Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 99 The Eternal Cage

The feathered ship sailed into the second layer of the abyss, where the energy concentration suddenly increased by 10% compared to the first layer.

Having just emerged from the abyss passage, and still about 0.5 light-years from the ground of the second level, looking down from above, unlike the first level of the abyss where over 90% of the landscape is barren, sparse vegetation is now more commonly seen on the deep red earth of the second level of the abyss.

The deeper you go, the higher the energy concentration, but the more severe the wind-devouring phenomenon becomes. The plants that survive the wind-devouring phenomenon are mostly special plants with extremely strong rooting ability and that have been infected by the power of the abyss.

If one were not worried about the pollution and erosion of the abyss's power, many of them could probably be used directly as medicine, and would be quite valuable.

The feathered ship flew through the Abyss Passage for two weeks, and it took a full year to descend from the altitude close to the first level of the Abyss to the altitude close to the second level. After flying for another two months on the second level of the Abyss, the first city finally came into view.

This is the Silver Demon Clan's central city on the second level of the Abyss.

As one of the largest cities, it not only has the richest material reserves, but also serves as the administrative center of the forces under the Silver Demon Clan of the second tier.

Most of the lower-class inhabitants on the feathered ship must settle in this city and become people with legal status on the second level.

As the battleground for the Abyss royal families, second only to the tenth-tier Abyss Battlefield, the first level is extremely chaotic.

During the months of scavenging in Blackrock City, whether inside the city or in the wilderness, I often encountered the aftermath of royal battles.

The Abyss royal family always comes and goes like the wind, and every time they trample on others at will, many inferior races are swept into death, just like what Hunzhen first saw.

Aside from exceptions like Old Man Huo, who not only possessed considerable strength but also exceptional survivability, most people on the first floor had experienced the impact of royal battles more than once in their lives.

But if you're unlucky even once, the result is usually a tragic death.

Almost every month, someone dies unexpectedly in every city.

Considering the lifespan of even the weakest star-level life form in the Abyss of Purgatory, this mortality rate is far more than just high.

Because people go missing every so often, the city's management doesn't pay much attention to it, except for a few isolated cases.

This has led to a relatively loose management style.

From Hunzhen's perspective, most of the residents on the first floor struggle to even afford three meals a day and can't save any money. They're all people who know they can't compete for a place on the lower floors and have resigned themselves to fate. Since they can't resist, why not just give up and stay put?

Most of those with a strong will to survive became scavengers, relying on their senses and experience to avoid the occurrence of the wind-devouring phenomenon while gathering enough wealth to desperately escape to the lower levels.

Of course, some scavengers, finding it difficult to amass wealth, went to the other extreme and became spendthrifts, just like most scavengers in Blackrock City.

Those who manage to obtain a ticket to the second level of the abyss are certainly not weak-willed individuals.

Naturally, the beginnings of order were already present on this second layer.

The difference between the first layer and the chaotic one is like heaven and earth.

The feathered ship did not enter the city, but remained suspended in mid-air outside the city walls, and began to lower the crowd down.

However, this process was not so straightforward.

"What? You mean the disembarkation fee? Didn't I already pay to secure a spot?"

Before the gate on the side of the feather ship, a young man at the ninth level of the cosmic level, dressed as a ship's guard, stopped a resident from the first floor.

The guard coldly addressed the resident who wanted to disembark, saying, "I'm sorry, sir, I don't know where your so-called qualifications come from. Everything we do is in accordance with regulations and our procedures are based on your ticket information. Your ticket only allows you to board on the first deck. If you wish to disembark on the second deck, you will need to pay an additional fee."

"I... I already bought a ticket to board the ship, and now you're telling me that boarding and disembarking tickets are sold separately?! Is this how you sell tickets?"

The simply dressed scavenger was furious. This was money he had saved up over decades of risking his life to be a scavenger!

"Sir, I think your statement is somewhat biased. There are quite a few people who simply want to experience flying on a feathered ship and take a sightseeing trip on it."

The young guard glanced at the several ashen-faced men in the group behind the man and said, "Sir, there are many more people behind you who need to disembark. If you do not wish to disembark, you can wait for the ship to return to the first level after its natural voyage. Thank you for your cooperation."

The frugal man gritted his teeth, finally unable to bear the thought of his years of hard work going down the drain, and asked, "How much?"

The young guard calmly extended his hand: "Cheng Hui, a White Demon Body."

The unassuming man's eyes widened in shock: "You... why don't you just rob me?!"

Seeing this, Hunzhen frowned slightly.

Even in Blackrock City, where the competition isn't particularly fierce, five White Demon Bodies are needed for a single lower-level spot.

The conversion rules between Demon Fruits vary in value, ranging from the cheapest gray-tier demon lord to the next higher white-tier demon body, with a difference of a hundredfold.

Five white demon bodies would equal five hundred gray demon heads, and five thousand gray demon bodies.

If a normal scavenger doesn't slack off like the scavengers in Blackrock City, after deducting basic food expenses and housing taxes, they can only earn about ten gray demon heads a month at most.

To earn five White Demon Bodies, one would have to risk being devoured by the wind and work tirelessly for thirty to fifty years.

If Hunzhen hadn't taken the belongings of Old Man Huo and the others, even if he had tried his best to speed up his scavenging, it would have taken him at least a few more years to collect them all.

The young guard only needed a white demon body to disembark, which is equivalent to taking ten years' worth of income from someone in one go. How could anyone not be on guard?

"Surprised?"

Noticing Hunzhen's frown, Xingluo walked to Hunzhen's side, shook his head, and said in a telepathic message, "I think you've guessed it too. This so-called disembarkation fee is not a rule set by the two royal families, but rather an act of self-determination by the various city lords to extract money from those who try to cross social classes."

Hunzhen pondered, "Is it only the royal family that sets the rule of 'lower-level qualifications'?"

Xingluo nodded: "This portion of wealth is merely an extra for the actual ruler of the Abyss. However, the two royal families know that the ascension path must be strictly controlled, otherwise it will cause chaos. What they care about is the process of handing over the wealth, not the wealth itself."

"However, this 'small amount' of wealth is a tempting prize for the city lords—a prize right before their eyes, incredibly alluring, yet utterly untouchable. Every year, when divided among the various cities, it represents the wealth of several White Demons. Over time, the accumulated wealth is astonishing. Yet, they can barely extract a single drop. Oh, our Blackrock City is an exception; I don't know why it's ended up in this state of retirement. Anyway…"

Xingluo paused, then said, "They eventually joined forces and created an extra fee called 'Disembarkation Fee.' This method not only allowed them to extract profits from the lower classes, but also generated additional growth in their otherwise non-renewable business. After all, most people who wanted to enter the lower classes had a strong yearning for it, and even if they were forced to return, they would work hard to earn money again to grab a spot and board the Feather Ship."

Hunzhen suddenly thought of a point of doubt and asked, "From what you're saying, when the quotas are reported, the royal family members only care about the numbers, but doesn't that raise a problem—"

He pointed towards the Axis City and said, "The number of people settling down doesn't match the quota."

Xingluo smiled slightly and said, "Hunzhen, you are very perceptive. However... the lower-level quota is the lower-level quota, and the number of households is the number of households. For example, people like us who occupy two first- to second-level quotas will not cause two additional households on the second level."

Xingluo glanced at the simple man who had retreated dejectedly, unable to produce any money, and said calmly, "Only the city lords of adjacent levels are connected between different social classes, and they have already formed an alliance of interests. Therefore, as long as he hasn't settled down, he is still considered a resident of the first level. He can only complain that he didn't find out the information properly. Because no one will seek justice for lower-class races, and no one will bother to verify it. As for why he got this spot but didn't go to the second level? Did he miss the opportunity, was he maliciously retaliated against before leaving, or did he change his mind at the last minute? Nobody cares."

Hunzhen's expression turned serious: "You're just telling me these secrets like this?"

Xingluo laughed and said, "So what if we knew? Let alone how many people would believe it, even if some did, it wouldn't change anything. Besides, we're not staying here, so we're no longer in their class. It's alright, it's alright. But you, why aren't you surprised at all after hearing all this?"

Hunzhen remained noncommittal, saying, "Isn't it all the same everywhere? It's nothing more than mutual exploitation and oppression."

Xingluo sighed, "Yes. How is it different?"

He looked up at the sky.

With the foundation of the upper level blocking the view, the area of ​​the dark sky that could be seen was also reduced.

"The world is a giant cage."

"We, the inferior race, do not resist the cage called the two royal families. Instead, we fight and struggle against each other in the cage, and even cruelly use the flesh and blood of our own kind to strengthen the cage that binds us."

"Though you are the ruler of the abyss, in terms of being a prisoner, you are no different from us."

At this moment, looking at Xingluo who was sighing softly, Hunzhen seemed to vaguely see the reason why he dreamed of flying over the sky and breaking free from this abyss world.

His true intentions are still unclear, but at least... Hunzhen has clearly realized that this man does not hold any reverence for the Abyss Royal Family.

After that, just as Xingluo had said, the two of them did not need to pay any disembarkation fees.

After everyone who could pay the disembarkation fee disembarked, a domain lord on the feather ship personally led them to transfer to another feather ship.

Just like the first level, the feather ship accepted those who intended to descend to the third level.

After three months of flying on the second level, the feather ship the two were on finally completed the reception of personnel in the area it was responsible for and set sail again. It took a total of six months to reach the third level of the abyss.

The latest novel is first published here!

The appearance of this third level has been upgraded again, and it can no longer be associated with desolation and barrenness.

The coverage of green vegetation even surpasses that of most cities in Hunzhen's previous life that lacked greenery.

This time, after landing for another year and arriving at Axis City, they did not immediately transfer to the submerged feather ship.

The reason can be easily figured out with a little thought.

This kind of "dedicated line" that runs directly from the third floor to the ninth floor is certainly not as easy to make a round trip as a "bus" that crosses two fixed floors.

In the third layer of the abyss, within the Axis City controlled by the Silver Demon Clan, there is a post station.

After Hunzhen and his companion entered the city, they waited in the guest room here.

There were no feathered ships passing through the post station, but every nook and cranny was spotless, and the most beautiful servants and maids served there.

Shortly after Hunzhen moved in, he discovered something astonishing.

He saw that the Silver Demons had checked into the other guest rooms earlier than they had.

"this?"

If he remembers correctly, the Abyss royal family should be able to adapt directly to the pressure of deep diving without being affected.

Why are they also waiting here for the ship to depart?

But that wasn't all that surprised him.

A week after they checked in.

A domain lord-level Silver Demon arrived at this place with a group of over a hundred universe-level Silver Demons.

Perhaps Xingluo knows something.

But these past few days he seems to have had some inspiration again, and he has been staying in his guest room. Since Hunzhen has received Xingluo's kindness in helping him, it is naturally not appropriate for him to disturb him at this time.

Almost a month had passed since they arrived at the post station, and the long-awaited "private car" finally arrived.

A warship, entirely silver and resembling one clad in silver armor, sailed into the post station.

Without Xingluo's explanation, one can tell its special nature simply by looking at the unique appearance of this feather ship and the fact that its hull material is of high quality.

"This material seems to be even tougher than the flesh and blood armor on that Domain Lord-level Silver Demon."

Hunzhen recalled the physical characteristics of the Domain Lord-level Silver Demon that he had only glimpsed that day, and compared them with this silver feather ship, he made a judgment that he could hardly believe.

After Xingluo's explanation, he already knew that the skeleton and main body of the feather ship were mostly composed of the remains of the Abyss Royal Family.

The remains were clearly of a higher grade than those of ordinary Abyss royal family members—

"Is this a feathered ship made primarily from the remains of core members of the Silver Demon Clan's royal family?"

After eliminating all the impossible possibilities, the remaining conclusion, no matter how incredible, is most likely the answer.

The silver feather ship entered the tarmac, and it seemed that the Silver Ghost Clan led by the Domain Lord were the last passengers of this group.

Naturally, they began boarding the ship.

Hunzhen soon noticed something else that made him quite puzzled.

On the enormous feathered ship, only he and Xingluo, representing the "inferior race," were present.

Without a doubt, their presence here is an exception.

This is a top-tier feathered ship specially supplied to the Abyss Royal Family.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, most of the Silver Demons who arrived here on this feathered ship are going to the battlefield on the first level of the abyss to fight and train.

This situation is probably no different among the Dark Demons on the other side.

Just like Zagalad and Nofelix on that day.

Before even boarding the ship, Hunzhen noticed the gazes cast upon them by the Silver Ghost Clan, as if they had seen something dirty.

This did not surprise him at all. In the eyes of the Abyss royal family, inferior races were synonymous with livestock, slaves, and servants.

For the Silver Demon Clan, riding alongside them would be as unacceptable as an upper-class person seeing two wild boars invited in as guests and seated at the same table as them during a candlelight dinner.

Strangely, no one came to cause trouble for this matter.

As if deliberately sent to slap Hunzhen's inner monologue in the face, just as he was thinking this, the domain lord-level Silver Ghost Clan member suddenly stopped and glared at him: "A filthy existence that has defiled the glory of royal blood."

He looked at Xingluo, making no attempt to hide the disgust in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)