Wolves Among Sheep

Helen, a daughter of the Brockman family, was also Fiendkind!

For this news, Du Chen merely rubbed his nose. He was more interested in Heidi’s expression. This vicious woman gritted her teeth when mentioning her sister, as if harboring a profound hatred, wishing she could flay Helen alive.

“Helen and Ted aren’t dead yet?” Heidi clenched her fists, violet veins bulging starkly on her delicate hands.

Du Chen nodded. “I saw the father and daughter about half a year ago. They’re doing quite well!”

Heidi snorted, her face frigid with malice as she strode forward. “They ruined us, yet they’re still enjoying life on the outside! Hmph! I hope Bonis captures them and banishes them here as well!”

Xue Ji, perplexed, asked, “Miss Heidi, I don’t know this Helen, but she is your sister after all. How can you curse her so?”

Heidi whirled around, spitting, “She’s just a blind bitch! Calling her sister is letting her off easy! If Ted hadn't tried to cure her blindness, he wouldn't have angered Bonis, condemning our entire clan to banishment in this godforsaken place!”

Xue Ji had already learned about the Fiendkind in the Labyrinth of Life, but hearing Bonis’s name now, her heart still gave a palpable tremor. That was the one who had once gravely injured her Master!

Heidi remained indignant, spewing accusations under Steve’s persistent prodding: “Back then, our Brockman family were hereditary Councilors to the Supreme Council, and my father served as a Military Marshal. But then, one day, the Supreme Council suddenly ordered the annihilation of our family, claiming my uncle Ted stole Bonis’s supreme treasure to cure Helen’s illness… Because of those two scoundrels, my father and many relatives were massacred, and our entire lineage was banished to this desolate City of Penance!”

A pang of inexplicable sorrow tightened Du Chen's heart. So Helen hadn't lied on Battle God Isle after all; she had indeed been blind, and the first thing she witnessed after regaining her sight was her mother being summarily executed before her very eyes…

Poor girl, indeed!

Heidi’s words, however, also hinted at another layer of meaning. Du Chen maliciously mused: if the Brockman family suffered such a devastating fate, then the other factions within the City of Penance must be in a similar plight—their Family Heads and truly powerful experts already executed, leaving only the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled to be banished. If so… how many formidable individuals could truly remain within this City of Penance?!

In other words, how much sway could he and his Eldest Brother, both Titled Battle Gods, truly hold within the City of Penance?!

Just moments ago, when he had demonstrated his strength to Heidi, merely unleashing the power of an Eighth-rank cultivation had already left the young woman utterly dumbfounded for a good while!

Du Chen subtly probed, “So Miss Helen has truly endured so much in her past. I imagine she and her father must be striving to rescue you, yes? I personally witnessed Miss Helen’s strength had already reached Eighth-rank, and Mr. Ted is a Tenth-rank Battle God. With such formidable power, exploring the Labyrinth of Life and finding a way to rescue you isn’t impossible… At the very least, there’s a sliver of hope!”

Heidi gasped, “That wretched Helen has already advanced to an Eight-Star Battle God? She… Hmph, do we even *need* them to rescue us!?” She shook her head, not elaborating, but her face still held an expression of profound disbelief.

An Eight-Star Battle God was already a formidable presence in Heidi’s eyes, and Du Chen secretly rejoiced! Feigning concern, he used the excuse of checking Heidi’s injuries, indignant: “Look at this wound… Sigh, those bastards from the Kursk family are truly vicious. What gives them the right to be so arrogant!?”

Heidi replied coldly, “The Kursk family is a major clan, boasting an annual yield of eighteen thousand Huhuhu Beasts, and their Family Head is a Ninth-rank peak Battle God… You two brothers interrupted their Saint Tru's Dark Execution, so be cautious if you encounter them. Around here, only our family’s territory offers you any genuine safety!”

Hmm? Does that mean a Ninth-rank peak Battle God is truly enough to dominate this entire region?!

What then, are two *Titled Battle Gods* in this place?!

Du Chen and Steve exchanged knowing glances, one with a solemn, righteous demeanor, the other with a roguish grin…

After clarifying the power dynamics of the City of Penance, Du Chen pondered. Indeed, if Titled Battle Gods could truly flourish here, then the very laws of the Creator God must have gone seriously amiss.

The power of Battle Gods stems from the elements. Without a sun, fire-elemental Battle Gods wouldn’t be particularly formidable! The terrain, composed solely of grey sand, meant earth-elemental Battle Gods couldn’t thrive either… By extension, Battle Gods of the other three elements would find it impossible to cultivate to truly high levels here!

Furthermore, would the Fiendkind be foolish enough to arm their prisoners during banishment? Thus, the people here possessed no sacred artifacts!

If they wouldn’t even permit sacred artifacts, then one could hardly speak of the bane of High-level Battle Gods—the sacred artifacts of war!

Similarly, due to this harsh environment, resources essential for Aberrant Beasts to survive were exceedingly scarce. Consequently, even High-level Aberrant Beasts were remarkably rare within the City of Penance…

The Brockman family became a dominant power here within just over a decade of their arrival, precisely because they had retained many formidable experts who had cultivated outside—including Helen’s grandmother, a Ninth-rank mid-stage elder, and six Eight-Star Battle Gods, comprising Heidi’s four cousins and two paternal uncles.

As for the Battle Gods born and raised within the City of Penance, they had deteriorated with each passing generation! However, the scarcity of elements also offered a peculiar advantage: the elemental aura was exceptionally faint. This was precisely why Du Chen hadn’t initially noticed Heidi buried alive beneath Xue Ji.

Du Chen began to secretly rejoice, *Thankfully, thankfully I hadn’t gone insane and displayed the power of a Titled Battle God just now, otherwise, what if I scared the little beauty witless!? A flock of sheep had suddenly discovered two ferocious wolves had stumbled among them… Heaven knows what consequences that would bring!*

He and Steve had falsely claimed to be merely Eighth-rank!

The group traveled for an entire day across the vast, desolate wilderness, proceeding cautiously until they finally arrived at the Brockman family’s territory.

A low rumble. Du Chen suddenly heard a strange sound beside him. He glanced sideways to see Xue Ji blushing, unable to suppress a wry chuckle: “It was thoughtless of me. My Eldest Brother and I can subsist on a meal once every ten days, but you cannot endure that now. Why don’t you enter my Precious Lotus Scripture for the time being?”

Xue Ji shook her head. “I wish to observe more of this place where the Fiendkind banish their criminals. Thank you, but I can still manage!”

Heidi turned back, frowning. “You two are still so polite to each other, even as husband and wife!?” Steve chortled mischievously, and Heidi added, “We’ll be at my Uncle Chek’s home soon. Your wife will quickly have food to eat!”

Du Chen gazed around, the vast, monotonous grey wilderness still stretching endlessly before them. Where, then, was this ‘home’!?

Still puzzled, Heidi approached a small mound, tapped a weathered rock upon it, and whispered, “Open the door, I wish to see Mr. Chek!” She then turned to Du Chen, her tone cold: “There are no bricks, tiles, or glazed pottery here; the shifting sands make building above ground impossible. We can only reside beneath it!”

At that moment, a section of earth beside the rock lifted, revealing a thick stone slab. Several figures emerged, uniformly clad in violet. Du Chen now understood that the inhabitants of the City of Penance only wore two colors of clothing—violet and white—because the sole source of wool, the Huhuhu Beast, yielded only those two hues…

The one who opened the stone entrance startled visibly upon seeing Heidi. She urgently whispered, “Don’t cause a scene, quickly take me to see Uncle! These three are my friends!”

Upon hearing the word “friends,” a hint of warmth immediately entered everyone’s eyes.

Following Heidi into an underground tunnel, they hadn't walked far when hasty footsteps echoed ahead. “Heidi, you’re not dead!?” A tall, thin middle-aged man strode quickly towards them. By his appearance, he bore a striking resemblance to Ted. He stepped forward, scrutinizing Heidi’s condition: “You’ve already undergone Saint Tru's Dark Execution!?”

“Uncle, these three saved me; they are friends!” Heidi emphasized the word “friends,” introducing them one by one: “This is Bell Glynn, an Eight-Star Battle God. The other two are Alex and his wife, Xue Ji, both Eighth-rank!”

Xue Ji forced a bitter smile, thinking, *Mr. Bell Glynn's pretense is truly excessive, but now is not the time to trouble our Benefactor!* Du Chen also cursed inwardly!

Chek stared at the two brothers, his eyes lighting up, but he quickly asked, “No one saw you when you arrived, right!?”

“No, we were exceedingly careful!”

“That’s good. The Kursk bastards are at your grandmother’s place right now. Whatever you do, don’t let them see you. We’ll discuss everything else later; you hide first!”

Heidi indignantly demanded, “The Kursk people are here? I’ve already undergone the execution, why are they still hounding me!?”

Chek shook his head, a greedy glint in his eyes. “It’s not about you. Just two days ago, a Ninth-rank sacred artifact appeared on the border between our family’s territory and the Kursk family’s. Now the entire City of Penance has gone utterly mad!”

“A Ninth-rank sacred artifact!?” Heidi suddenly clutched her uncle’s shoulder, staring intently at him. The appearance of a Ninth-rank sacred artifact in the City of Penance was akin to a beggar’s den suddenly receiving a sack of Gold Coins! “Is it truly real!?”

“Of course it’s true! When the sacred artifact manifested, there was a brilliant aquatic glow, and everyone within three hundred li witnessed it firsthand!” Chek’s expression was solemn. “Now, for this sacred artifact, all major factions in the City of Penance have already converged upon the border of our two families! The Kursk family’s visit this time is to discuss with the old lady how to resist such a massive coalition!”

Heidi’s face also turned grave. “A single Ninth-rank sacred artifact is enough to drive the entire City of Penance into a frenzy. This is truly a monumental problem… and a monumental opportunity!”

“Indeed, I heard that the sacred artifact manifested on the border between our territory and Kursk’s. Nine major families from the southeastern sector of the City of Penance have formed an alliance, totaling thirteen thousand people, and are now advancing directly towards us. They claim they are indigenous residents of the City of Penance who have never witnessed a legendary sacred artifact, so they are coming here on a ‘pilgrimage’! Damn it, even a child understands their true intentions!”

A pilgrimage!? For a *mere* Ninth-rank sacred artifact, someone is using the word ‘pilgrimage’!?

Du Chen suddenly rubbed his nose. “Mr. Chek, in which general direction is that sacred artifact currently located?”

Were these two brothers also coveting the sacred artifact!? Chek was displeased inwardly, but presuming on his family’s formidable strength, he pointed in a direction.

Du Chen's lip twitched. The connection within his Battle Soul to the sacred artifact told him that the Vanishing Snow Sword also seemed to be in that very direction…