Chapter 7

Long ago, in the distant past, the laws of heaven and earth dissipated, the spiritual veins disintegrated, and the countless deities of the East and the gods and devils of the West vanished without a trace. The world at that time was known as the Age of the End of Dharma.

It was less than a hundred years ago that the world suddenly changed.

The laws of heaven and earth recondensed, and the spiritual energy in the world gradually spread from unknown sources. The land and seas grew deeper and wider, and the mountains and hills became taller and steeper. The cultivation circles in the East and West began to stir, and families like the Yin clan, which had been in seclusion, openly established their own city-states, raising blood slaves and amassing strength, plotting for a major move.

The recovery of the world's spiritual energy, however, was a disaster for ordinary people.

Former cultivators and various demons and monsters reappeared, but the greatest impact on ordinary people came from the beasts and venomous insects. These beasts, birds, and insects, upon coming into contact with the spiritual energy, underwent tremendous changes!

Ordinary beasts reverted to demonic beasts, birds to demonic birds, and all sorts of strange and bizarre venomous insects emerged in large numbers. In just a few years, ordinary people suffered greatly, with many being hunted and devoured by the increasingly numerous and powerful demonic beasts and birds, becoming prey for the beasts.

Therefore, while the Yin clan was establishing its city-state, there were also outstanding individuals among the ordinary people who gathered countless others and, using the strength of ordinary people, established large-scale city-states. They used various powerful weapons made by ordinary people to gather and protect themselves. Even the Yin clan, a family of blood demons, found it difficult to deal with some of these large city-states.

The region where the Yin clan's city-state is now located was, several decades ago, within the territory of what was once Germany in Europe. The Great Berlin City-State is one of the few super city-states of ordinary people today. The Great Berlin City-State has a population of hundreds of millions, covering a vast area, and is home to many powerful demon hunters. Even ordinary Yin clan experts dare not approach it lightly.

Yin Xuege's face grew increasingly pale as he silently recalled the information about the Great Berlin City-State!

He thought about the believer of the Light God Church who was killed in front of him by the Yin clan warriors over a month ago. That ragged old man had no power at all! But the Light God Church was one of the leaders in the ordinary people's city-states, resisting the dark forces represented by the Yin clan. Among the believers of the Light God Church, there were many powerful individuals who could stand up to the elders of the Yin clan.

The truly powerful believers of the Light God Church mostly guarded the city-states, suppressing various areas. Just as the Yin clan warriors called the believers of the Light God Church heretics, the believers of the Light God Church also considered the members of the Yin clan and other blood demon families as heretics. If they captured a member of the blood demon family, they would be happy to expose them to the midday sun, turning them into ashes.

With Yin Xuege's strength, if he went near the Great Berlin City-State and was discovered by the powerful believers of the Light God Church, he wouldn't even leave a complete corpse.

"Reconnaissance of the Great Berlin City-State?" Clenching the mission slip in his hand, Yin Xuege gritted his teeth and glared at the external affairs hall steward in front of him.

The steward looked at Yin Xuege with a half-smile, then sighed dramatically, "This mission is the most difficult of all the missions this time. How did it end up being drawn by Young Master Xuege?"

Shaking his head, the steward glanced at the surrounding children, "Or, would Young Master Xuege like to exchange with them?"

The children scattered in a panic, quickly moving away from Yin Xuege!

Exchange missions with Yin Xuege? Whoever did so would be a fool! The missions they drew were merely to observe how to capture blood slaves, how to hunt demonic beasts, or to patrol within a hundred miles of the Yin clan city-state. Yin Xuege's reconnaissance mission, however, required him to infiltrate the Great Berlin City-State and retrieve intelligence from the Yin clan spies there to complete it!

This mission, which was almost certain death for the children, which fool would exchange with Yin Xuege?

Seeing the children scatter, the steward held an empty basket and spread his hands, laughing helplessly, "Young Master Xuege, there's nothing that can be done. The rules of the external affairs hall are clear. Since you drew this slip, you must carry out this mission! There's no room for negotiation!"

Standing on the steps of the external affairs hall, Yin Jiyu coldly glanced at Yin Xuege. It seemed he had just recognized him and laughed slowly.

"Xuege, I heard you received many rewards from the internal affairs hall these past few days? Ordinary children don't have such good treatment. After receiving the clan's benefits, you must serve the clan! If everyone shirks difficult tasks, how can our Yin clan have room for development?"

Swinging his sleeves, Yin Jiyu said calmly, "Go to the reward hall, exchange your merit points for some useful items, and set out as soon as possible! This mission, though it seems difficult, is not really that hard. It's just a matter of infiltrating the Great Berlin City-State, finding the Yin clan's spies, and retrieving the intelligence. Is it really that difficult?"

Yin Xuege glanced at Yin Jiyu's back and then exhaled heavily.

The deed was done, and there was no way out! The rules of the Yin clan were clear. If a child shirked such a training mission, the consequences would be severe. At best, they would be punished with torture, and at worst, they would be demoted to the penal camp, serving as cannon fodder. Neither of these was something Yin Xuege was willing to endure.

Two Yin clan warriors in light red armor slowly walked up to Yin Xuege and bowed to him.

"Young Master Xuege, we are Yin Jiujiusanqi and Yin Jiujiusanba. We will escort you to complete this training mission!"

One of the warriors said solemnly, "Please prepare quickly. We need to set out while it's still dark. Otherwise, if we wait until dawn, we'll waste a whole day, which will be detrimental to your final evaluation."

Looking at the two low-ranking warriors assigned to escort him, Yin Xuege smiled helplessly.

"Please wait a moment. I'll go to the reward hall to exchange some useful items, and then we'll set out!"

Pausing, Yin Xuege asked, "Is everything for the reconnaissance mission prepared?"

One of the warriors, either Yin Jiujiusanqi or Yin Jiujiusanba, smiled, "Please rest assured, all the equipment is ready!"

Yin Xuege nodded, looked up at the sky, and walked towards the reward hall. The internal affairs hall had given him five hundred merit points, which couldn't exchange for anything truly valuable. He simply exchanged for ten bottles of refined blood elixir made from a hundred medicinal essences, put on ordinary clothes, and concealed a soft sword on his body before setting out.

The moonlight shone on Yin Xuege's slender and small body as he followed the two escorting warriors in a flying magic car, quickly crossing the land towards the direction of the Great Berlin City-State.

At the city gate of the Yin clan city-state, Yin Jiwu stood with his hands behind his back inside a pyramid on the left side of the gate, watching the magic car carrying Yin Xuege through a portal. After a long time, Yin Jiwu suddenly laughed and clapped his hands in approval.

"Xuejiao has made some progress, knowing that using brute force against this bastard is not worthwhile. Xuejiao, my son, is a precious gem, while this bastard is just a clod of earth. For Xuejiao to use the quality of a gem to clash with a clod of earth would be a disgrace to his own worth."

"This is for the best, letting this bastard die at the hands of the believers of the Light God Church. This is for the best."

"Help Xuejiao erase all traces. This will just be a normal clan mission."

In the shadows behind Yin Jiwu, a low, hoarse voice responded ambiguously, and then a gentle breeze blew, and the shadow disappeared without a trace. The red-haired, muscular man, Wu, standing next to Yin Jiwu shivered and asked cautiously in a low voice.

"Sir, do you mean to silence the stewards of the internal and external affairs halls?"

Yin Jiwu laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Not exactly silencing them. Xuejiao, my son, suffered greatly this time. It's a good opportunity to select a few clan members who have committed mistakes, extract their lifeblood, and have Xuejiao gradually consume and digest it. In a little over a month, he can grow to be close to the strength of a Moon Warrior! At the clan's grand martial arts ceremony, he must not lose again!"

The metal flying magic car was spacious, with a length of over ten meters and a width of several meters, capable of accommodating nearly a hundred people. However, at this moment, the car was empty except for Yin Xuege and his two escorting warriors.

The magic car flew a few feet above the ground, and Yin Xuege felt suffocated. He pressed his hand against the car's inner wall, and a two-foot-long metal window silently slid open, revealing a transparent window covered by a crystal.

Outside the window was a range of majestic mountains, covered with dense forests. The magic car was flying through a deep valley between two mountains. The cliffs on both sides were densely covered with vines, and hundreds of thick trees grew tenaciously on the cliffs.

In the distance, the mountains were also covered with towering trees, some reaching heights of two to three hundred meters. Through the magic array on the car, the deep and powerful roars of beasts could be heard from the distant forests. When Yin Xuege opened the window to look outside, a hundred miles away, a three-headed demonic bird with a red body suddenly took flight, rising vertically into the sky with a fierce wind.

Even from a hundred miles away, the size of the demonic bird was still larger than the magic car. The fierce and terrifying bird screamed loudly as it rose into the sky, creating a series of whirlwinds behind it. The intensity of this scene made Yin Xuege shiver.

Such a powerful demonic bird, Yin Xuege could not imagine how strong it was.

"That's a three-headed hell dragon eagle, a war bird raised by the Yin clan!" The Yin clan warrior sitting next to Yin Xuege explained with an envious tone, "Only the direct descendants of the Yin clan, who have broken through the Star, Moon, and Night Warrior stages and achieved the rank of a formal blood demon, are qualified to ride a three-headed hell dragon eagle in battle!"

Yin Xuege was speechless. Below a hundred drops of blood demon essence, one is a Star Warrior. Below a thousand drops, one is a Moon Warrior. Below ten thousand drops, one is a Night Warrior. The absolute combat power of a Night Warrior is at least ten times that of a Star Warrior. And after reaching ten thousand drops of blood demon essence, one must convert all their blood into blood demon essence to obtain the basic title of 'Baron'!

Such a fierce and powerful demonic bird can only be ridden by a Baron!

Yin Xuege couldn't help but yearn. If he could achieve the strength of a Baron, perhaps he could leave the malicious Yin clan, leave the 'relatives' who harbored ill will towards him, and have his own sky? Perhaps, he could start a new life!

Subconsciously touching the jade cicada hanging from his chest, Yin Xuege suddenly felt hopeful about his future.

The magic car sped through the mountains, and by the time the moon was high in the sky, it had left the mountains and arrived at a vast plain. It was the first time Yin Xuege had left the mountains where the Yin clan city-state was located and seen the world outside. Seeing the endless plain, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The fertile black soil was covered with grass as tall as a person's neck. The night wind blew, and the endless grass swayed like waves, making a 'rustling' sound. When Yin Xuege leaned out of the window to look, he saw hundreds of demonic beasts, resembling wolves with a single horn on their heads, riding black clouds and rushing through the grass, quickly disappearing into the distance.

The surface of the Yin clan's magic car glowed with magical runes, and the dozen dark night blood leopards pulling the car let out deep roars, intimidating the surrounding beasts and demonic beasts, forcing them to flee far away.

Unlike ordinary wild demonic beasts, the dark night blood leopards raised by the Yin clan were refined with blood demon secrets, existing in a state between life and death, exuding a fierce aura, and being more cruel and vicious than ordinary demonic beasts. Therefore, whenever the dark night blood leopards appeared, ordinary demonic beasts would flee at the first sign, just like the group of single-horned demonic wolves.

With the dark night blood leopards leading the way, the magic car smoothly crossed hundreds of miles of grassland, crossed two large rivers, and suddenly came to a brightly lit area. Numerous thick beams of light scanned the surroundings, and under the illumination of the light beams, one could see the vast fields with various crops swaying in the wind.

The magic car stopped here and hid in a dense forest. The Yin clan blood curse master who was driving the car opened the isolation panel in the car and gestured to Yin Xuege and the two Yin clan warriors without expression.

Yin Xuege and the two Yin clan warriors, already dressed in ordinary clothes, bowed to the blood curse master and quickly got out of the car. The blood curse master glanced at Yin Xuege's back and coldly hummed, "In three days, at this time and place, we will come to pick you up. Young Master Xuege, take care!"

Yin Xuege's steps slowed, and he turned to look at the blood curse master, then walked out of the forest without a word, following the path through the fields. The two Yin clan warriors followed closely behind, spreading out to either side, maintaining a distance of several dozen meters, and occasionally moving ahead to check the situation.

The magic car floated silently, and the dozen dark night blood leopards let out deep roars, turning and quickly leaving along the path they came.

The night belonged to the blood demons.

Under the cover of darkness, Yin Xuege and the two Yin clan warriors felt a sense of security. They avoided the light beams scanning the surroundings and the buildings of small human settlements in the fields, moving forward as quickly as possible.

The night wind blew over their bodies, and their steps were silent as they moved like night spirits over the land. Compared to ordinary people, Yin Xuege and his companions moved at least ten times faster. By the time the first light of dawn appeared in the eastern sky, the three had reached the outskirts of a magnificent city-state.

The Great Berlin City-State appeared before Yin Xuege.

Like an ancient giant beast, the metal walls of the Great Berlin City-State stood on the ground, with a hundred-meter-high wall illuminated by countless giant lamps, and bright beams of light constantly scanning the surroundings.

A night beast suddenly caught in a light beam heard a loud explosion from the wall, and a red beam shot down, causing a violent explosion at the beast's location. A large crater several meters in diameter appeared, and a pungent smell of gunpowder quickly spread with the night wind. The unfortunate beast left not a single hair behind.

Yin Xuege saw this weapon for the first time, and he was shocked, his ears ringing from the explosion, and his mind a bit dazed.

High-pitched shouts echoed from the wall, and two small flying cars, each capable of carrying two or three people, leaped down from the wall and quickly flew towards the crater with a faint hum.

Before Yin Xuege could take in the full view of the Great Berlin City-State's outer wall, the two Yin clan warriors had already grabbed his shoulders and quickly jumped into a foul-smelling ditch. Stepping through waist-deep sewage, the two warriors dragged Yin Xuege, who was submerged to his chest, and carefully moved forward.

Yin Xuege almost vomited!

The five senses of the blood demons were a hundred times more sensitive than those of ordinary people, and they could even smell the scent of a drop of fresh blood from dozens of miles away. Soaking in the foul sewage, Yin Xuege's nose twitched violently, and his internal organs twisted painfully. If he hadn't controlled himself, he would have vomited long ago.

It was like walking through hell, and Yin Xuege didn't know how the two escorting warriors managed to lead him through a long sewer, avoiding various surveillance devices and traps, and finally infiltrating the Great Berlin City-State.

When he regained consciousness, they had already emerged from a sewer manhole.

This was a deep and dark alley, with tall buildings on both sides. The night wind carried a few old papers past Yin Xuege's feet, and a dozen wild dogs, tails between their legs, hurriedly ran past the alley entrance.

From deep in the alley, the scent of fresh blood and the sounds of men's screams and women's moans could be heard.

A Yin clan warrior whispered, "Young Master Xuege, welcome to the territory of the ordinary people! This is the Great Berlin City-State!"