Li Rui hid in an empty street corner, peering at the massive and imposing city ahead.
He noticed that the atmosphere and environment of this place were not entirely identical to the Thunder City he had visited during his advancement.
Compared to the upturned eaves on that side, the architectural lines here were much softer, that side had predominantly vermilion paint and black tiles, while this side featured white walls and golden bricks.
Upon closer observation, Li Rui realized the differences between the two sides were quite significant. Yet, for some reason, he just felt that this place belonged to the Upper Realm, a sensation difficult to articulate due to its hazy nature.
This time, he could feel that he wasn't wrapped in that kind of obscure aura, making him undetectable to others.
But it didn't matter; he was no longer who he used to be. He just needed to activate the concealment ability granted by the Golden Scale White Dragon Amulet to significantly reduce his presence.
In this place, a human's stature was akin to that of a small animal, and combined with the skill's shielding, it was easy to go unnoticed.
Li Rui even felt that during his previous trip to the Thunder Division Thunder City, he was protected by something similar.
Once he was ready, Li Rui cautiously began to move forward along the edge of the street.
The silhouettes here were far less numerous than those outside the Celestial Street of Thunder City. A slight feeling could roughly determine that most people had the strength of the Barbarian Monarch level; these were just ordinary residents.
They resembled the creatures outside the Celestial Street of Thunder City, except their skin color was not that deep green but as pure white as jade, almost dazzlingly so.
However, they were similar in their tall stature and peculiar, bizarre limbs,
With more information about the Upper Realm in mind, Li Rui viewed this place with different eyes.
He truly couldn't understand why Zuo Qiutian, if he was aiming for world peace, chose to open the Heaven's Gate.
The creatures of the Upper Realm were too powerful. If a permanent passage were truly formed, they could descend to the Lower Realm at any time, with the power to destroy the heavens and the earth at the flick of a finger, making most living beings as insignificant as ants.
Li Rui thought that someone like Zuo Qiutian wouldn't naively believe that once the Upper Realm descended to the mortal world, they would coexist peacefully with those significantly weaker than them, arbitrate justice, and eliminate disputes.
Even if such a scenario had a one in ten million chance of occurring, there's no sense in gambling on it.
Li Rui even began to suspect that Zuo Qiutian really had no good intentions, or perhaps he truly didn't know the specific situation of the Upper Realm.
But that wouldn't fit that person's character; how could he recklessly open the Heaven's Gate without understanding anything?
Li Rui stealthily moved along the wall, not attracting the sporadic passersby's attention, which was quite normal. After all, no matter what this place was, his rank as Dragon Thunder was not inferior to theirs.
Winding through the cloud-enshrouded streets for a long time, he finally found his way blocked by an enormous jade stele resembling a majestic mountain range, bearing only one large character.
Fight.
Li Rui smirked; he had a certain suspicion earlier, but now he finally confirmed it.
This place was the Fighting Division.
He previously thought the Secret Realm would automatically translate everything, but he realized in Ghost Cry Ridge that others couldn't understand the Upper Realm's language, whereas he could.
No matter the case, now he was certain of this place's true location, so he began contemplating his next steps.
Theoretically, upon reaching level 70, during his second class advancement, he should follow the formal procedure through the Ascension Divine Hall.
However, he was abruptly pulled up while rushing along in Fengdu, which was already quite odd and unprecedented.
Li Rui now didn't even know what he was supposed to do.
The good news was at least he had experience.
If following his previous experience, he should be looking for something related to a divine position to change his profession.
Li Rui stood with hands on his hips before the jade stele for a while.
"The question is, where to find it?"
Last time, when he reached the Thunder Division, he was right at the gates of Thunder City, making it easy. But this time, in the Upper Realm, all he could see were sprawling buildings, with no sign of gates.
Yet he couldn't indiscriminately ask for directions, as these Upper Realm beings would slay any mortal creature they encountered, tantamount to seeking death.
He could attack and retreat in Fengdu, but that was impossible in the Upper Realm.
While he was distressed, he saw a black shadow flickering in the air nearby. Looking up, he saw a carriage gliding through the sky, drawn by seven round-shaped auspicious beasts.
It seemed that the owner of this carriage was not ordinary.
Li Rui decided to follow the direction the carriage left in to see if he could find any new clues.
Thus, he began running after the distant shadow.
Luckily, though the carriage seemed quite ostentatious, its pace wasn't swift. After tailing it for some time, Li Rui finally found a standalone mansion on the edge of the "urban area."
The mansion's main gate was wide open, revealing an inner screen wall with a colossal picture carved in the center, depicting dragons and phoenixes with auspicious beasts soaring in the sky.
Li Rui stared at the mural for a while, feeling as though it possessed some magical power, as if the depicted creatures could come to life at any moment.
This wasn't an admiration of the sculpting skill but an almost real intuition.
He glanced around and realized that, drawn by the mural, he had unwittingly stood in the middle of the gate, causing a bit of fear. Fortunately, no one came by.
The concealment ability of Dragon Thunder was indeed strong, but he was not too confident about its effectiveness in the Upper Realm.
Li Rui smacked his lips and trotted to the roadside, continuing to walk along the wall.
He felt a bit puzzled, not understanding why this mansion kept its main gate perpetually open, though this conveniently facilitated his actions.
Skirting around the screen wall and moving inward, he reached a courtyard where the flowerbeds and greenery were like a forest to his stature.
Li Rui liked this as the complexity made hiding easier. Unlike Thunder City, where the neat, clean streets made him more conspicuous.
Continuing deeper, crossing meadows, hills, and lakes, he finally reached the main hall.
According to the regular layout of a mansion, this should be the guest reception area, akin to a living room.
Up to this point, Li Rui still hadn't encountered any living soul in the mansion.
He sneakily approached the main hall's steps, crouching behind to observe inside.
What he saw startled him: a gigantic, resplendent woman sat inside, a glittering silver crown on her head, clad in a long dress of white base and multicolor embroidery, sipping tea.
What surprised Li Rui was that, at this distance, he couldn't sense the woman's presence at all, as if she were merely a piece of furniture.
This person was formidable; perhaps she was the one in the carriage earlier?
Li Rui mulled it over in his mind.
Her appearance was closer to a regular human compared to other Divine Generals—if not for the additional face growing on the back of her head.
While internally mocking her, the woman placed her tea bowl down and, without lifting her head, said, "Why are you sneaking around? Come in."