This assassin is upright

Chapter 364 The Secret of the Fourth Layer

"I stayed."

Almost immediately after Pema finished speaking, Udir's calm voice rang out.

"Udyr, don't be impulsive!" Yu Zhu couldn't help but speak up, "Just because you're the one who's trapped doesn't mean you're the one who should stay."

“That’s right, we haven’t agreed to Pema’s deal yet.” Yu Zhun gave Pema a deep look. “This is only the third level.”

"If we lose a team member here, how will we get through the next thirty floors?"

"Oh?"

Pema gave Yu Zhun a deep look. "So, you don't intend to accept this deal?"

"That's such a shame."

As she spoke, Pema calmly looked up at the blood-red light screen, "The rules here were left behind by that great one."

"The only thing that can temporarily cover it up is Paka."

"Unfortunately, he has already been killed by you."

"So, you're planning to make your move here?"

"Or do you think you can get me to let your teammates go without resorting to violence?" A hint of madness flashed in Pema's eyes as she said this. "I just want to leave here, so..."

"I advise you not to have any other expectations."

Yu Zhun looked up at Pema, his expression somewhat grave.

He could hear the madness hidden beneath the other person's calm words.

Rather than a transaction, the other party's current behavior is more like a cornered beast struggling.

But this deal was something Yu Zhun absolutely did not want to see.

If the opponent hadn't trapped Udyr, he could have simply left. Not knowing the situation on the fourth floor would only increase the difficulty of the strategy, but that wasn't absolute.

But the other side trapped Udyr.

In this way, whether he agrees to the trade or not, it seems he has to leave a teammate on this level.

Are there any other ways to achieve the best of both worlds?

Yu Zhun kept thinking and asking himself questions.

His expression grew increasingly grim.

After much thought, it seems there is only one solution.

That is, the person carrying Pema's billion demonic insects makes a deal with Pema, and the person carrying the demonic insects surpasses Pema's strength, so that even the billion demonic insects cannot suppress the teleportation, thus entering the fourth level.

But according to Pema, this seems impossible, since Pema herself has already reached the upper limit of the third level.

Or... should I do it myself?

Yu Zhun's heart suddenly stirred.

The continuous effect of [Greed Power] allows him to increase his strength almost without limit, and this effect also exists in the Netherworld.

If I achieve the same level of strength as Pema and then kill her again, wouldn't I be able to surpass Pema's strength?

The moment the thought popped into his head, it grew wildly in Yu Zhun's mind like weeds. He took a deep breath and said, "In that case, I'll do it!"

"No!" Helmod objected immediately, his face grave. "If you stay, how are we supposed to get through the rest of the Netherworld?"

"You know what will happen to us if we can't clear this level!"

"I disagree too!" Yu Zhu grabbed Yu Zhun's hand tightly. "I know what you're thinking, but what if?"

"What if even the [Power of Greed] can't make you surpass it?"

"Even the slightest risk is unacceptable!"

“That’s right,” Udyr said in a deep voice. “I’ll stay. Whatever the risks, I can handle them.”

"Alright, stop arguing!" Lu Wen scratched his head.

"You all go, I'll stay."

"You?" Yu Zhun couldn't help but look at Lu Wen.

"I, Lu Wen, broke through the mere prison of ten billion demonic insects on my own." Lu Wen raised an eyebrow slightly. "If I can't break through it, then never mind."

"You don't need to persuade me any further." He waved his hand. "It's fine for me to stay on the third floor and slack off, and then you can rescue me after you finish the raid."

"I'm the least important person in this team."

"You bastard!" Yu Zhu couldn't help but kick Lu Wen and glare at him fiercely. "What nonsense are you spouting!"

“We were just teasing you before, it was all in jest,” Helmod said in a similarly deep voice. “No one has ever said you weren’t important.”

Yu Zhun did not speak, but his gaze toward Lu Wen also carried a hint of contemplation.

After reaching the Realm of True Self, Lu Wen seemed to have become somewhat unusual.

He wouldn't have said something like that before.

“Isn’t that right?” Lu Wen shook his head. “According to the five-class lineup, the warrior should be the one to lead the charge and hold the line in close combat.”

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

At this stage, it seems that Yu Zhun is the one leading the charge.

Although Yu Zhun is an assassin, no one considers him a normal assassin. In many ways, he is more like a warrior than Lu Wen.

In the battle, Lu Wen mainly cooperated with Yu Zhun to finish off enemies and relieve some of the pressure, but this division of labor... was not necessary.

As for talent…

Lu Wen grinned. "I don't need to say anything more, do I?"

Lu Wen's talent and Yu Zhun's talent used to be almost identical, but they changed after their talents were upgraded to level X4 and they underwent their second job advancement.

Both Yu Zhun and Lu Wen are capable of killing with a single blow, but Yu Zhun is clearly superior.

In addition, the power of greed is increased...

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent once again.

Although it's hard to admit, the truth is that if a player has to be reduced, losing Lu Wen would have the least impact on the team as a whole.

"See? You're all silent now." Lu Wen shrugged, a complex look flashing deep in his eyes. "Let me stay."

"Now is not the time to dwell on these things."

"If we can't get through the Netherworld, everyone will be doomed."

Yu Zhun took a deep breath and gave Lu Wen a long look.

"In that case, Lu Wen will stay."

He turned to look at Pema, who was watching their argument with great interest, a cold glint in his eyes. "Satisfied?"

Pema's actions, one by one, were so coincidental and deliberate that Yu Zhun did not believe there was no influence from the underworld.

Even the Pema in front of us might not be the real Pema.

“Pleasant transaction.” Pema smiled slightly, then walked step by step to Lu Wen’s side. Countless black dots emerged from his body and swept towards Lu Wen, completely engulfing him.

Once the dark spots dissipated, Lu Wen stood there, looked at the worried looks on Yu Zhun's and the others' faces, and waved his hand, "I'm fine."

“The secret of the fourth level lies here.” Pema tossed a parchment scroll to Yu Zhun, then vanished instantly with the power of teleportation.

The Lord's Tower that had bound Udyr vanished at that moment. Udyr walked out with a complex expression, glanced at Luwen, and said in a deep voice, "Consider it a favor I owe you."

If it weren't for saving her from danger, Lu Wenben wouldn't have needed to do this.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Lu Wen grinned. “Alright, let’s see what’s special about the fourth floor.”

As Lu Wen finished speaking, the others all looked at the parchment scroll in Yu Zhun's hand.

Yu Zhun slowly opened the parchment scroll, and lines of text appeared before their eyes. After reading the secrets of the fourth layer written on it, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"How is it?" Helmod asked in a deep voice.

“The fourth level of the Netherworld is a little different from what I expected,” Yu Zhun said slowly. “The fourth, fifth, and sixth levels are interconnected.”

"It is no longer a one-way forced teleportation; the demons living on these three levels can travel back and forth between adjacent interconnected levels through fixed passages."

"And the strength corresponding to these three levels is three stages of divine transformation."

"Upon reaching the fourth stage of divinity, one will be forcibly teleported to the seventh level, and the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels are new interconnected levels."

"As for what happened next... it wasn't mentioned on the parchment."

"But barring any unforeseen circumstances, the subsequent layers should all be interconnected."

Upon hearing Yu Zhun's words, the others exchanged glances.

The third layer already exhibits such a unique order; continuing downwards, with the three layers interconnected, would likely become even more complex and unpredictable.

“I think the changes that follow will not stop here,” Helmod said in a deep voice. “Otherwise, the four lords would not have stayed here for so long and refused to enter.”

“Yes.” Yu Zhun nodded. “According to Pema, the connection between the fourth, fifth and sixth levels is only theoretical. In reality, a powerful demon guards the passage.”

"The demonic energy becomes denser as you go down these three levels, so the stronger demons band together and occupy the best sixth level, while the weaker ones occupy the fifth level, and then the weakest fourth level."

"The strength of these three levels of demons is clearly distinct, forming an almost solidified hierarchy. The price that a demon who has entered the fourth level would have to pay to enter the sixth level is unimaginable."

"But of these three levels, only the sixth level will provide blood offerings."

"Therefore, in order to enter the later levels, you must first enter the sixth level and absorb enough blood food to break through the fourth stage of divinity."

The others tensed up upon hearing this, already able to roughly imagine the difficulty from the simple text description on the parchment scroll.

"The reason why the four lords absorbed the demonic insects and lingered after breaking through their strength limit was to achieve their goal in one step," Yu Zhun said in a deep voice. "To go from the third stage of deification to the fourth stage of deification, 729 mythical fragments are needed."

"Based solely on the classification of mythological fragments, demons who have absorbed 0-243 mythological fragments in the three stages of deification will be teleported to the fourth level."

"If a demon has absorbed 244-486 myth fragments, he will be directly teleported from the third floor to the fifth floor."

“If you have more than 486 mythical fragments, you can be directly teleported to the sixth level.” Yu Zhun paused slightly. “Crossing the passage is extremely difficult, but once you skip the passage and enter the sixth level directly, you can immediately gain the recognition of the demons on the sixth level.”

"This is why the four lords acted this way."

"I see." Yu Zhu nodded in understanding. "Then should we also absorb the demonic insects and stay here?"

“Yes.” Yu Zhun nodded. “Although with our strength, we are not afraid of those so-called passage guardians.”

“But there’s a shortcut directly to the sixth floor, so there’s no need to take the risk.” Yu Zhun paused slightly, then turned to look at Lu Wen. “That way, we can stay on the third floor a little longer.”

“If we stay long enough, we might be able to come up with a way to take Lu Wen with us. For example, we could find another suitable target to carry the billion demonic insects.” As he said this, Yu Zhun pressed down on Lu Wen’s shoulder.

"I don't know what you saw in your true self."

"But no matter what, we will always be your teammates and will never abandon you."

“You bastard…” Lu Wen stared at Yu Zhun, then suddenly grinned, “I know.”

"So, how many magical insects would you need to absorb to directly enter the sixth level?" Helmod couldn't help but ask.

“It says so here.” Yu Zhun glanced at the parchment scroll.

"If absorbing 100 million demonic insects allows one's strength to surpass the demonic insects' ability to shield teleportation, then one's strength will reach the level required to enter the sixth level."

“That’s a pretty good way to figure it out.” Helmod nodded slightly, then paused, “Then why is Pema absorbing a hundred million demonic insects and delaying her entry into the sixth level?”

“Because he wants more.” Yu Zhun said slowly, “The demonic insects do not exist on the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels.”

“Even according to Pema, there will be no follow-up.”

"It is a product unique to the third layer."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

A product unique to the third layer?
“After we absorbed the demonic insects on the third level, these insects will remain in our power core.” Yu Zhun paused slightly. “They will also be effective during subsequent teleportations.”

"And the significance of this delay in transmission, as I just mentioned."

"Due to differences in strength, the number of demonic insects required to achieve the goal varies at different levels."

“If we absorb 100 million demonic insects, we can go directly from the third floor to the sixth floor. But if we absorb 1 billion demonic insects, we can go directly from the sixth floor to the ninth floor, which means taking two shortcuts.”

“Pema’s abilities are somewhat unique, which is why he, being on the third level, saw the evolution of subsequent levels.”

"He wasn't satisfied with taking the shortcut just once."

"But he failed to see the hidden limitations of the third level of strength." Yu Zhun shook his head slightly as he said this.

"Oh, right." Yu Zhun handed the parchment to everyone, "This also records the methods for absorbing and transferring demonic insects."

“In this respect, Pema does not seem to be lying. The demonic insects cannot be partially transferred, and the vast majority of demons cannot withstand the power of the transfer.”

"Only the Blood Demon can withstand the transfer."

"God-blooded demon?"

Helmod raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

“We are demons who possess a certain blood-eating aura,” Yu Zhun explained. “According to Pema, although we demons have the bodies of demons, we do not have the souls of demons.”

"This is also why we emit the scent of blood and food."

This also explains a question they had had before.

“However…” Yu Zhun paused, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes, “According to the parchment…”

"It seems there are more than just a few of us who are such demons?"

Ok?
The others were all taken aback.

Could there be other outsiders in the Netherworld?
On the dark and desolate wasteland, two demons faced each other from afar. One of them was surrounded by a terrifying and astonishing aura, and his every move seemed capable of shaking the entire world.

If Yu Zhun and the others were here, they would be surprised to find that this demon's strength seemed to be only slightly weaker than Rachel's.

His identity is becoming increasingly clear.

Grossa, one of the four lords.

Looking at the seemingly ordinary person blocking his way, Grossa's eyes flashed with chilling killing intent. "You ants, how dare you stop me?"

"Today is your day of death..."

Before he could finish speaking, Grossa's pupils suddenly contracted.

A long sword pierced through his body, taking away all his life force.

"you…"

The person blocking the way spoke calmly.

"Killing you is just an appetizer."

(End of this chapter)