Chapter 452 -452-Sudden Change
John watched coldly from the side as the argument continued.
The guards seemed intent on squeezing half of every explorer’s gains out of them.
One of the guards at the front sneered,
"I don’t care who you are. Even if the King of Heaven himself came here, he’d still have to follow our rules."
"If you dare force your way into the forbidden zone, then feel free to try."
"The Sovereign-rank experts of Tarlon are not people you can afford to provoke."
John frowned slightly when he heard this.
Tarlon?
It sounded like the name of a faction.
Most likely, this organization had powerful experts overseeing it and had forcibly claimed this forbidden zone as its territory.
Anyone who wanted to enter...
had to pay them protection fees.
The High God-level expert at the front immediately protested angrily,
"Aren’t you Tarlon people being far too overbearing?"
"This forbidden zone was naturally formed by the universe!"
"What does it have to do with Tarlon?"
"The way you’re acting is simply shameless!"
The guard was also a peak High God-level expert.
He suddenly released his aura and sneered.
"Shameless?"
"Heh."
"Across the countless universes, which famous forbidden zone isn’t occupied by some major faction?"
"If other factions can claim forbidden zones for themselves, why can’t Tarlon claim this one?"
"What?"
"Are you looking down on Tarlon?"
The High God immediately lost some of his courage.
He stammered,
"B-But... even the other factions don’t go as far as you!"
"You’re demanding registration and half of everything we obtain inside!"
The guard raised his chin arrogantly.
"I don’t care what the other factions do."
"This is Tarlon territory."
"Here, you follow our rules."
"If you don’t like them, you can leave right now."
"But if you want to enter the forbidden zone, you hand over half your gains."
"Hmph! Fine! I’m not going in anymore!"
The High God turned angrily.
"I’m leaving!"
"Leaving?"
The guard laughed coldly.
"Heh. Who said you were allowed to leave for free?"
"We have another rule."
"If you leave empty-handed, you still have to pay."
"What?!"
The High God practically exploded.
"Tarlon has gone too far!"
"I haven’t even entered the forbidden zone!"
"Why the hell should I pay you anything?"
"This is outright robbery!"
"Outright robbery?"
The guard grinned.
"Exactly."
"We’re robbing you openly."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"You... you..."
The High God looked around.
Several peak High God-level experts were watching the area.
In the end, he gritted his teeth.
"Fine."
"How much?"
John frowned as he watched.
He felt rather displeased.
Claiming a forbidden zone for yourself was one thing.
But acting this brazenly...
They demanded half of everyone’s gains before allowing them inside.
And even someone who chose not to enter had to pay just to leave?
Just as that High God had said—
this was naked robbery.
The era of the Apocalypse Tribulation...
John thought.
Instead of keeping a low profile, acting cautiously, and quietly accumulating strength, they’re behaving this arrogantly?
Whoever stands behind Tarlon must be ridiculously overbearing.
John shook his head.
Before long, the High God paid the demanded fee and stormed away.
The next group in line was Ivar and his companions.
Ivar wore a polite smile and cupped his fists toward the guard.
"Brother, I am Ivar of the Ye Family."
"I came here under the orders of my clan head to undergo a trial in your esteemed forbidden zone."
"I hope you can make things convenient for us."
As the saying went, one did not strike a smiling face.
Seeing that Ivar was courteous and friendly, the guard replied,
"The Ye Family?"
"Never heard of it."
"As long as you follow the rules, I’ll let you enter."
"How dare you!"
A sharp female voice suddenly rang out.
It was the young woman beside Ivar.
She glared coldly at the guard.
"The Ye Family is an old-established power in this universe."
"We were founded far earlier than Tarlon."
"We even have a God King ancestor overseeing our clan and maintain good relations with many other factions."
"Even your Tarlon ancestor wouldn’t dare disrespect the Ye Family."
"And what are you?"
"How dare you look down on us?"
The girl spoke with overwhelming arrogance, firing off one sentence after another.
Of course the guard had heard of the Ye Family.
He had merely been trying to follow regulations.
Yet being publicly berated like this left him looking extremely awkward.
Still, because of the Ye Family’s background, he did not dare argue with her.
He merely replied mechanically,
"My apologies."
"But unless you have authorization from Tarlon’s ancestor, I cannot break the rules for you."
"Ahem."
Ivar deliberately coughed twice, signaling for the girl not to push things too far.
She had been about to continue speaking, but the moment she heard him cough, she obediently closed her mouth.
"I don’t mind following the rules."
Ivar smiled.
"I can register my name and background."
"I’m also willing to hand over half of what I obtain inside."
"But I hope you can make one exception."
"Please don’t record the treasures I’m carrying."
It turned out that Tarlon’s registration requirements included far more than a person’s name and origin.
They also recorded cultivation level...
and every single treasure the entrant carried.
Nothing was overlooked.
This was apparently Tarlon’s way of preventing explorers from secretly hiding valuable gains.
The guard shook his head.
"No."
"Everything must be registered."
"This is beyond my authority."
"If you refuse to complete the registration, I cannot let you enter."
"Young Master Ivar, please don’t make things difficult for me."
Ivar was clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
This time, he had brought an exceptionally valuable treasure into the forbidden zone.
It was something capable of saving his life.
He understood the principle of never flaunting one’s wealth.
More importantly, the treasure was connected to a past vendetta.
He absolutely could not reveal it.
Otherwise, certain powerful experts might immediately recognize it.
Yet Tarlon insisted on inspecting everything he carried.
Ivar found that unacceptable.
"Then I’ll think about it."
He spoke calmly to the guard before turning around and leaving.
The girl quickly followed him.
"Ivar, what do we do now?"
She frowned.
Ivar did not answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze swept toward John.
A flash of light passed through his eyes.
So he came here too.
Ivar recognized him at once.
John was the mysterious expert he had encountered earlier, the one who had crossed the cosmic void with his physical body.
It wasn’t particularly surprising.
Still, the two of them could hardly even be called acquaintances.
Naturally, there was nothing to say.
Hearing the girl’s question, Ivar finally replied,
"I’ll contact the clan."
"Best case, the family can reach Tarlon’s ancestor directly and ask him to make an exception for us."
With that, Ivar stepped aside and began contacting his clan.
John glanced at him indifferently.
The Ye Family?
They also have a God King ancestor?
I have no connection with them.
They aren’t a threat to me.
Ahead of John, some of the experts in line were newcomers who did not understand Tarlon’s rules.
After learning how unreasonable the requirements were, several simply chose to leave.
Those familiar with Tarlon’s methods stayed behind.
They completed the registration...
and entered the forbidden zone.
Soon, it was John’s turn.
The guard gave him a brief look before frowning.
"Disperse the power of law around your body."
"Show your true appearance."
Only then did it become clear why.
The power of law continuously flowed around John’s entire body.
Because of it...
the guard could not clearly see his face or even his exact figure.