"In front of us is the City Lord's Mansion."
Receptionist Derwig pointed toward a towering building that stretched across a vast area, seemingly endless at a glance—an expanse that appeared boundless.
Moreover, the entire City Lord's Mansion was shrouded in dense Chaos Forbidden Formations, making it appear self-contained, like an independent world isolated entirely from the outside.
The walls alone resembled world barriers—impervious to any pupil technique. It was a true fortress of war, nearly indestructible.
However, what caught the attention of Daode Tianzun and the others the most was the black plaque hanging above the main gate. Three dazzling Chaos Demon God characters flashed on its surface: City Lord's Mansion.
Upon seeing the writing, Daode Tianzun and the others were instantly drawn to it. The characters seemed to embody the deepest mysteries of heaven and earth—like manifestations of the Dao itself.
Boom~~
In an instant, the three Chaos Demon God characters transformed into a vortex of chaos. The sea of consciousness within them trembled violently as their souls were forcefully drawn in.
Inside the characters, they discovered a boundless chaotic void, as if a Chaos Universe lay hidden within those three glowing words.
At the center of that Chaos Universe, an enormous and incomparably ancient serpent emerged—an ancient Chaos Serpent, its body stretching across the entire void.
Vast. Infinite.
When they appeared within this emptiness, they felt no larger than ants—no, even less than that—mere specks of dust before such a colossal being.
Each of them felt incomparably weak, utterly insignificant.
Suddenly, the Ancient Chaos Serpent opened its golden eyes. A terrifying light burst forth, piercing through the darkness as if splitting chaos and dividing heaven from earth.
A moment later, it opened its mouth wide—and lunged toward the souls of Daode Tianzun and the others.
"Not good!"
They were shocked to the core, their bodies trembling as though plunged into an icy abyss.
They sensed imminent death. The serpent was about to devour their souls in the blink of an eye. They had no power to resist.
With a loud crash, they screamed and collapsed to the ground. Their souls, somehow, tore free from that space of emptiness, leaving them with splitting headaches and stars in their eyes.
"We're not dead? We're alive?!"
"That was close! We were nearly eaten just now."
"Thank heavens we escaped in time—otherwise, we'd be done for."
Daode Tianzun and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief, the shock of survival etched on their faces. Had they been a second too late, their souls would have become food for the Ancient Chaos Serpent.
"Haha! What a bunch of fools."
Seeing their reactions, Receptionist Derwig burst out laughing. "Don't stare at the three characters of the City Lord's Mansion. Those words were written by the City Lord himself. There's a trace of his spiritual imprint within them.
That imprint contains unfathomable mysteries of the Dao.
Forget you newbies—even God King-level powerhouses would get a splitting headache if they stared too long. You're lucky to have survived. Death is unlikely, but suffering? Absolutely inevitable."
"Seriously?!"
Daode Tianzun and the others twitched, glaring at Receptionist Derwig with resentment. Clearly, this bastard had done it on purpose—he hadn't warned them at all, just to watch them fall into the trap and have a laugh.
In fact, beings who'd lived long in Chaos City often brought newcomers to the mansion for this exact reason—letting them experience the shock of the plaque and then teasing them about it.
"Alright, enough jokes. Your residence is just ahead."
Receptionist Derwig waved and pointed toward a nearby area. It was filled with independent buildings, each like a private villa.
There were billions of such villas lined up neatly across the area.
"This is where we live?!"
Daode Tianzun and the others soon entered the area. They noticed it was vast and heavily protected by densely layered Forbidden Formations, radiating powerful defense energy.
"That's right."
Receptionist Derwig explained, "Head in, choose any vacant villa, and place your hand on the imprint at the door. The system inside will then record your genetic information, soul aura, and more.
Once the process is complete, that villa will belong to you alone. No one else can enter without your permission. There's no competition—it's first come, first served."
Since the area had tens of billions of homes, there was no need to worry about shortages.
At this point, Receptionist Derwig paused and sighed. "The City Lord thinks very highly of you. He personally designated this area in Chaos City as a temporary residence for the geniuses who passed the Chaos Genius War.
You probably have no idea how expensive land is in Chaos City—and now it's practically being handed to you.
Honestly, I regret getting promoted so early. If I were still a Quasi-Saint, I might have been eligible to participate in the selection."
"Master Derwig, what about the other geniuses who passed the Chaos Genius Battle? Where are they?"
Lingbao Tianzun asked curiously. So far, they had only encountered geniuses from the Prehistoric World, with no sign of those from other great worlds.
"Well, you arrived earlier than most, thanks to being brought here by Master Senil. Others who passed will arrive in the next month or so. You'll get to meet them soon enough."
Receptionist Derwig responded.
"Master Derwig, you mentioned earlier we might have a chance to become disciples of the gods. How does that process work?"
Fuxi asked with interest.
Daode Tianzun and the others turned their eyes toward Receptionist Derwig as well. Becoming disciples of powerful gods would bring massive benefits.
After all, having a divine teacher would save them years of struggle and provide strong backing—a real advantage across the heavens and worlds.