points to enter the Spectral Serpent Clan's purification zone, and gradually rise to the royal city..."

"If we're lucky, we might be able to find the Hidden Boat..."

But this method is too difficult, and Shen Tang herself has little confidence in it. Moreover, she doesn't even have any superpowers right now, so going to the wasteland would be tantamount to suicide.

"Oh right, system, I remember I also have a book on high-level superpower awakening."

[Hmm, are you sure you want to use it, host?]

"determine."

A semi-transparent light screen appeared in front of Shen Tang, with a closed book in the center.

She tapped her fingertips lightly, her heart pounding with tension.

Hopefully, her unlucky draw will finally turn around and she'll get a useful skill!
Please please!

The believer is willing to exchange twenty pounds of fat for it!
A blinding golden light flashed, and the system excitedly squawked like a rooster.

[Congratulations, host! You have drawn a top-tier superpower—]

copy!】

Shen Tang's eyes lit up instantly, and her heart was pounding in her chest!

It's a top-tier copy!
She can use this ability to copy other people's abilities, inheriting all their levels and skills!
Although this ability itself has no power, and its strength depends entirely on the object being copied, this mechanism is absolutely heaven-defying!

The system exclaimed happily, "[Host is indeed the chosen one! With this ability, I believe your plan will definitely succeed!]"

Shen Tang's heart finally settled down.

Now, she has to consider replicating a powerful and useful ability.

There are many powerful individuals in this city. She is currently only at the beginner level of copying, and can only copy one item at a time. She must choose the one with the highest value!

Who to choose?
Qin Han has good talent, but he's not top-tier. Moreover, it's difficult to get close to him, and explaining things would be troublesome, so he's not the best choice.

Shen Tang decided to wander around the city more and find a better target.

So these days, Shen Tang often wanders around the city alone. Qin Han and the others are playing matches all day, and no one is watching her, so Shen Tang is happy to be free.

That day, Shen Tang was strolling around the street as usual when a commotion suddenly broke out ahead.

Someone in the crowd cheered, "The young master of the Yue family has arrived!"

Many females were so excited that they pushed forward.

Shen Tang also subconsciously glanced at the system map.

That one glance stunned her, and she even wondered if she was hallucinating.

The young man, surrounded by the crowd, was tall and imposing, with short, silver-gray hair and strikingly handsome, sculpted features. His silver-white wolf ears and wolf tail revealed his race.

Male wolves are not uncommon.
But most importantly—

His appearance,

It's clearly Yun Han!
Two parts combined, 4,000 words~

good night!