AZI Volume 3 Chapter 46

"Th-That's all I know… I swear, ancestor…"

With his arms bound in fishing lines, and his face swollen to the point of beyond recognition, Chen Lan, who had finished giving away everything that he knew, looks to Long Hua—with evident dread in his eyes.

"…"

"Hmm."

Attempting to organize their thoughts, Long Hua and Yu Ji contemplate in silence.

According to Chen Lan, the interior structure of the Ashen River Hall is divided into five ranks.

The first is just an ordinary member, who is mainly in charge of logistics and odd jobs.

The second are the inner members, who are made to fight Immortals, and perform hunting and gathering tasks throughout the lands of the inner domain.

The third are core members, the ranks that Shao Tianming and Wang Yongning are a part of. These individuals are the ones who have been sent over to the outer domain to oversee the different branches of the hall in this world.

The fourth are the executives of the hall, who are charged with maintaining order and making important decisions.

Finally, there is the hall master, who has the final say in all major decisions.

Other than that, Long Hua, and Yu Ji had both acquired more information on the inner domain's land itself.

The lands of the inner domain are divided into five levels as well, and throughout its four seasons, the world is always filled with snow and ice—making it a world that is difficult to survive in; hence, hunting and gathering of wildlife had become a necessity for human civilization to thrive.

That is why—Sinners are looked upon with a higher amount of respect in the inner domain, because they are the main forces that keep their civilization functioning, whereas the ordinary are no better than trash.

(A world that is always basked in the winds of winter, where the closer one is to the center—that is occupied by a pillar of golden flames that pierces into the heavens, the warmer the temperature becomes… Yeah, sounds like a very different world from where we are.)

As Yu Ji thought of this, Long Hua thought—

(Just as Lao Bai had said, that rift—that lets them into the outer domain, it isn't able to be used to send them back, since it's gotten pitifully small.)

This is the main thing that Long Hua had wanted confirmation on, as he couldn't trust Bai Wen's words fully.

(This surnamed Chen is only an inner member of the hall. If I wanted to know more, I'd need to pry open the mouth of either that surnamed Shao, or this surnamed Wang. Still, so long as their objectives in the outer domain don't involve me, it's not my concern.)

Finished smoking the spirit herb cigar, Long Hua flings it to the side before standing back up.

Mustering up his courage, Chen Lan asks—

"An-Ancestor, just who are you really?"

"Hm?"

Perking up her ears, Yu Ji is just as curious about Long Hua's identity, to which, the latter replies—

"Who I am is none of your business, little descendant, Xiao Chen Chen."

"X-Xiao Chen Chen…?"

"Chen Chen…?"

Addressed with such a humiliating nickname—that befits a dog more than a person, both Chen Lan and Yu Ji's mouths twitched.

Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua picks up his bag, and continues on his way—with Tian Cheng being the first to follow suit.

Exchanging a look between themselves, Yu Ji and Chen Lan go after the two.

Without turning his head back, Long Hua asks—

"In any case, this surnamed Shao and this surnamed Wang, they agreed to designate this ruin as a grade five, correct?"

"That's what they said before we got swept away by that pillar."

"What are their plans after finding a teleportation magic array?"

Making an attempt to shrug his shoulders with his arms still bound, Chen Lan replies—

"They'll probably take a look at the inner area, then bail out. Considering how many people must have died during the pillar incident, we simply don't have enough people to go any further."

Blinking her eyes, Yu Ji asks—

"Chen Lan, you mentioned how the people of your world would use these ruins as training grounds to better hone their skills, what exactly did you mean by that?"

Towards Yu Ji's question, Chen Lan can't help but tilt his head, and asks—

"Have you not seen other Sinners use Partial-Apotheosis?"

"Partial-Apotheosis?"

"It's a state that Sinners are able to achieve once they reach Hazard Level 1,800."

"…"

Searching through several confidential files under the two keywords, Tian Cheng answers—

"Partial-Apotheosis is only seen on the frontlines. Under this state, the Sinner is covered in armor—that greatly enhances their combat capabilities."

Nodding his head, Chen Lan replies—

"Nicely said, young lady. It's been shown on our side—that prolonged exposure to danger can aid a Sinner to greatly increase their Hazard Level."

"But having to deal with the risks of Apotheosis is a bit…"

"Yu Ji, our world isn't as peaceful as yours. We do whatever we can to survive, as for the risks—that's something that we just need to live with."

Listening in on this conversation, Long Hua thought—

(Partial-Apotheosis, I was just thinking that Sinners cannot possibly be worth much in a fight against Immortals, but it turns out there's something like this? I guess without going to the frontlines at least once, it would be impossible for me to gauge the full strength of this world?)