Chapter 190: Chapter 88: Upper Ranker [Ancient Porcelain Mother of the Source Furnace]
"Winnie Isaiah?"
Inside the Steam Magical Castle.
Zorn gently kneaded the bridge of his nose, mulling over the many "last words" he had extracted from the Puppet Master.
This Level 7 Puppet Master had been involved in many things, entangling him in numerous political games.
The Level 7 Puppet Master was a member of the Saint Grelle Empire’s "Traditionalist Faction," a group reluctant to see the new Empire established.
They had been the beneficiaries of the old Saint Grelle Empire.
With the establishment of the new Steam Empire,
if Isabelle Isaiah ascended the throne, their interests would suffer a huge blow.
Naturally, they were unwilling to accept such a great loss.
Thus, the upcoming parliamentary election, with representatives from various factions participating, became crucial.
If they could get Winnie Isaiah’s faction to take the Empress’s throne,
their losses would be minimal, which was something they could accept.
The leanings of the various factions were more or less predictable.
The representative from Ogrande City, Zorn Corick, was leaning toward Isabelle Isaiah.
This, of course, dissatisfied the Traditionalist Faction.
Therefore, this Level 7 Puppet Master from the Traditionalist Faction wanted to use his puppet-controlling Secret Technique to take control of Zorn Corick, who was only Level 5 or Level 6.
This would force Zorn to represent Ogrande City in the upcoming national parliament and cast his vote for Winnie Isaiah.
He had been waiting for a long time in Sugi Tree Town.
And now, he had finally met Zorn.
Unfortunately for him, he had also met his Death!
’Thankfully, my plan was always to advance to Level 6 before reaching the Ancient Porcelain Holy City.’
’If I’d gone there as a Level Five, I’m afraid plenty of powerful experts would have come knocking that very night.’
’Still, even at Level 6, that’s just considered entry-level in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City right now.’
’But that’s fine. Being Level 6 is a natural disguise. If some fool really thinks I’m only at Level 6...’
’Then they’ll end up just like this Level 7 Puppet Master—dead on the spot.’
’After all...’
Zorn glanced down at the Middle Rank Level Forbidden Sealed Object in his hand: the Jade Staff.
’The Jade Staff, combined with the Divine Kingdom’s Divine Concealment Curse and the traits of my Holy Witch Spirit Body... it’s the ultimate weapon for ambushing people.’
’Even a Level 9 expert could be taken down on the spot if they’re not careful.’
Players loved to study the powerful effects created by combining various methods, abilities, and personal traits with all sorts of Forbidden Sealed Objects.
And Zorn was a master in this field.
Take Zorn’s current combo: Holy Witch Spirit Body + Divine Concealment Curse + Jade Staff.
The synergistic effect produced by this set...
...was something few Transcendents could currently avoid.
Coupled with the extreme burst power of Zorn’s own Witchcraft, anyone who took the full combo would be crippled, if not killed.
’Now that I’ve advanced to Level 6, it’s time to officially enter the Ancient Porcelain Holy City and this new era’s Chapter.’
Zorn gazed into the distance.
He could already see it, not too far away.
The scroll of this new era’s tide unfolded like a vast, surging ripple, endlessly churning.
Just as restless as the "Northern Border Region Scroll" was the Steam Empire’s "Saintisman Scroll."
And then there was the "Steam Alliance Scroll," formed by the various steam empires on the southern side of the continent.
Within these three epic scrolls,
various factions would continue to make their appearance.
Zorn’s fellow bosses would also appear one after another in this new scroll.
’The World-level boss of the second Chapter is in Saintisman.’
’The third Chapter’s World-level boss, the Nightmare Angel, should appear within the scope of the Steam Alliance’s epic scroll.’
’That terrifying Nightmare Angel is known as the hardest boss to kill.’
’It’s a rare sight to have all three bosses in the same frame.’
...
Zorn had dispatched the Golem Witch, Zansi, to the Ancient Porcelain Holy City much earlier.
She had already prepared a place for Zorn and the others to stay.
After Zorn and his two companions got off the steam train, the Golem Witch, Zansi, ushered them into a steam car.
Compared to Ogrande City, the Ancient Porcelain Holy City had far more steam cars.
They could be seen everywhere on the wide streets.
"Zansi, I never would have thought you were so rich! You can actually afford a steam car."
Alvin remarked, looking around the vehicle with great interest from the front passenger seat.
"The Master’s status in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City is that of a council member. Naturally, he can’t be seen riding in a horse-drawn carriage anymore. At least, not in public."
"I saved up the money for this steam car myself over the years."
"Master, with the money you gave me, I’ve already acquired an old manor and had it demolished."
"You can place your castle there whenever you’re ready."
"Coincidentally, the area where my Mafia is expanding is nearby, so if there’s anything you need, you can just command me."
Back during the winter in Ogrande City,
Zorn had originally wanted to build a Steam Castle himself.
However, after calculating the number of gold pounds it would cost, Zorn gave up on the idea.
After all, the resources required for opening his Divine Kingdom and for the upcoming kingdom-founding ceremony were already a considerable expense.
So... Zorn used his privilege to embezzle... ahem... *requisition* a very nice castle estate.
After all, many noble families had been wiped out in the recent war in Ogrande City.
A lot of nice castles were left empty.
As the one in power in Ogrande City, he had that much privilege.
Afterward, Zorn used his Steam Castle to absorb the entire estate.
Now, the Steam Magical Castle truly contained a luxurious and extravagant "Tudor-style" castle.
It had over a hundred guest rooms alone.
The castle’s cellar was wide enough to drive a horse-drawn carriage through.
Its tallest spire was over fifty meters high.
It was said that the castle took several years and a hundred thousand gold pounds to build.
Zorn just needed to buy a plot of empty land and unfold the Steam Magical Castle there.
Moreover, Zorn had already prepared all the servants for the castle.
They were the "Shadow Blood Race" members who had been slumbering in their coffins.
Normally, the Shadow Blood Race couldn’t survive for long in the human world.
But Zorn had constructed a "Shadow Blood Pool" deep inside the Steam Magical Castle.
This ensured that the Shadow Blood Race members living inside the castle would have no problems.
Besides, the rat infestation in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City was just as severe as in Ogrande City.
By posting quests to acquire live, mutated rats, he could easily stabilize and expand the Shadow Blood Pool, which was more than enough to sustain the Shadow Blood Race.
This way, the members of the Shadow Blood Race could safely serve as servants within the castle.
At Level 5, Zorn could already effectively control the Level 6 members of the Blood Race.
Now, Zorn had advanced to Level 6.
Enslaving over thirty titled members of the Shadow Blood Race was no trouble for him at all.
Of the 32 slumbering Blood Race members,
had already advanced to Level 6 under Zorn’s gradual nurturing, while 18 remained at Level 5.
These Level 5 and Level 6 members of the Shadow Blood Race were now serving in their respective roles as servants within the Steam Castle.
With the defensive capabilities of the Steam Castle combined with these powerful Shadow Blood Race members, Zorn’s forces now had considerable depth.
At the very least... ordinary Transcendents would definitely not dare to carelessly explore Zorn’s Steam Castle.
Zansi explained as she drove.
"Lord Zorn, since this is your first time in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City, there are some local customs you should be aware of."
"In the Ancient Porcelain Holy City, people generally need to place two or three porcelain items on their windowsills."
"That way, when you’re asleep and the Ancient Porcelain Mother of the Source Furnace peers through the window to perform her ’source-furnace refining,’ she will refine the porcelain instead of you."
"In the three months I’ve been here, I’ve already heard several stories about visitors who were turned into human-shaped porcelain figures because they deliberately removed the porcelain from their windows."
"The probability is very low, but as long as you put some porcelain on the windowsill—big or small, it doesn’t matter—you’ll be fine."
Alvin, who was sitting beside her, nodded repeatedly.
"Before coming here, I also read many stories about that terrifying Upper Ranker in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City. People who provoke the power of an Upper Ranker really do get turned into porcelain."
"Ah! Does that really happen?"
Vanessa asked, quite surprised.
"The Master told me about it before, but I thought it was just a story."
"This isn’t a story; it’s real,"
Zansi said seriously, glancing at Vanessa in the rearview mirror.
"Look at the streets. Many of the ladies wear small porcelain accessories."
"Almost every window has some kind of porcelain on display."
"Worship of the Ancient Porcelain Mother of the Source Furnace is visible everywhere in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City."
"Although it’s very unlikely you’ll encounter the Ancient Porcelain Mother of the Source Furnace in your sleep, having the protection of porcelain is better than nothing."
"Also, you have to be careful of people stealing the porcelain from windows."
"Stealing someone’s porcelain to subject them to a probabilistic death... that also happens from time to time in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City."
As Zansi spoke, Alvin and Vanessa slowly digested the incredible peculiarities of this wondrous place where an Upper Ranker resided.
As for Zorn, he was all too familiar with the "Ancient Porcelain Mother of the Source Furnace," who loved nothing more than firing all sorts of porcelain.
After he became Legendary, he had teamed up with many friends to hunt down and kill the "Ancient Porcelain Mother of the Source Furnace" on numerous occasions.
Once he saw the others had more or less processed the information,
Zansi continued.
"Right now, the various factions in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City are fighting each other, and there’s a powerful undercurrent of conflict."
"Just a few days ago, there was even a standoff between Level Seven powerhouses."
"Previously, you told me to contact Lady Sun and that I could go to her if I ran into trouble."
"Lady Sun has indeed helped me a great deal."
"A while ago, Lady Sun also told me that if you came to the Ancient Porcelain City, you should visit her as soon as possible."
"The other factions have already started constructing their ’Steam Ritual Towers.’ We need to get ours on the schedule as well."
"I understand!"
Zorn nodded.
"Also..."
Zansi paused for a moment before continuing.
"That Captain Jack Jones you had me contact... he nearly killed me."
Zansi still felt a lingering fear as she recalled her confrontation with the terrifying Level 8 pirate captain.
"Luckily, I managed to relay the message you gave me in time, and he let me go."
"He made an arrangement with me. In one month, they will return to the Ancient Porcelain Holy City to sell off a batch of black market goods."
"A few days ago, I heard they seem to have plundered another merchant ship from the Ancient Porcelain Holy City."
"I think they should be back soon."
"Mm, when the time comes, I’ll meet with them."
Zorn nodded.
Having Zansi arrive first in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City had helped Zorn take care of a lot of preparatory work.
Now that Zorn had arrived, it was his turn to take over the many matters at hand.
