"Lord Locke… we've arrived at Nightblaze Prefecture."
Inside the metallic lifeform, Little white stood respectfully outside the cultivation chamber and bowed.
Truthfully, this entire mishap had shaken him badly.
If not for Lord Locke's unfathomable methods—whatever mysterious ability he had used to double the metallic lifeform's speed—Little white might truly have considered ending his own life in atonement.
Challenging the Prefect of Nightblaze Prefecture was the most critical step in Lord Locke's grand plan to expand the Fiend Castle.
If Lord Locke defeated the Prefect in an overwhelming, undeniable manner before the eyes of all, then from this day forward, the Fiend Castle would no longer be confined to small and mid-sized cities. It would enter prefecture capitals openly and proudly.
And once that happened—
Unless a Prefect possessed strength comparable to Lord Locke's, who would dare object to the Fiend Castle's presence?
After all, none of them would wish to be personally challenged next.
"Mm."
The cultivation chamber door opened.
Standing before Little white now was a figure clad in flowing blue robes, long blue hair cascading down his back.
For this battle, Locke would fight primarily with his water divine clone. His Saint-level original body and destiny divine clone had already been withdrawn into his soul space. What the world saw now was the Highgod of Water.
The moment he stepped out of the metallic lifeform—
"Hahaha! Lord Locke, you've finally arrived!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Locke lifted his head. A smile naturally formed on his lips.
"Rockpeak. Ryan. You two came early."
Rockpeak laughed. "If we're talking early, Ryan came much earlier than I did. I only arrived not long ago."
But as Rockpeak stepped closer, the smile on his face gradually stiffened.
Locke's divine power was restrained, perfectly controlled. Yet the closer Rockpeak drew, the more clearly, he felt it—
Suppression.
His own divine power was being pressed down.
Rockpeak was a special lifeform. His divine power had always been twice that of ordinary Highgods. And yet now…
He could feel an unmistakable disparity.
Just how terrifying had Lord Locke's divine power become?
"Hahaha, I just had nothing to do," Ryan said with a grin. "Ever since the Fiend Castle started expanding, those city lords stopped fighting me. It's been boring. So, I came early to wait for Lord Locke."
"You…" Rockpeak shook his head helplessly.
After all these years, Ryan's desire for battle hadn't diminished in the slightest. If anything, it had grown stronger alongside his strength.
Perhaps that relentless drive was precisely why he had progressed so quickly.
While they spoke, Little white had already released the three hundred Fiends who had traveled with Locke from the metallic lifeform.
"Whoa… so this is a prefecture capital?"
"Forget everything else—the city walls alone are five times taller than those of Barkley City."
"And look around! Everyone here is at least a Demigod. I haven't seen a single Saint."
"Incredible… most of them are Gods. And every now and then you can feel a Highgod's pressure."
The Fiends from Barkley City stared in wide-eyed amazement, comparing everything before them to what they had known.
Then someone spotted Locke and the others.
"Look! Isn't that Fiend Ryan and Fiend Rockpeak from our Fiend Castle?"
"It really is them!"
"I heard they're the two strongest Five-Star Fiends under Fiend Locke. Didn't expect to see them here."
"Of course they'd be here," someone laughed. "Lord Locke's battle with the Prefect has already drawn half of Hell's attention."
"Right now, it's just Ryan and Rockpeak. But when the day comes? I bet Prefects from other prefectures will show up too."
"After all… Lord Locke is our Fiend Castle's only Seven-Star Fiend."
"Everyone wants to see just how powerful a Seven-Star Fiend truly is."
Rockpeak and Ryan heard all of it.
As Locke's earliest followers, their confidence in him ran deep.
And now—standing this close—they could feel it clearly.
Even before seeing him fight, they already knew.
Purely in terms of divine power alone, Locke far surpassed them.
Add to that the might of fused Profound Mysteries…
How strong had Lord Locke become after advancing to Highgod?
They wanted to see it with their own eyes.
Locke merely smiled faintly.
Seven-Star Fiend.
Even in the distant future, when the secrets of Profound Mystery fusion would become widely known, Seven-Star Fiends would still stand among Hell's true elites.
Among Hell's one hundred and eight prefectures, several Prefects were themselves only at the Seven-Star level.
Some stronger ones had long since stepped down to pursue seclusion—but holding the position at all meant possessing true high-tier power within the Divine and Supreme Planes.
As for now—
Locke had absolute confidence.
Unless the Prefect of Nightblaze possessed a Sovereign artifact—
He would not be able to stir up the slightest wave.
"Lord Locke," Rockpeak said after glancing at the sky, "I've already arranged accommodations inside the city. Shall we enter Nightblaze Prefecture now?"
As one of the top three forces within the Fiend Castle, Rockpeak had subordinates loyal to him. Though he had only arrived today, preparations had been made in advance.
Ryan scratched the back of his head.
He hadn't arranged anything.
His followers were battle maniacs like himself. None of them thought about logistics.
"No need," Locke said calmly.
Rockpeak blinked.
"You both know," Locke continued, "that after the Fiend Castle was established, Fiends were granted privileges within cities."
"You may not care. But I am the standard by which all Fiends are measured."
He placed a hand on Rockpeak's and Ryan's shoulders.
"Before the challenge begins, I'll wait here."
Silence.
Rockpeak and Ryan exchanged a glance.
They understood immediately.
From the very beginning, Locke had defined what a "Fiend" meant.
A Fiend was an elite among all divine experts in Hell.
Only the finest could pass the Fiend examination and earn that title.
And elites—
Must have privileges befitting elites.
Skipping queues. Waived entrance fees.
Small privileges, perhaps.
But they represented something greater—
Honor.
For three hundred years, wherever they went, Fiends were envied by divine experts.
Who didn't want that badge on their chest?
Who didn't want to prove themselves elite?
Yet upon reaching the prefecture capital, perhaps intimidated by the Prefect's authority, Rockpeak and Ryan had subconsciously fallen back into obeying Nightblaze's rules.
They could.
But Locke could not.
If even he bowed—
Would the word "Fiend" still carry weight?
Would it still command respect?
"…You're right," Ryan said first. "Then I'll stay here too."
Rockpeak sighed, then laughed. "If that's the case, I'll remain as well."
If someone captured an image of him obediently lining up at the gates…
He'd never live it down.
Seeing the three leading Fiends remain outside, the three hundred Fiends who had followed Locke also stayed put.
They glanced at the long queue of divine experts entering the city.
And then—
They smiled.
Fiend privileges.
Almost in unison, space rings flashed.
Earth-element Fiends raised sturdy shelters from the ground. Water-element Fiends cleansed the surroundings. Wind-element Fiends swept debris away with gentle currents.
They had prepared for this.
News of the battle had drawn countless divine experts to Nightblaze.
Some of them were Fiends from other cities.
When those Fiends in the queue saw what was happening—
They stepped out.
One by one.
Badges pinned proudly to their chests.
Laughing as they joined the growing camp outside the gates.
And so, a strange sight formed before Nightblaze's towering walls.
A thin line of divine experts waited patiently to enter.
Beside them—
Rows of Fiends stood proudly in the open, constructing temporary dwellings.
The queued gods looked on with unmistakable envy.
Perhaps—
At that moment—
A seed had been planted in their hearts.
This…
Was what it meant to be a Fiend.
Even before a prefecture capital, they upheld their honor.
And when news of the scene reached inside the city—
Some Fiends who had already checked into inns quietly withdrew their rooms…
And walked back out to join the gathering outside the gates.
End of Chapter
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