Chapter 970 - Golden City
Han Wu emerged from the tomb of Lingray with his back soaked in cold sweat, feeling as though he had been teetering at the threshold of death’s door. He could tell that Daniel had wanted to harm him, but had inexplicably decided against it at the last moment. That was the only reason he made it out of the tomb alive.
“I’m still not powerful enough,” Han Wu muttered to himself in a low voice.
Although he had four complete Forms, he was still far behind Daniel. In Lingray’s body, he could crush Han Wu without even activating a single Form.
“I need to get stronger. I need to get stronger quickly,” Han Wu murmured as he walked through the undead skeleton horde and headed outside.
His next destination was the Golden City.
According to the Desolation Manifestation, it would take at least a month on foot to get there. Riding a horse could cut that down to ten days. Fortunately, Han Wu was faster than a horse.
He activated his Second Form, Swift Shadow, and flew directly toward the Golden City. During the flight, he took out the treasures he had found inside the tomb.
The spoils included one Rank 4 Void Stone and two Rank 5 Divine Stones. The former was for storing the Refiner, which would speed up the refinement process, while the latter served a much greater purpose. Han Wu planned to use the Divine Stones to unseal two of his powers.
Following the principle of maximizing his gains, he chose the Slaughter Jurisdiction, mostly because it was bound to the Sacrifice ability, making it a two-for-one deal. This would allow him to receive bonus reward options after killing an opponent.
Naturally, a Rank 5 Divine Stone couldn’t fully contain both, so the chance of triggering Sacrifice was only 25%. But that was enough to satisfy him.
Han Wu spent a while mulling over his options for the second stone before choosing the Demon King Transformation. Although the Demon King Transformation wasn’t bound to a Divine Jurisdiction, it was plenty powerful on its own. It could at least serve as a trump card in critical moments.
Due to the Divine Stone’s rank limitation, the Demon King Transformation couldn’t reach its full potential either, and only allowed Han Wu to achieve the first stage of the transformation. Unlocking the second stage would require at least a Rank 7 or even a Rank 8 Divine Stone.
The two new abilities at his disposal had Han Wu a little more at ease.
As for the journey, it took him only a single day to reach the Golden City.
When Han Wu had first heard of the Golden City, he imagined it to be some prosperous place, but it turned out to be a city that had been abandoned for many years. This meant it had also attracted many homeless wanderers and life forms from various races.
These life forms fought constantly over living space, and large-scale battles broke out regularly. Basically, it required some real skill to gain a stable foothold inside the Golden City.
Han Wu landed outside the Golden City and tried to enter, but two wanderers blocked his path.
“Kid, do you really think you’re strong enough to enter the Golden City?” One wanderer scoffed. “Hand over all your valuables, then get lost!”
The Desolation Manifestation patiently translated for Han Wu. Pasting on a bright, cheerful smile, he used Shadow Meld to circle behind them both, then Shadow Blade to slice their heads off with ease.
Han Wu didn’t normally resort to violence unless he couldn’t help it. However, these two wanderers had tried to rob him, which was the same as threatening his life, so killing them didn’t weigh on his conscience at all.
Bending down, he picked up all the equipment they had dropped and placed it all into the Void Stone for the Refiner to break down. A wanderer further away witnessed Han Wu’s brutality and tactfully turned away, pretending he hadn’t seen a thing.
When Han Wu approached the wanderer with a grin, the wanderer immediately pretended to be blind. Seeing his cooperative attitude, Han Wu didn’t give him any trouble and asked directly, “Do you know about the Golden City’s Purifying Spring Water?”
The Desolation Manifestation translated Han Wu’s words into the common language of the White Soul Civilization.
“Purifying Spring Water is Golden City’s treasure! It’s a resource that all the major factions fight over. Ordinary people can’t get any.” The wanderer’s face was pale with fright. Then, recalling the ease with which Han Wu had just killed those two wanderers, he quickly added, “If you want some, you could join the Wanderer Association and register for the competition to compete for it. You could claim a share that way.”
Having obtained the information he needed, Han Wu stood up with a smile. The wanderer waited a good while. Only after confirming that Han Wu was out of sight did he let out a long breath, feeling like he had just narrowly escaped death.
“Someone ruthless has come to the Golden City. I need to report this to the Wanderer Association right away,” he muttered to himself, getting up and running toward the Association’s headquarters.
Unbeknownst to him, Han Wu was quietly watching him from within his shadow.
The wanderer arrived at the Wanderer Association, found the receptionist, and asked to see the manager, claiming he had an urgent report. The attendant hurried to bring him into the manager’s office.
In the office, the Wanderer Association’s manager was leisurely sipping freshly brewed tea. When the wanderer entered, he cast him a cursory glance and said, “Alright, you can go. You’re not needed here.”
The wanderer was confused. He hadn’t even said a word after entering, yet he was already being dismissed. As he was about to ask what was going on, Han Wu emerged from his shadow, grabbed him, and threw him out the door with an effortless shoulder toss. With that, Han Wu casually shut the door behind him and sat down on the sofa without reservation.
“Hello, how can I help you, sir?” the manager asked.
He had noticed Han Wu hiding in the wanderer’s shadow the moment the man walked in, hence his earlier words.
“I want a share of the Purifying Spring Water,” Han Wu said bluntly
The manager frowned slightly. Purifying Spring Water was an extremely precious resource. It could heal diseases, purify curses, and undo seals, making it highly sought after. The annual yield for it was only three portions, and all the major factions fought tooth and nail over every single one.
For this stranger to come in demanding a portion right off the bat was bold, even for his standards.
“What if I refuse?” the manager asked, form shifting dramatically as he activated his Sixth Form, Thunder Champion.
Crackling lightning circled him menacingly, warning others not to approach. It was a clear message to Han Wu not to get cocky, lest he pay the price.
Han Wu refused to back down and activated his Third Form, Swordwind, in response. A powerful storm erupted inside the small room. Wind and lightning collided violently, tearing the place apart.
At that moment, the manager realized he had run into a truly dangerous opponent.