Chapter 297: The First Stage

Boss Huang had a lot of good items, but all he gave Tang Ling was a common mask, which only covered the upper half of his face.

“Actually, in Darkness Port, even if you brazenly show your face around, no one can do anything to you. Moreover, you are my servant.” Boss Huang was afraid that Tang Ling would refuse to go out, hence his assurance.

Tang Ling picked the mask up and checked it from top to bottom before he pouted. “It’s just a broken mask and you want me to go out?”

“This is the first item that I made since I started producing stuff. It holds a lot of memories and value! If you don’t want it, give it back!” Boss Huang snapped angrily. “Don’t forget. This is what you agreed to do. You’ll pay the price if you refuse to go,” he added a threat before his anger faded.

Tang Ling stuffed the mask into his arm and said in an agitated tone, “Fine, fine, fine, I’ll go! But on one condition—I want to wash my face properly!”

Boss Huang howled with laughter when he heard that Tang Ling wanted to wash his face. Ding Ling and Ding Dong felt odd. Why was the boss so concerned about Tang Ling going out?

After breakfast, Tang Ling continued smithing in the smithing room. Boss Huang had said he would make it in time even after he finished his smithing job.

Tang Ling was a maniac in smithing, so his improvements skyrocketed since his first time. In his first smithing session, he had used around 13 hours to refine five black iron blanks. Now, within 9 hours of working, he could already refine six black iron blanks.

He originally had the strength of eight bulls, but without any merging and after learning the special smithing method, he was able to merge almost one-sixth of his current strength.

He had no comparison and no measurement standard, so he did not know how fast he was in merging his strength. He had no idea which method was faster: the costly way or renting a pressurized room or the time-consuming way to carry the stones on his back.

The anxiety made him unhappy about his growth since he only had half a year to achieve the perfect condition before breaking through. Tang Ling wished he could grow eight more arms to smith so that he could hasten up the process.

Unfortunately, he had to wash his face once every hour that day. The water that he used to wash his face was not normal water. It was the water from the herbal bath that Boss Huang used to tempt him.

It was hilarious because the herbal bathwater somehow reacted badly with the herbal solution that Ro Xin had applied to Tang Ling’s face as a disguise.

The bathwater managed to wash off some of the disguise solution on Tang Ling’s face. That was the reason why Boss Huang grunted in surprise when Tang Ling washed his face during the bath. Because the disguise on his face was somewhat wiped off, it made him look like he was molting.

Being the unkind person he was, Boss Huang did not tell Tang Ling about it throughout the bath. Only on the second day when Ding Ling and Ding Dong laughed at him, Tang Ling found out about his face after looking into the mirror. His face looked like a combination between a Dalmation and a leopard.

He was furious, but after he calmed down, he did not really care about his appearance since he would spend the day smithing in Dvesha Moha. He did not mind if he looked like a Dalmation. However, he was bound to go out and his wicked boss had given him a mask that only covered half of his face. He could not go out with his chin and mouth covered in spots, could he?

Therefore, he muttered his complaints as he washed his face in between his smithing sessions. He blamed Boss Huang for slowing his smithing progression.

******

“Is this where Zero is?” Tang Long raised a curious brow at the giant castle before him.

The castle was the most eye-catching building in the whole deck area. It was said that the building was the Darkness Court headquarters. Of course, Zero was not inside the castle, but around the castle was a circle of large buildings. It was said that only the most prestigious figures of Darkness Port had the right to live in these buildings.

“That black independent building is where Zero lives,” the man beside Tang Long answered respectfully.

Tang Long nodded as his gaze landed on the black building.

Unlike the architectural style of its neighbors, which were filled with all sorts of unique features, this black building stood out in an unusual way. It had no decorations and was built exactly like a square in a dreary black color. It looked depressing, but at the same time, frustrating.

“I wonder what kind of person Zero is…” Tang Long frowned as he had doubts in his heart. Still, he sauntered towards the building. He was only 500 meters away, so he soon reached the front of the black building.

The area was devoid of people. It was unknown whether they purposely stayed away from the building or because the building emanated an unsettling depression and frustration that kept everyone away.

When Tang Long stood in front of the building, he realized that even the birds did not linger around it. In front of him was an iron door in pure black and on the door were two half-faces. One half of the face was smiling warmly, but its smile contained a tinge of insanity. The other half was angrily intimidating, but that angry eye shed a tear. With a single glance, one could tell that that drop of tear held an origin of sorrow.

The two half-faces made up the handle of the door, but Tang Long was fascinated by the faces and did not knock on the door for a while.

Six to seven seconds after he stood in front of the door, the black door opened by itself with an eerie screech, revealing the dark and gloomy space beyond.

“Come in.” A cold but aged voice with a tinge of dignity resonated from behind the door.

Tang Long raised a brow before he walked in. Behind him were three rank 3 Purple Moon Warriors. They wanted to follow him in, but when they got closer to the door, an invisible force pushed them away.

Confused, the three of them looked at each other. They were not just any rank 3 Purple Moon Warriors. Every one of them had a sufficient accumulation of strength before breaking through. They possessed the strength of at least seven bulls that had been fused thoroughly, and they had grown through the ranks with decent progress. They were truly powerful Purple Moon Warriors.

To their shock, they were pushed away by that invisible force so easily! They did not even see the person who did it!

“Wait here.” Tang Long was not concerned.

Qi Dou was his teacher since he was young, and since his teacher had told him to find this Zero, he must see him. Qi Dou would never harm him even though Zero felt dangerous.

“But, Young Master…” The three bodyguards did not dare to leave on order as they could not bear the consequences if anything happened to Tang Long.

Without caring, he waved his hand before stepping into the doorway. The door automatically closed when he entered the building.

The three bodyguards waited outside. Sweat rolled down their foreheads. Despite being in an unsettling state, all they could do was wait and pray for the well-being of Tang Long.

******

The first level of the cabin area was probably the wildest place in all of Darkness Port. It was filled with legends like how people got rich overnight the casino in the old civilization or how people got famous after a single battle.

The place had all sorts of extravagant entertainment in Darkness Port. The businessmen, who commissioned different categories of battle rings, spent a fortune to remodel the place. Not only did they move in entertainment facilities from the old civilization such as a theatre, a karaoke, a spa, and so on, but they even invented all sorts of thrilling entertainment unique to the Purple Moon era alone.

In this place, as long as one had the money, one could get the most beautiful woman that existed. As long as one had the money, one could be treated better than an emperor. As long as one had the money, one could taste the best food in the world, which was not only delicious but full of energy and the various dishes of the world were just an order away.

The major reason behind the prosperity of Darkness Port was this uniquely built battle ring area. It attracted a lot of people from all over the world from different factions.

Important figures would come for the thrill, to spend money and to enjoy, while the others would come in hopes to make money.

Even though it was located in the cabin area, where most of the places were shielded from direct sunlight, the simulated blue sky and palm beaches would make people think that they were having a vacation by the beach. The 3D holographic projection of the Purple Moon era was beyond realistic.

This place was probably even more magnificent than the casino city of the old civilization because the old casino city did not have matches between superhumans, or man versus beast, plus all sorts of extreme challenges against machines!

The fights were real. The thrills of blood splashing and all sorts of amazing talents caused the audience’s adrenaline to skyrocket. What else was more thrilling than gambling at a live match?

Blood and flesh made a star out of the participants. All the stars in the ring were even more famous than any celebrities from the old civilization.

Han Xing was waiting in a small parlor while shoving the bowl of rice into his mouth hungrily. He had already won three continuous matches and his victory rewarded him with the qualification to eat in Block C of the teenage arena.

He was given a bowl for rice and three empty blocks, so he could get two side dishes and a main dish.

He had to admit that the canteen in Block C was great as the meals that they provided contained energy. For example, with the grains that the canteen used to bake the bread, a special method must be used to let the grains collect the moonlight from the Purple Moon or they had to be bathed in the direct light from the Universal Source Rock.

He could choose two side dishes from the dozens of provided choices and all of them were made from at least Level 7 to Level 9 mutated beast meat. The most important thing was other than filling the stomach, the meal was considered a luxurious treat.

Even though the meals he had here were incomparable to the meals he had in the Holy Tree, it was just the start for him. Han Xing believed that in less than 10 days, he could bag several more victories. Then, he would get the qualifications to eat on the higher floor canteen. He heard that the higher floor canteen provided vicious beast meat!

With that in mind, Han Xing shoved the rice into his mouth while looking through the window of the waiting parlor, itching to know who would be his opponent for the day.

The window was directly facing the ring which was built on top of a big piece of black rock. Around the ring were torn flags and broken poles, and there were even many different weapons tainted with blood.

They were all a projection from the 3D holographic system so that the organizers could create a bloody and rusty atmosphere to match the ambiance of the ring.

Since Han Xing had won three consecutive matches, he had started to gain some popularity, so the audience gathered around the ring were piling up as they anticipated his unbroken victory.

It was then that Han Xing’s opponent reached the other side of the ring. His opponent wore a simple attire although it seemed shiny while his looks were nothing stellar either.

Han Xing was a knowledgeable person, so upon a closer look, he knew that the shirt that his opponent wore was made from the silk of a Level 3 mutated insect called the purple-winged ripple silkworm.

As Han Xing moved closer to the opponent, he frowned.

What’s he doing here?

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