However, Ethan had heard before that entering the Training Trial was never as simple as it sounded.

"I heard the Training Trial has many restrictions," Ethan asked again, his tone calm.

"Is that true or false?"

"The restrictions are real," the rat demon replied without hesitation.

"The Training Trial has been opened hundreds of times. By now, everyone understands its rules."

"Supremes cannot enter."

"The moment someone at the Supreme Realm approaches the entrance, they'll be rejected by the secret realm itself."

"Unless…" the rat demon lowered his voice, "you use special secret techniques or rare spiritual weapons to suppress your cultivation realm and aura, deceive the entrance rules, and slip inside."

"But even if you succeed, the laws inside the Training Trial Secret Realm will suppress your strength. You won't be able to recover your original realm while you're inside."

"Even so," he continued, "those Supremes who forcibly suppress their cultivation still hold an advantage. Their combat experience is deeper, and their physical bodies are far stronger than ordinary cultivators."

Ethan's eyes flickered slightly.

"And physical strength?" he asked.

"That won't be suppressed," the rat demon said firmly.

"Inside the Training Trial, physical power is treated differently."

"But the Ultimate Supreme is another matter," he added quickly.

"No one knows why, but no matter how an Ultimate Supreme suppresses their realm, they cannot enter the Training Trial Secret Realm at all. They will be forcefully expelled."

"That realm is a hard limit."

The rat demon spoke fluently, as if reciting something he had repeated countless times.

"You really know a lot," Ethan said with a faint smile.

The rat demon scratched his head awkwardly. "I've heard it since I was young. People near Blue-Wave City talk about it every year."

Ethan nodded inwardly.

That explained it.

If this rat demon truly lived near Blue-Wave City, it made sense he would know the internal rules so clearly.

"If the boss wants to enter the Training Trial," the rat demon hesitated before continuing,

"you might need to buy a quota."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Buy one?"

"Of course," the rat demon said naturally.

"Every time the Training Trial opens, some forces sell quotas."

"In exchange for treasures of equal value."

"Because the Training Trial Secret Realm is extremely dangerous," he explained seriously.

"For every batch that enters, only around twenty to thirty percent come out alive."

"And among those survivors, only a handful gain any real benefits."

"As for the legendary inheritance left behind by the Emperor Sage…" the rat demon shook his head.

"No one has ever truly obtained it for tens of thousands of years."

"So some clans would rather sell the quota than gamble with the lives of their geniuses."

Ethan listened quietly.

He understood this logic very well.

The Training Trial was a gamble.

A ruthless one.

Those sent inside were elite disciples, carefully cultivated with enormous resources. Losing one was a devastating blow to any faction.

From that perspective, selling a quota in exchange for valuable treasures was often the safer choice.

Yet cultivators were never rational creatures.

Every cultivator believed they were the exception.

That they would be the one to survive.

The one to seize fortune.

The one to defy fate.

"That's all very reasonable," Ethan said calmly.

He already had an answer in his heart.

He could force his way in—but there was no need.

Low-key entry, steady development.

That had always been his way.

"Is there any other information?" Ethan asked.

"About the environment inside the secret realm, or the content of the trial?"

The rat demon shook his head helplessly. "Boss, I've never entered it myself. I only know that it's extremely dangerous. That's all."

"That's enough," Ethan said.

"Thank you."

He casually tossed a small pouch over.

The rat demon instinctively caught it.

When he opened it, his breath stopped.

Inside were ten top-grade spiritual crystals, each one gleaming with pure energy.

For someone like him, this was a fortune that could change his family's life.

The rat demon didn't think about cultivating faster.

He thought about warm meals.

A stable home.

And perhaps disappearing with a little demon lady for a long, long while.

"Thank you, Mr. Noah! Thank you, Mr. Noah!"

He bowed repeatedly, his voice trembling with excitement.

If there weren't so many eyes around, he would have knelt on the spot.

"You earned it," Ethan said lightly.

"I'm leaving."

As Ethan turned to go, the rat demon suddenly hesitated.

"Mr. Noah," he said cautiously, lowering his voice, "when you reach Blue-Wave City… there's one force you should pay attention to."

Ethan paused.

"Which one?"

"The Palace of the Four Cycles."

Ethan turned his head slightly. "What's special about them?"

"I can't explain it clearly," the rat demon whispered.

"I've just heard rumors. Their actions are strange, and many outsiders have died at their hands."

"If you weren't so generous, I wouldn't dare mention it."

"I see," Ethan said softly.

A faint smile curved his lips.

"Interesting…"

He said nothing more and walked away.

Behind him, the rat demon stared at his back with gratitude, feeling that fate had smiled upon him today.

After a moment, he shook his head and returned to the inn.

"Brother!" he shouted, throwing an arm around the cat demon.

"Let's go to the brothel tonight! Two courtesans each!"

The cat demon's eyes widened. "Brother rat… did you get rich?"

…

The moment Ethan stepped out of the inn, a group of people in black robes and bamboo hats passed by him.

He suddenly stopped.

His brows knitted together as he slowly turned his head.

The group moved in silence.

At the front walked a woman with a voluptuous figure. Even under loose robes, her curves were impossible to hide.

Behind her, several figures followed closely.

Their white ears and tails marked them as white fox demons at first glance.

But Ethan's eyes narrowed.

The demonic aura was wrong.

The tails and ears were disguises.

These people were not fox demons at all.

In Netherfall City, many hid their true identities, just as Ethan did.

That alone wasn't enough to catch his attention.

What truly made him stop was the aura they exuded.

Familiar.

Oppressive.

Demonic.

Though heavily suppressed, it could not escape Ethan's perception.

"This feeling…"

Ethan's gaze deepened.

"It's demonic… the same aura as that old bastard Azraeth."

"The Black Demon Sect…"

"This group should be members of the Black Demon Sect, or."

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 1 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 2 Extra Chapters

Dragon - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

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