Fantasy: Starting with a bowl, you can exchange it for endless cultivation.

at this time.

Iron Reef Island.

The Sihai Chamber of Commerce, the Tianwan Gang, and the Zhu family.

We arrived here based on the information provided by Gu Chen.

They saw some of the cargo they had previously hijacked, as well as pirate corpses scattered all over the ground.

It was shocking.

Gu Chen did not lie to them.

They actually found and wiped out the pirates who had previously plundered them.

Gu Chen's methods and competence.

It exceeded their understanding.

In such a short period of time.

That fulfilled their requirements.

They had originally given the silver to Gu Chen.

He simply wanted Gu Chen to use the Night Watch's power to suppress the recently rampant pirates.

They never actually intended for Gu Chen to help them wipe out the pirates.

After all, that would be too difficult.

Unexpectedly, Gu Chen actually went and helped them get things done.

He truly is a man of his word.

He will serve as the head of the Night Watch in Jiuwan City.

They won't have to worry about pirates anymore.

This guy is genuinely willing to do things for you as long as you pay him.

Those who share the same thoughts as them.

And now.

The Liuyun Chamber of Commerce, the Yu family, and the Qiao family members had already returned from Duya Island with some of the supplies that had been stolen earlier.

They had received a notification from Gu Chen beforehand.

Let them come to Duya Island to collect the supplies that were previously stolen.

They said the pirates who had previously robbed them had been found on this solitary cliff island.

And he solved it.

They were still somewhat skeptical.

They felt that Gu Chen was fooling them.

After all, only one day had passed since Gu Chen agreed to help them wipe out the pirates.

That's done! That was so fast.

But when they arrived at Duya Island...

They saw pirate corpses scattered on the ground, along with the loot they had previously stolen, which the pirates hadn't yet managed to sell.

Only then did they believe it.

Gu Chen really did it.

That's amazing!

These six forces sent out people to ascertain the true situation.

The message was immediately relayed back.

In Jiuwan City.

These six forces then sent people to invite Gu Chen directly.

We attended a banquet on the top floor of Jiuwan Building that evening.

They should thank Gu Chen properly.

And fulfill the promise.

He doubled the silver he had previously given to Gu Chen.

at this time.

In Jiuwan City.

Prodigies from within the desolate state have been arriving one after another.

The first to arrive was Huang Jinyu, the young leader of the Mining Gang, which was one of the major powers in Yuehai County.

He naturally arrived the fastest.

Arriving a few days after him was Feng Yuan, the young master of the Feng family, one of the three first-class families in Zhenshi County.

Although Zhenshi County is separated from Yuehai Realm, where Jiuwan City is located, by a county, he rushed over as soon as he learned that Gu Chen had reached the 500th place on the Heavenly Pride Ranking.

So he was only a little later than Huang Jinyu.

Ye Xuemei, the daughter of the Valley Master of Cold Wind Valley in the Desolate State, was a little slower because the county where Cold Wind Valley is located is two counties apart from Yuehai County, one at the southernmost point and the other near the east.

It will probably arrive later.

I'll probably arrive around the same time as Liu Chen.

Liu Chen's faction, the Qingyun Sword Sect, is located in the desolate state, near the central state.

They'll be arriving later.

The geographical location of the nine provinces of the world is a circle surrounding the central province.

Like nine standing war gods, they protect the Central Plains in the center.

of course.

This does not mean that the Central Plains, which is surrounded in the center, is small or weak.

in contrast.

Zhongzhou has the largest area.

Zhongzhou is independent of the Nine Provinces.

Its area is as large as nine provinces combined.

The Divine Dynasty has countless sects, factions, and aristocratic families.

However, two-fifths of the sects and aristocratic families are based in Zhongzhou.

The power of the Divine Dynasty.

The categories are: transcendent, top-tier, first-class, second-class, and third-class.

A transcendent force.

It is the first line of the saying: "One dynasty, two gates, three outside, four sects, five aristocratic families, six palaces, seven palaces, eight factions, nine top streams, ten merchant guilds".

These two lines of folk song encapsulate all the top-tier powers in the Divine Dynasty.

The force represented in the previous sentence is a transcendent force, a force with a being of the level of a terrestrial deity in charge.

The force represented in the second sentence is the top-tier force.

It is a power that now has a top-tier expert of the first rank or above in charge, but no terrestrial immortals.

Below the top trend.

It is a first-rate force, a force with a top-tier expert in the upper three ranks.

Second-rate forces, below the first-rate, are those with a mid-fourth-grade expert in charge.

As for the last third-rate forces...

It is also the largest force in the Divine Dynasty, but it is a force with experts at the fifth level of the Innate Realm.

The four people who came to Jiuwan City to challenge Gu Chen this time.

Both the mining gang behind Huang Jinyu and the Feng family behind Feng Yuan belong to second-rate forces.

Although the Feng family is one of the top families in Yuehai County.

However, the strongest member of the Feng family is only a fourth-rank expert, so they belong to a second-rate force.

The Cold Wind Valley behind Ye Xuemei is a first-class force, with a top-tier expert in the upper three ranks, making it one of the major first-class forces in the Desolate State.

The Qingyun Sword Sect, which Liu Chen is backed by, is a top-tier power.

It is a top-tier force, one of the eight factions corresponding to the second line of the ballad.

It has a master of the highest rank (or above) in charge.

And Gu Chen's place was the Divine Dynasty's Night Watch Division.

The Master is a master of the terrestrial immortal level.

Therefore, in terms of ranking, their strength is among the top tier, above the Six Palaces.

It belongs to the last position in the first line of the ballad, at the level of the five great families.

Of course, the Night Watch represents the Divine Dynasty, so it is also considered to be within the sphere of influence of the Divine Dynasty.

The same applies to the other departments, such as the Surveillance Department, the Divine Garment Department, and the Divine Guard Army. The leader of each of these institutions possesses the realm of a terrestrial immortal.

Their ranking is comparable to that of the five great families.

It is only below the Four Sects, Three Outer Sects, and Two Gates.

The five great families each have at least one terrestrial immortal in charge, and some of the stronger ones have two.

The four sects—the Pill Sect, the Body Sect, the Sword Sect, and the Weapon Sect—each have two to three terrestrial immortals presiding over them.

The three external forces—the Heavenly Realm, the Tower Beyond the Tower, and the Mountain Beyond the Mountain—each have three to four terrestrial immortals in charge.

As for the two sects below the Divine Dynasty, the Buddhist sect and the Taoist sect, each of them has at least five terrestrial immortals in charge.

Above all other powers, the divine dynasty, capable of suppressing destiny single-handedly, possesses the largest number of terrestrial deities.

The outside world doesn't know much about it.

However, many forces conservatively estimate that there are no fewer than ten, otherwise it would be impossible to make the Buddhist and Taoist forces submit.

After all, the four major institutions in the Single God Dynasty—the Surveillance Bureau, the Night Watch Bureau, the Divine Garment Bureau, and the Divine Guard Army—possess a combined number of terrestrial deities.

That makes four.

In addition, there were the offerings to the terrestrial deities of the divine dynasty, as well as the divine emperors of successive dynasties.

Therefore, conservatively speaking, there are at least ten statues.

Only in this way can we firmly suppress the world and keep out the barbarians in the north, the Japanese pirates on the islands in the east, the nomadic royal tribes in the west, and the demons in the mountains of the south.

These few years.

The new barbarian king of the north has broken through to the realm of terrestrial immortals.

Then war broke out.

However, several years have passed and they still haven't been able to break through the Divine Dynasty's border defenses, which is enough to reflect the Divine Dynasty's strength.

The current Divine Emperor on the throne of the Divine Dynasty is in his prime!

Moreover, he had already broken through to the realm of terrestrial immortals decades ago.

The practitioner reaches the fifth stage of the innate realm.

Then one can have a lifespan of nearly 150 years.

If one breaks through to the fourth realm of the Traveler.

Each advancement in realm increases lifespan by approximately twenty years.

A Core Formation Realm expert who reaches the fourth rank can live to be at least 230 years old.

If one breaks through to the upper three ranks, the Sage Realm, each realm increases lifespan by thirty years.

The highest-ranking expert can live for 330 years.

As for the super-grade beings above the top three grades.

That is, a master of the Heaven and Earth Supreme Realm.

Each advancement in realm grants an additional hundred years of lifespan.

Those at the Earthly Venerable Realm can live for at least 430 years.

Those at the Celestial Venerable Realm can live for at least 530 years.

Above the Celestial Venerable Realm lies the Realm of the Land Immortals.

Once a breakthrough is achieved, one's lifespan will double.

They can live for about a thousand years.

It was absolutely terrifying.

Each divine emperor of the divine dynasty typically served a term of three hundred years.

After three hundred years, a new God Emperor will ascend the throne.

And those who can serve as God-Emperor.

He was able to break through to the realm of terrestrial immortals almost during his reign.

Therefore, over time, the number of God Emperors at the terrestrial immortal level within the Divine Dynasty has accumulated.

It usually stays around four.

Furthermore, the longer a God-Emperor lives, the more terrifying their strength becomes.

It can reliably deter enemies from all sides.

This is one of the reasons why the forces surrounding the Divine Dynasty and the sects and families within its borders can be suppressed by the Divine Dynasty.

That night.

The largest restaurant in Jiuwan City.

The top floor of Jiuwan Building.

The heads of the six major forces: the Yu family, the Zhu family, the Qiao family, the Tianwan Gang, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, and the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce.

Invite Gu Chen over.

"Lord Gu, here is six thousand taels." Manager Jiang of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce handed six thousand taels of silver notes to Gu Chen: "Thank you, sir, for recovering the supplies for our Sihai Chamber of Commerce and for wiping out those pirates."

"The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is too kind. These pirates dare to cause trouble in the waters near Jiuwan City, which means they don't respect the Jiuwan City Night Watch. It's what we Night Watch should do," Gu Chen said politely.

He then took the six thousand taels and put them in his pocket.

"This is four thousand taels of silver from my Tianwan Gang. Please accept it as well, sir." Deputy Gang Leader Qin also took out some silver and handed it to Gu Chen: "Thank you, Lord Gu, for helping us clear out the pirates this time."

"This is three thousand taels of silver from my Liuyun Chamber of Commerce." Manager Xia of the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce also took out silver and handed it to Gu Chen.

The head steward of the Yu family: "This is four thousand taels of silver from the Yu family!"

The Qiao family steward: "This is five thousand taels of silver from the Qiao family!"

The last steward of the Zhu family also took out four thousand five hundred taels and said, "This is four thousand five hundred taels from my Zhu family."

Last time, the Zhu family only gave five hundred taels.

Perhaps they felt it wasn't enough.

This time, they gave him four thousand five hundred taels directly.

They probably raised the stakes because they were afraid of offending him.

At the same time, it also proved that Gu Chen's ability to get things done was reliable.

So I took out a little more.

"You're all too kind. I've already said it's my duty." Gu Chen smiled helplessly and could only accept all the silver notes offered by everyone.

"Of course, of course," everyone replied immediately. "If it weren't for Lord Gu's intervention, we wouldn't have been able to recover the rest of our goods. Besides, Lord Gu also completely wiped out those pirates this time."

"In the future, when our merchant ships go out, we will no longer have to worry about being hijacked by pirates. This is all thanks to Lord Gu, and it is what Lord Gu deserves."

"Haha, it's all a small matter." Gu Chen laughed. "If you encounter pirates again in the future, you can come to me for help. Or if your other business partners are kidnapped by pirates or bandits, the same goes for you. I will take on any job in the cities near Jiuwan City."

Gu Chen cannot directly exchange information about unknown pirate or bandit forces for the copper bowl.

But whenever someone is kidnapped by pirates or bandits, they seek his help.

This can create a causal relationship.

A copper bowl can be used to exchange for information about pirates or bandits who take action.

This is also a way to make money.

"No problem," the members of the six major forces responded.

Gu Chen's ability to track down and eliminate pirates was evident to all this time.

If this kind of thing happens again, or if a business partner encounters this kind of thing, then...

They will definitely ask Gu Chen for help immediately.

I'm willing to spend some money.

At this time.

On the main street below Jiuwanlou.

A dozen or so young men dressed in white and blue, each holding a long sword.

We stopped at the entrance of Jiuwanlou.

"Senior Brother Liu, after traveling for two days, we have finally arrived at Jiuwan City," a young man said to the leader.

They were none other than those who had come all the way from the Qingyun Sword Sect.

Liu Chen, who wanted to challenge Gu Chen, and a group of disciples from Feidu Peak who came to cheer him on.

After receiving the latest information on the Prodigy Ranking from Liu Chen, he decided to challenge Gu Chen.

They traveled all the way from the Qingyun Sword Sect without stopping or resting for two days, and have finally arrived.

"Hmm." Liu Chen nodded upon hearing this and looked at the restaurant in front of him.

"Senior Brother Liu, I've heard that Jiuwanlou is the best restaurant in Jiuwan City. The private rooms on the top floor offer a wonderful view of the entire city at night." This was said by one of Liu Chen's junior sisters.

Situ Yu said, "We've been traveling for two days and we're exhausted. We've finally made it out of the mountain gate, so we should enjoy ourselves."

"Sure." Liu Chen nodded. "While I'm challenging Gu Chen, you can also broaden your horizons."

"Eighth Brother, go and reserve a table. We've booked the entire top floor of this restaurant tonight so everyone can relax," Liu Chen instructed.

"Yes, Senior Brother Liu." Wu Fa, the Qingyun Sword Sect disciple who was summoned by Liu Chen, accepted the order.

Heading towards the restaurant counter to reserve a table.