Master of Kaidan-Chapter 599 Initial Probe into 121
"Ah, this..." Upon hearing Green Lantern’s response, Feng Xue suddenly felt as if he understood something. After pondering for a moment and realizing that people from Yan Country were virtually invisible in the "Hell Joke Universe," he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing that he couldn’t get more information from Green Lantern, he simply asked,
"When do we leave?"
"My resurrection opportunities for this year have already been used up, and the other Layer Masters are almost in the same situation. Infinite City’s resurrection time refreshes on January 1st every year, so if we form a group, we would have to wait until next year at least. However, you can try it on your own first. You’ll at least gain some understanding of that world. After all, each Layer Master has an annual exploration quota to meet."
Green Lantern took out a map and spread it on the tea table, and before Feng Xue could ask, she continued,
"This is a rough map summarized by a previous Layer Master. The current world has four major countries known as the ’Four Poles,’ and a large number of small countries sandwiched between them. Other Layer Masters definitely have more detailed information, but they’re only willing to exchange the most basic intelligence."
At this point, Green Lantern glanced at Feng Xue and, seeing that he wasn’t interrupting, pointed at one of the four largest countries on the map and said,
"This is White Forest Country. Its Main God is a War God who possesses the Power of [War]. This country venerates physical strength, and most of its gods are Martial Gods. It’s said that every four years, at the Holy Arena, all the Martial Gods of the country will gather and engage in intense combat. The victor will become the chief deity of the entire Divine System for the next four years.
"Mortals can also participate in this competition. If they gain the recognition of the gods, they can ascend to become Martial Gods. This is the most straightforward path to Ascension. However, since Martial Gods are a stubborn bunch, gaining their recognition usually means you have to beat them into submission. So far no one has succeeded, which speaks to the difficulty involved."
As she spoke, she pointed to another country:
"This one is called Budha Ali. The Main God here consists of four Elemental Monarchs, who seem to be equal in status. The Divine System is mostly made up of Elemental Gods or Phenomenal Gods. This place is particularly xenophobic and doesn’t have a stable path to Ascension. At least from the current information, all the gods here are born deities, which is to say, natural Kaidan."
After finishing, Green Lantern pointed towards the third major country:
"This is Ideal Country, yes, that’s its name. The Main God here is the God of All Machinery. Their technology is the strongest among the four major countries. The battle style here involves powerful spiritual power combined with various high-tech devices. They are strong in many respects. It is said that one can ascend to godhood by making significant achievements in a particular field, but again, no one has succeeded yet."
At this point, Green Lantern’s gaze was fixed on Feng Xue. He took the hint and promptly said,
"I’m listening, so what about the last one?"
"Undead Kingdom, Balang, a realm composed of undead creatures and wandering souls. They dominate souls, resurrect corpses, study life, and defile death. In this place, living people only come in two kinds—all either slaves brought in from other countries or mages who believe they can’t Ascend before the end of their lifespan and thus devote themselves to death."
After listening to Green Lantern’s introduction, Feng Xue’s hands flickered from side to side with his shake of salt before finally shaking his head and saying,
"It sounds just like a game world. But according to what you said, does that mean White Forest Country is full of muscle brutes, Budha Ali is full of mages, Ideal Country is full of mecha drivers, and Balang is full of Undead Mages?"
"It’s not exactly like that," Green Lantern shook her head, "Their mainstream is more a style rather than a profession. For example, in White Forest Country, even though they celebrate physical strength, that doesn’t mean they only cultivate the body. They also practice Fighting Spirit and Anger, traditional warriors, Martial Monks, and Samurai are also possible professions. Of course, they have mages too, but the mages in White Forest Country generally choose to use magic to enhance their bodies, then rush into hand-to-hand combat.
"As for Budha Ali, what they worship isn’t so much magic as it is control over energy. They also train their bodies but tend to focus more on increasing their capacity. They have Martial Artists as well, but they are more inclined towards... Hmm, have you watched Dragon Ball?"
"I have, please continue," Feng Xue immediately affirmed, Green Lantern then said,
"If White Forest Country’s people are more like straightforward Martial Artists, then Budha Ali’s Martial Artists lean more towards accumulating energy and then casting Qi Gong Wave-like energy attacks. Of course, their manipulation of energy is no less than that of a mage.
"Ideal Country is the same, having both Martial Artists and Mages, but their Martial Artists are akin to the mindful stream, focusing on mental intentions which leads to large fluctuations in their strength. According to the Layer Master of Level 101, for the people of Ideal Country, momentum is everything—when their momentum is high, they can shatter true gods with one punch, but when low, they might get beaten up by an old lady on the street with a walking stick.
"As for Balang, this nation truly has very few living people; the system leans towards the application of souls and features Death Knights, Necromancers, and the like."
"I think I’ve got the gist of it," Feng Xue nodded. Green Lantern didn’t say much else, only reminding him at the end,
"If you decide to give it a try, it’s best to prepare a suicide backup plan, because Infinite City’s resurrection won’t reclaim items that are not on you, so..."
"I get it, I get it," Feng Xue nodded lightly, yet couldn’t help but recall when he had stuffed his entire fortune into the Golden Cabinet in real life, torn between being speechless and nostalgic.
Leaving Green Lantern’s home, Feng Xue didn’t go to exchange information with other Layer Masters.
It wasn’t that he was still socially anxious, but rather that he lacked a basis for intelligence exchange.
Intelligence was something everyone had fought for with their lives, and even relatively public information wasn’t just handed out because you asked for it. Green Lantern was willing to share because she knew Feng Xue’s strength, but he couldn’t just fight everyone he met to get the information, could he?
Simply asking can easily cause problems, so he decided to try it out on his own first, then use any intelligence he gathered as a basis for exchanges.
As for suicide, Feng Xue had no shortage of options. Even if Abe Tetsuya’s self-sacrificial knife (with multiple identities, he can shoot himself as Libra - The Swearer against his Emperor of Heaven self) had already been used, he still had the Masked Rider System. With any sufficiently powerful drawback in a belt, he could become the Guardian of the Beach.
...
Returning to Level 107, Feng Xue pondered for a while, then purchased some potentially useful little tools from the Mystery Shop. He then made another trip to the South District, refilled all used foundations, underwent two rounds of major construction to produce a bunch of comedic items, and replenished his Black Balls used up in the School Hell before he drank a bottle of Lucky Milk and issued a command to Babylon Tower—
"Initiate exploration mission of Level 121."
"Confirmed."
