"Brother Li, do you think they will restrict our movements if we join this Profound City?" Shi Chuan Kong asked first.

"Restrictions may not necessarily be the case, but there will probably be some matters or tasks assigned, which will inevitably delay some time. The living environment here is extremely harsh, and those who can survive must pay something and follow the rules here," Han Li said, pondering.

"I'm just afraid of being entangled in too much trouble. I really don't want to join any Profound City and become a subject," Shi Chuan Kong said, pursing his lips.

"Forced by the situation, we can only take it one step at a time. Be as careful as possible, after all, we are new here and don't know much about the situation," Han Li said, shaking his head.

"Brother Li, do you think these people will be detrimental to us?" Shi Chuan Kong asked, scratching his head after hearing this.

"Those who are regarded as prisoners by your Holy Region and abandoned in this place, I don't think are all good people. If they were soft-hearted, they probably wouldn't have lived to this day," Han Li said with a sigh.

"That's right, it's always good to be cautious," Shi Chuan Kong said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Fellow Daoist Shi, what do you think of Chen Yang?" Crab Daoren suddenly asked.

"We haven't been in contact for long, but judging from his interactions with his subordinates and his words and deeds in recent days, he seems to be quite good," Shi Chuan Kong said.

"What's wrong? Fellow Daoist Crab, have you noticed anything unusual?" Han Li asked, frowning slightly.

"No. I just feel that he has known us for a short time, but he is willing to break the rules of Profound City for us, which seems a bit excessive..." Crab Daoren said, pondering.

"This... I don't think it's anything, just a means of winning people's hearts. I've seen too much of it," Shi Chuan Kong said with a smile.

"Although unusual events may not necessarily be demonic, we must never relax," Han Li said thoughtfully.

……

While Han Li and the others were talking, on the top floor of the left wing of Green Ram City, in a huge hall.

The four walls of the hall were hung with huge fire basins, seemingly made from the skulls of some kind of giant beast, with grease burning continuously inside, emitting bright light, illuminating the entire hall.

In the center against the wall, there was a huge stone table, carved with many complex patterns that were not common in this Scaled Empty Realm, but they were all star charts of the night sky.

Behind the table, there was a large black stone chair, covered with a beast skin of an unknown giant beast, on which sat a burly black-robed man.

Half of his face was covered with black scales, while the other half seemed to have been burned by flames, with all the muscles knotted together. Coupled with his figure being twice as tall as a normal person and his muscles bulging exaggeratedly, he looked very fierce and ugly.

However, his eyes were very special, with more white than black, and small pupils. The edge of the ink-like black pupils was also inlaid with a circle of silver-white luster.

Not far from him, across the table, Chen Yang was bowing with a look of joy on his face, telling him something.

"Lord City Lord, that's basically the situation of those three people," he said at last.

The man called City Lord by him was none other than Du Qingyang, the master of this Green Ram City.

"Hehe, a Human, a Demon, and a self-aware puppet, a very interesting combination... Has the news of these three people not spread out?" Du Qingyang leaned forward, supporting his chin with his hands clasped together, and said with great interest.

"Lord City Lord, rest assured, I know the importance of this matter clearly. I have already told those brothers under my command, and their mouths are tight, they will not spread it out," Chen Yang quickly assured.

"Well, I heard earlier that Profound City and Puppet City were fighting over a person, but they failed, which made Lord E Kuai very dissatisfied. It is said that the person had just entered this exiled land from the outside world. Now, we have picked up two at once. If Profound City finds out, we won't be able to keep even one," Du Qingyang glanced at Chen Yang and said.

"That Demon man doesn't matter, but that Human must not be handed over. He has True Spirit bloodline. If someone else gets it, it will be a great loss," Chen Yang said, nodding repeatedly.

"I am still relieved with you handling things. You go and handle the later matters, but don't make any mistakes," Du Qingyang straightened up, leaned back, and said lazily.

"Yes! Lord City Lord, rest assured," Chen Yang said respectfully, cupping his hands.

……

In the evening.

Han Li was cultivating *Yu Hua Fei Sheng Gong* in his room when there was a knock on the thin stone door.

He got up and opened the door, and saw Chen Yang standing outside with an apologetic expression.

Han Li let him into the room, and he said:

"Brother Li, I'm really sorry. I originally thought that I could use my face to exempt you from the assessment, but the City Lord not only didn't give me face, but scolded me severely. The City Lord said that the rules of the city are the foundation of the city and must not be disobeyed."

"It's okay. Since we want to join Green Ram City, we should abide by the rules of Green Ram City. We should take the assessment as it is," Han Li said, waving his hands, unhurriedly.

"Although the City Lord did not agree to exempt you from the assessment, he promised that as long as you meet the standard of being a Subject after the test, you can join my Hunting Team together and do not have to be split into other places," Chen Yang said again.

"Oh, I wonder what the standard of being a Subject is?" Han Li asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"This assessment is based on the physical strength of the person being tested. Specifically, it depends on the number of *Xuan Qiao* opened. Those with more than sixteen *Xuan Qiao* can meet the standard of being a Subject, while those with less are considered commoners. Those with more than fifty-four *Xuan Qiao* can serve as the captain of the city guard team, and those with more than seventy-two can serve as the captain of the hunting team," Chen Yang explained.

Han Li's heart moved slightly. When he saw Chen Yang that day, the *Xuan Qiao* he showed were only fifty or sixty, so it could be seen that the *Xuan Qiao* he really opened might not be so few.

"I see. I wonder when the assessment will take place? Just now, listening to the words of the two registrar officials, it seems that the first thing to do after entering the city is to take the assessment?" Han Li's mind turned and he asked.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Brother Li and Brother Shi have worked hard all the way, so you should rest well tonight, and the assessment will be tomorrow," Chen Yang said with a smile.

"Okay. Then thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li said, cupping his hands.

"Brother Li, don't be so polite with me. I feel really guilty that I couldn't get you exempted from the assessment," Chen Yang waved his hands quickly and said.

"Haha, Brother Chen, don't be like this, otherwise I will feel guilty," Han Li said with a smile.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Chen Yang said goodbye and left.

Han Li returned to the house, pondered for a moment, then sat down cross-legged again, took a Beast Core, and continued to cultivate with his eyes closed.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Han Li and the others followed Chen Yang down to the third level of Green Ram City, and from the bottom level all the way to the right, they passed through the black fortress and came to the mountain on the right.

The layout on the right side was basically the same as on the left side, and the mountain on the right was also divided into four levels.

As soon as they passed through the huge gate on the bottom of the mountain and entered the mountain, Han Li saw huge animal pens separated by stone walls, almost all of which were filled with various kinds of huge exotic beasts.

Among them were the gray-blue giant beasts covered with scales that Chen Yang's team had taken with them when they went out before.

In the animal pens, there were also many commoners wearing gray robes coming and going, doing chores such as washing and feeding the exotic beasts, looking quite busy.

The group did not stay on this level and went directly to the second level.

The space on the second level was slightly smaller than that on the first level, and there were also huge stone room animal pens distributed inside.

What was different from the first level was that the exotic beasts in the animal pens here were obviously not as docile as those on the first level. Each of them was either roaring with jagged teeth, or hitting the fences with their bodies.

Most of those guarding these animal pens were still commoners dressed as servants, but among them, some Subjects in charge of guarding the city could also be seen, occasionally taking action to teach those restless exotic beasts a lesson.

Chen Yang led the three of them all the way up and stopped after reaching the third level.

As soon as they arrived at the third level, Han Li saw two somewhat familiar faces, one was a round-faced man with a pointed horn on his forehead, and the other was a long-eared square-faced man with a cold expression. They were both wearing crimson robes, and they were the two registrar officials he had seen yesterday.

Chen Yang stepped forward to exchange greetings with the two of them, and then, under their guidance, came to an independent stone room.

The stone room was not small, much larger than Chen Yang's cave dwelling, but there was no room partition inside, and no extra furnishings. At first glance, it looked like an indoor training ground.

"Puppets do not need to be tested, which of you two will go first?" the long-eared square-faced registrar official glanced at Han Li and the two of them, and said coldly.

"Since we all have to be tested anyway, it's the same who goes first, I'll go first," Han Li was about to speak when Shi Chuan Kong said.

"Okay, then please this... Fellow Daoist Shi, take a step onto this stone platform first," the round-faced registrar official said with a smile.

In the center of the room, there was also a black stone platform with a radius of tens of feet, only two feet above the ground. There seemed to be a layer of white crystalline powder on it, slightly reflecting the light of the indoor lights.

Shi Chuan Kong walked up as he was told and came to the center of the stone platform.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, there is no need to take any complicated actions, you only need to stimulate your own Profound Technique and light up all the *Xuan Qiao* you have opened on your body," the round-faced registrar official reminded him.

Shi Chuan Kong nodded, clenched his fists and brewed for a while, then suddenly let out a violent shout.

Immediately afterwards, a layer of hazy white light lit up on his body, and one by one *Xuan Qiao* lit up on the surface of his body.

Han Li first released his divine sense to scan the black stone platform and white crystalline powder, and after finding nothing unusual, his eyes narrowed slightly and fell on Shi Chuan Kong.

He saw clusters of *Xuan Qiao* lit up quickly on Shi Chuan Kong's body.

Ten clusters, twenty clusters, thirty clusters...

Han Li's heart moved when he saw this.

Judging from the current trend, the *Xuan Qiao* that Shi Chuan Kong had opened up should be much more than his own.

Sure enough, after the thirty-seventh *Xuan Qiao* on his body lit up, the thirty-eighth *Xuan Qiao* lit up again, until the forty-fifth *Xuan Qiao* lit up before it stopped.

At the same time, an invisible aura was released from his body, impacting the white crystalline powder at his feet, causing it to ripple and disperse.

The corners of Shi Chuan Kong's mouth curled up in a smile, and he was about to withdraw his technique and walk down when his expression suddenly changed slightly.

He saw that the white crystalline powder seemed to be attracted by something, and they were all swirling and dancing towards his body.

Because the distance was too close and the speed was too fast, before Shi Chuan Kong could do anything, the crystalline powder had already attached to Shi Chuan Kong's body.

The next moment, there were bursts of strange noises coming from Shi Chuan Kong's body, and the forty-sixth, forty-seventh, and forty-eighth *Xuan Qiao* lit up one after another.