This assassin is upright

Chapter 361 The Lord's Secret
"Pah~pah~pah~"

Rachel gripped the folded, dark whip, looking at Yu Zhun and Helmod, who were utterly powerless and barely able to stand, her eyes filled with a hint of mockery and amusement.

She stuck out her long tongue and licked her dark red lips, her eyes flashing with an eerie light, as if the two people in front of her were not her opponents, but her prey.

"Let me think... what should I do with you two naughty little tails next?"

She approached step by step, then picked up the long whip and gently lifted Helmod's chin, looking at his pained face, her smile deepening.

"It all started with you..."

She paused, then pressed her long whip against Yu Zhun's chin on the other side, lifting his head. "...Or is it you..."

"Om-"

A deep hum suddenly resounded, and Yu Zhun's eyes flashed with a sharp light. His hand, which had been hanging limply to the ground, suddenly rose up, and the dagger in his hand turned into a blur, instantly stabbing towards Rachel's chest, who was right in front of him.

Faced with this sudden attack, Rachel seemed to have anticipated it, and she lashed out with her long whip.

"Snapped!"

With a sudden, resounding crack of the whip, the dagger in Yu Zhun's hand was tightly bound by the whip, rendering him unable to move an inch.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, a cold and indifferent light surging within her peach-blossom-like eyes. "Heh~ What an impatient little fellow."

"Since you're so eager to die..."

"Then let's start with you!"

Rachel's voice suddenly turned sinister, no longer gentle and charming. The tip of her palm strike, which she thrust out instantly, pierced Yu Zhun's chest with a chillingly sharp light. There was no doubt that this strike would easily pierce through Yu Zhun and end his life.

"No!"

Hermod's pupils contracted, and she couldn't help but gasp softly.

The next instant, a muffled groan resounded.

Rachel's smug expression froze on her face, and a look of surprise and confusion quickly appeared in her eyes.

Her palm strike was only a hair's breadth away from Yu Zhun's chest. The cold light at the end of the blade had already pierced through Yu Zhun's armor, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest.

She only needed to advance a little further to kill Yu Zhun.

But this tiny distance has become the difference between life and death.

Her incredulous gaze followed the dagger Yu Zhun was gripping tightly to the hole he had pierced through her chest.

It was just a small wound.

But Rachel clearly felt her life slipping away, a complete death that no means of resurrection could withstand.

"I'm sorry." Yu Zhun slowly withdrew his dagger, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes. "You can win a thousand times."

"But I only need to win one last time."

"No..." Rachel's expression gradually turned to terror. She frantically reached out to grab at the void, as if trying to grasp something, but her alluring body turned into ashes uncontrollably.

"Clang-crack-"

With a crisp sound, something fell from Rachel's vanished body.

It was a round bead, a product of all the demons' magic power that would fall off after they died in the Netherworld.

However, this bead was completely different from the other beads dropped by the demons that Yu Zhun killed in the third level of the Netherworld.

Yu Zhun slowly picked it up, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.

On this bead, which is also a deep purple color, there are strange black lines.

The patterns are composed of countless tiny black dots, but if you magnify those dots many times over…

Those were clearly monstrous insects curled up into ball shapes.

"Puff~"

With a dull thud, Helmod, who was standing to the side, finally collapsed to his knees, looking at Yu Zhun who seemed completely unaffected. A strange look flashed in his eyes. "How can you still move?"

Yu Zhun was faking it, but he really couldn't move.

The eerie mist surrounding Rachel is still affecting his power. If his opponent hadn't been killed, the mist alone would have been enough to give him a hard time.

Even now, Helmod would need to expend considerable effort to completely eliminate the effects left by Rachel.

"I don't know." Yu Zhun shook his head strangely. "Could it be the effect of [Greed Power]?"

After he entered the third job advancement, his [Power of Greed] seemed to have undergone some subtle changes.

What the black cat shared with Yu Zhun was its own ability.

This ability is at the third level, exceeding the upper limit of the [Divine Revelation World]. Therefore, under the adaptive adjustment of the [Divine Revelation World], it eventually became Yu Zhun's second talent, [Power of Greed].

In other words, the [Power of Greed] is not the same as the Black Cat's ability to share; it is a product that has been weakened and adapted to a certain extent.

At this moment, Yu Zhun entered the [Netherworld] instance, retaining the power system of the [Divine Revelation World], and was also affected by the [Netherworld], his strength was raised to a false third-tier level.

As a result, the [Power of Greed] also changed.

On one hand, under the power system of the [Divine Revelation World], it retains all its original effects; on the other hand, after the third transformation stage, it inherits the abilities that the black cat should have shared with Yu Zhun.

The black cat's true ability is to devour; it possesses the powerful ability to devour everything and transform it into its own power.

When Rachel's mist eroded Yu Zhun's body, this ability was fully activated, and he began to devour the mist.

Therefore, Yu Zhun, who seemed completely unable to move, was actually only slightly affected, and with the death of Rachel, he completely disappeared.

“You bastard…” Helmod opened his mouth, then rolled his eyes helplessly, “Give me a hand.”

"They're here." Yu Zhun stepped forward and helped Helmod up.

It took Helmod quite a while to recover.

He picked up the staff that had fallen to the ground and looked at the round bead that Yu Zhun was holding in his hand. "There's something wrong with this bead."

“Take a closer look.” Yu Zhun handed the bead to Helmod.

After a careful examination, Helmod raised an eyebrow, clearly having also discovered the truth behind the patterns outlined by the black dots on the bead.

"This tiny bead probably contains tens of millions of demonic insects," Helmod said in a deep voice. "Is this the secret behind the Four Lords' ability to possess strength surpassing the third level of the Netherworld?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, that should be the case." Yu Zhun stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Remember what I said before?"

"The four lords sold the blood sacrifice slots to enter the fourth level of the Netherworld through bidding, turning the originally useless Insect Coins into a currency recognized by all the powerful demons."

"But there's actually another problem here."

"So that's how lords obtain large amounts of insect coins. What use are these insect coins to them?"

"And this bead is the answer."

"The corpses of these demonic insects, known as Insect Coins, after being drained, are not entirely useless as we might think. They can be used by lords, thus allowing them to transcend the rules to a certain extent..."

“No.” Yu Zhun suddenly shook his head. “No, this may not be outside the rules of the third layer of the Netherworld.” “Absorbing demonic insects to gain power beyond the limit is a rule of the third layer, but this rule is monopolized by the four lords.”

"Is that so?" Helmod casually took out a bug coin, looking at the empty bug corpse that had been drained of all its magic energy, a look of doubt appeared in his eyes, "But bug coins have no energy, they don't seem like they can increase strength at all."

“Yes,” Yu Zhun said softly, “There is no energy in the insect coins; they are just residues after they have been drained.”

"So I think there might be another possibility."

Looking at the round bead covered with black patterns in his hand, Yu Zhun slowly said, "From the very beginning, we had a misunderstanding."

"The four lords do not possess strength exceeding their limits."

"Instead, they possess the means to exempt themselves from forced teleportation."

Helmod slowly widened his eyes.

The two sentences Yu Zhun said seem to mean the same thing at first glance, but in fact the cause and effect relationship is completely opposite.

"You mean..." Helmod looked at the insect coins in his hand, "The purpose of insect coins is not to break through the limit and increase strength, but to keep the demons who should have been teleported to the fourth floor on the third floor?"

“Yes.” Yu Zhun nodded. “Think carefully, what are the characteristics of the demonic insects?”

"Before it reveals itself, the demon cannot detect the existence of the demon insect, nor can it attack it."

"Do you think the most valuable aspect of such a creature is the pure demonic energy it absorbs into its body, or its powerful characteristics?"

Helmod couldn't help but widen his eyes.

After hearing what Yu Zhun said, everything seemed to make sense.

They absorbed the demonic energy from the demonic insects' bodies, and the insect coins formed from the empty bodies of the remaining demonic insects corresponded to the characteristics of the demonic insects, didn't they?

If this characteristic of demonic insects were applied to demons, it would prevent the demons from being selected by the teleportation rules once their maximum strength was reached…

Wouldn't that perfectly match the status of the four lords?!
“If I’m not mistaken, the effect of insect coins in concealing strength increases with the quantity,” Yu Zhun said slowly.

"The stronger you are, the more Insect Coins you need to stay on the third floor without being teleported."

"Therefore, if the four lords want to continuously improve their strength while remaining at the third level, they need to obtain a constant stream of new insect coins."

"but…"

"Although there is nothing wrong with this reasoning, upon closer examination, there are still some omissions."

"For example... why did the four lords stay here?"

At this point, a thoughtful look reappeared in Yu Zhun's eyes.

"Without a doubt, in the third layer, the four lords, whose strength far surpasses that of other demons, can obtain a higher status. In fact, the current order in the third layer is gradually formed after the four lords monopolized the rules."

"But I don't think this is the best option for the four lords."

"Although the deeper parts of the Netherworld have more powerful demons and fiercer competition, they also have resources for faster improvement."

"Instead of spending this time dominating the third level, they could easily enter the fourth level to become even more powerful, or even enter the fifth level."

"Isn't this better for them than being local tyrants on the third level?"

“Perhaps the four lords are just guys without much ambition?” Helmod couldn’t help but say. “You said it yourself, the further down you go, the more intense it gets, and the more intense it gets, the more likely you are to become cannon fodder.”

"Maybe they just want to stay where they are."

“In an ordinary world, this possibility certainly exists,” Yu Zhun said in a lower voice, “but this is the Netherworld.”

"Whether the demons here cooperate or fight, their ultimate goal is to reach the lowest level of the Netherworld."

"For us, this is the only way to succeed."

"For these demons, this is the only way out."

“I believe that the four lords share the same goal.”

"Then why do you think they stayed here?" Helmod frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask.

He had a feeling that Yu Zhun had already guessed something.

“I think… this is related to the fourth level.” Yu Zhun pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, “As can be seen from the first three levels, each level of the Netherworld has different rules and has developed different orders.”

"Then the fourth level should also be a completely new order."

“Based on our previous speculation, the fourth layer is most likely a special node.” As he spoke, Yu Zhun looked at Helmod.

"The first three levels advance to the next level after each advancement in divinity, but the situation will change after we reach the third level of divinity and enter the fourth level."

"Because the transition from the third to the fourth stage is the watershed of the third stage!"

"Therefore, this level may be extremely difficult."

"What if the four lords stay here not to rule and dominate, but to make thorough preparations before entering the fourth level?"

“If that’s the case, then we probably need to make some preparations on this floor in advance for the upcoming fourth floor.” Helmod’s expression turned serious as he spoke slowly.

"However, there is an important key point in your reasoning."

"That means the four lords must know the rules of the fourth level."

"Only by knowing the rules of the fourth level can we prepare in advance."

"But how can they, who are on the third level, know the rules of the next level in advance?"

"I don't know the answer to that question either." Yu Zhun gave a wry smile and shook his head. "I'm not omniscient or omnipotent."

“Each demon has a completely different ability, and perhaps one of the lords just happens to have certain abilities that allow him to do this.”

"Based on the situation of the four lords, the one most likely to possess this ability—having learned the rules of the fourth level in advance—is the only one who stayed in the third level to accumulate strength and increase their chances of winning in the fourth level..."

"The strongest lord, Pema!"
-
"Udyr, you've gone mad!"

Tata stared wide-eyed and held Udir's hand tightly.

"For the next three days, countless powerful individuals will hunt demonic insects outside the market, while simultaneously hunting each other and vying for each other's insect coins."

"Hiding in the market at this time is the safest thing to do, so why did you choose to leave the market at this time?"

“It’s precisely because the next three days are dangerous that I’m leaving the market,” Udyr said in a deep voice. “My teammates are waiting for me.”

Her teammates might not know about the blood offerings, so she needed to rejoin them as soon as possible.

“You…” Tata looked at Udyr’s determined eyes, sighed, and let go of the hand he was holding. “Alright.”

“Thank you, Tata.” Udyr’s expression softened slightly, and he stepped out of the light barrier without hesitation.

But soon, Udir stopped in his tracks.

Four powerful demons had somehow managed to block her out from all four directions, their eyes filled with mockery.

"Lord Pema invites you to a chat."

(End of this chapter)