Chapter 859: Other Arrangements

"What is this?" Han Li frowned and asked.

"Brother Li, no need to be surprised. The white crystal powder on this stone platform is ground from the bones of a strange beast. It was originally a material for refining beast pills, with the effect of stimulating the opening of latent apertures. It is used here merely to reveal all of the tester's true latent apertures." Chen Yang said calmly, his expression relaxed.

On the stone platform, Shi Chuankong was initially startled, but then found nothing unusual about his body. After hearing Chen Yang's explanation, he relaxed. Although his expression still showed some displeasure, he did not stop the crystal powder from adhering.

His latent apertures continued to light up one by one, finally stopping at the fifty-second.

Seeing this, Han Li's eyes also showed a hint of surprise.

Crab Daoist kept his eyes fixed on the white crystal powder, a flicker of doubt in his gaze, his brows tightly furrowed. It seemed he had some recollection of this substance, but at the moment, he could not recall it.

Shi Chuankong had originally intended to hide some of his strength, but now it was completely exposed. He stepped down from the stone platform without a word, his expression unpleasant.

"Brother Shi, don't be angry. Besides revealing all of one's true latent apertures, this stone platform's crystal powder also has some effect in promoting cultivation. It can only be used once today; in the future, even if you want to use it, there will be no opportunity." Seeing this, Chen Yang quickly tried to soothe him.

Hearing this, Shi Chuankong silently felt the changes in his body, and his expression softened slightly.

"Shi Kong, fifty-two latent apertures." The round-faced registrar said with a smile.

The long-eared, square-faced registrar opened the register in his hand and, with a flourish of his cinnabar brush, recorded Shi Chuankong's situation.

"Fellow Daoist Li, it's your turn." The round-faced registrar turned his gaze to Han Li and smiled.

Han Li nodded and stepped forward.

Mounting the stone platform, he stood at the spot where Shi Chuankong had been. Taking a deep breath, he silently activated the "Great Cycle Star Origin Art." White light radiated from his body, and his latent apertures lit up one after another.

After all thirty-seven latent apertures were lit, the white crystal powder on the ground also stirred and adhered to Han Li, but there was no further change in his body.

Seeing this, Chen Yang's eyes showed a trace of surprise, as if he hadn't expected Han Li's number of latent apertures to be far fewer than Shi Chuankong's.

"Li Feiyu, thirty-seven latent apertures." The round-faced registrar scanned Han Li's body and said.

After the square-faced registrar finished recording, he nodded to Chen Yang.

Han Li then stepped down from the stone platform and returned to the group.

"Both fellow daoists' assessments are without issue. Since you have reached the level of compliant citizens, you may join Fellow Daoist Chen Yang's command. Congratulations, congratulations." The round-faced registrar cupped his hands to the three and said with a smile.

"To have three fellow daoists join us is also a blessing for our Qingyang City. Joy to all."

As soon as Chen Yang finished speaking, a loud "boom" suddenly came from above, causing the entire stone chamber to shake violently.

Han Li and the other two's expressions changed slightly, but they saw that Chen Yang and his companions remained calm.

"Brother Li, Brother Shi, no need to be alarmed. The four floors above us are the Qingyang City's Arena. There must be a match going on right now." Chen Yang said with a smile.

"Arena?" As soon as Shi Chuankong heard this, he became interested.

They had always been enthusiastic about gambling on fights. When he first met Han Li in Yuanhuang City, it was in a similar venue.

A smile appeared on his face. Just as he was about to ask a question, he suddenly felt dizzy, his steps unsteady, and his head heavy. Involuntarily, he stumbled forward.

Just as he was about to crash into Chen Yang, the latter smiled and stepped aside, letting him fall to the ground.

"You..."

Han Li immediately sensed something was wrong, but as soon as he spoke, his mind grew heavy like Shi Chuankong's.

His heart tightened. He quickly bit his tongue, intending to activate the Spirit Refining Art, but then found that his sea of consciousness had become eerily lifeless, and the strength throughout his body had inexplicably vanished, as if drained away.

Before he could think further, darkness enveloped his vision, and he fell forward.

No matter how powerful his spiritual sense was, he could no longer hold on and completely lost consciousness.

Before the scene before him went completely dark, he only saw a tall, fierce-looking figure enter through the door.

When Chen Yang and the other two saw him, they immediately bowed respectfully and addressed him as "City Lord."

That fierce-looking man was naturally the master of Qingyang City, Du Qingyang.

"Chen Yang, you did well." Du Qingyang's gaze swept over Han Li and the others as he spoke.

"It's all thanks to the City Lord's White Profound Beast Bone Powder being potent enough, haha..." Chen Yang said with a laugh.

When Crab Daoist heard the words "White Profound Beast," he suddenly understood. He realized that Han Li and the other had fainted because this substance had entered their bodies via their latent apertures.

Unfortunately, knowing this now was too late.

"City Lord, shall I send him to your cultivation chamber now?" Chen Yang asked with a smile.

"No hurry. I have other arrangements for this person." Du Qingyang waved his hand and said.

The two spoke without avoiding Crab Daoist, as if they didn't consider him important.

Crab Daoist stood silently to the side, neither attempting to rescue nor fleeing blindly.

"And this puppet..." Chen Yang then seemed to remember that there was still Crab Daoist and asked tentatively.

"Lock up that human and the demon first. You know how to handle them. As for this puppet, though it has a bit of self-awareness, it's useless. Do as you see fit." Du Qingyang glanced at Crab Daoist and said casually.

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and turned to leave.

"Serve me as a servant, or be dismantled into scrap metal right now. Choose." Chen Yang looked coldly at Crab Daoist and said.

Crab Daoist remained silent, only slanting his gaze to glance at Han Li, then cupped his hands and bowed to Chen Yang.

"This puppet of yours has little combat ability, but it knows how to adapt. This damned place is boring; having a puppet like this around isn't bad." Chen Yang laughed.

With that, he stopped looking at Crab Daoist, crouched down, and took out two black stone bottles from his sleeve. He placed them on the arms of Han Li and Shi Chuankong respectively and uncorked them.

From the bottle mouths crawled two three-inch-long black centipedes, shaking their white, eyebrow-like antennae. After crawling around on the arms of Han Li and the other, they easily bit through their skin and burrowed inside.

Crab Daoist saw a bulge rapidly traveling under their sleeves, stopping at their hearts, forming a ring-shaped protrusion, and then halting again.

"Congratulations, Captain Chen Yang! With such a great achievement, I think the position of deputy city lord of Qingyang City will be yours in the future." The round-faced registrar stepped forward, cupping his hands in congratulations.

"Haha, I'll take your good wishes." Chen Yang said smugly.

Crab Daoist's gaze fell on Han Li and the other, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

...

After an unknown amount of time, Han Li slowly awoke.

Surrounded by dimness, he found himself in a dark stone chamber. The chamber was not large, only about four or five zhang in size, with pitch-black walls. The room was almost empty, with only a stone bed placed in the center.

He was lying on it, wearing a bone shackle on his hands and a pair of thick, arm-sized bone manacles on his feet.

Han Li strained against the shackles and manacles, but they only clanked and remained unmoved.

"Don't bother. These restraints are specially made; even someone with a hundred latent apertures couldn't break them." Just then, a voice sounded from outside, and a tall figure walked in—it was Chen Yang.

Behind him followed a dark-skinned, narrow-eyed young man in gray robes, who stood with his head bowed, looking respectful.

"Chen Yang, I don't recall ever doing anything against you. I had already agreed to join the Profound City. Why did you plot against us?" Han Li showed no surprise at Chen Yang's appearance, glanced sideways, and said slowly.

"Tsk tsk, Fellow Daoist Li remains calm in the face of danger—truly good composure. But your words are naively laughable. Must I have been wronged by you to move against you? This Accumulative Scale Hollow is a prison, and we are vicious prisoners. Did you expect to find justice and righteousness here?" Chen Yang sneered and said contemptuously.

"I take your point. Now that I've fallen into your hands, how do you intend to deal with me?" Han Li frowned and said calmly.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li. Though we are prisoners, we are not bloodthirsty madmen. This is the Qingyang City Arena. We prisoners, with nothing to do between hunting scale beasts and cultivation, find life dull. Watching fights and gambling is our only pleasure. This arena is the City Lord's gold mine and treasure trove. You are a human, and humans are extremely rare in the Accumulative Scale Hollow. If you participate in matches, I'm sure many will come to watch." Chen Yang said with a faint smile, but his smile was chilling.

"You captured me for this reason?" Han Li squinted and asked in a low voice.

"The Profound City does not support useless people. If you want to live well here, perform well in the matches. If you can prove your worth, you might earn your freedom." Chen Yang said noncommittally.

Hearing this, Han Li's expression shifted uncertainly.

"This man is in your charge." Chen Yang said to the gray-robed youth behind him, ignoring Han Li.

"Rest assured, Lord Chen. I will train him well, and there will be no mistakes." The gray-robed youth quickly assured him.

"Good. I'm tired; I'll rest for a while." Chen Yang yawned, then turned and walked out.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, where are Fellow Daoist Shi and Crab Daoist?" Seeing him leave, Han Li quickly called out.

But Chen Yang paid him no attention, and his figure soon disappeared beyond the door.