Lex studied the mayor. Unlike Goloo-Goloo who appeared like a golem, the mayor was an elemental that was floating in air, appearing like some kind of array character. In fact, Lex was fairly confident that his body formed the array character for bark itself.

He had no eyes, per se, but his gaze was evident nonetheless. His body was different from all bodies Lex had seen, but Lex could read his body language nevertheless. He was amiable, and it was clear that he would not be rude to Lex, but there was an air of arrogance ingrained in him that was a very part of him, and as such he would look down on Lex even if he didn't show it.

Innate arrogance, but a level of amiability... and the fact that he had run Sin City so well all influenced Lex's decision to not bother the mayor too much. Although he didn't like others being arrogant in front of him, sometimes it wasn't worth the distraction of dealing with it.

"Yes," answered Lex as he walked deeper into the room as if he did not sense the hidden danger. "You can call me Lex, no need to call me resident. I do not intend on staying within your city for long. I only came so that I can understand more about the city from you and hopefully find a clue as to how I can leave. If there are no clues, then I'll just figure something out on my own."

The mayor chuckled upon hearing Lex's request, as if an elder was laughing at the random words of a little child.

"Alright Lex, sure. I'll tell you about our city. You're not the first to doubt the city's ability, and you won't be the last either. This is a place that has corralled Primordials, let alone those who came after. It is not something that can be just overcome - though I wish you the best in your endeavors. Maybe you will succeed where millions of others have failed before you."

Lex raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The mayor had a lot of sass, but Lex had already decided to not bother with him much. Yes, he was a patient guy. He was all about patience.

"The barrier around the city is continuous, and is more than just a seal on the city. In fact, it also protects the city as well. It allows those who mean no harm to enter, but any attack or enemy will be stopped at the gates. There is no weak point, no core, no dependencies. The entire barrier is entirely self sufficient, so much so that the barrier is practically a law. We predict that in a few million years, the barrier will become a permanent law that exists within the Primordial Garden.

"Perhaps it was meant as a prison for the worst, or perhaps its formation was an accident. No one knows the truth behind it, but countless Primordials have studied it. In fact, even I myself have spent many hours studying the barrier both from within and from the outside before I entered.

"A brief of everything I learned about the barrier is mentioned in the barrier brochure as a part of our barrier tour. You can find a copy outside at the reception. While you're getting that, I also recommend grabbing the brochure for the orientation program for new residents for when you give up trying to leave.

"There's a club dedicated to finding a way out of the city made up of some of the most powerful Primordials in our city. You can sign up for their newsletter so you can stay up to date with the progress of your betters on how to exit the city."

Lex raised an eyebrow, looking at the elemental with a slight hint of surprise. Was this guy supposed to be amiable? He was supposed to be a politician? He just seemed like a closet elitist to Lex.

"Primordial? You seem to have a lot of opinions to share for someone whose life's greatest achievement was being born into fortunate circumstances. Normally I would say a few words back to put you in your place but... there's no point in defeating an opponent who has already given up on himself. Enjoy staying in Sin City for a million more years - it seems like a really nice place."

Lex turned out and left, no longer bothered to deal with the mayor. The moment he heard that what was sealing them inside this place was a protective barrier, he lost interest in hearing anything else.

If there was one thing he was confident in, it was in his defense and defense related abilities. In fact, Lex was sure that if his tenet had been defense, he would have rocketed through the immortal levels even faster than he already had. But Supremacy suited him a lot more.

Regardless, Lex's confidence in leaving had increased drastically, regardless of whether there was some other, secret way that the owner of the garden had meant for him to take.

The mayor did not mind Lex's words, nor did he take them too seriously either. New residents were always like that - arrogant and full of themselves. It would take the weathering of time and Sin City for them to understand their place in the world. The mayor was looking forward to when Lex would be forced to eat his own words.

On his way out, Lex grabbed the brochure for the barrier just to speed up his understanding of the barrier. Of course, he wouldn't take everything written down here too seriously - he would form his own opinions. But the brochure did have relevant information for him, for example the fact that the city had dedicated a certain area where people could try and attempt breaking the barrier. There was nothing special about that place - it was just far away from any infrastructure so any destructive attempts to break the barrier would not negatively affect the city. How thoughtful.

Lex seemed to be walking casually, but by the time he finished reading, he was already in front of the barrier. A number of other powerful beings were also here, working together to chain their attacks, hoping to weaken the barrier somehow.

Others were pooling their strength together to form one, powerful attack that could overwhelm the barrier, while others still were standing right next to the barrier, studying it. Compared to the mayor, who seemed much stronger than everyone here, yet reeked of someone who had just given up, everyone here gave off an aura of persistence and dedication.

He felt a lot more comfortable here. Internally, though, he was still repeating the matra of having patience and not slapping the mayor's face. That would not make his life any easier. Instead, walking out of this city without telling the mayor how he did it. Then leaving a note mentioning that he didn't share his method of leaving because according to the mayor, his betters were already on it, would be just the right way to respond to the mayor.

Yes, this was not Lex being petty. Never. He was not a petty man. He was the epitome of patience and such virtues. The fact that he couldn't think of more similar virtues and literally had to think 'such virtues' was in no way, shape, or form a testament to the fact that he was not patient.

Lex activated his left eye, as well as made use of his tenet to begin studying the barrier around the city. He did not just want to learn how to pass through it - no, Lex wanted to learn from the barrier as well! If he could improve his own barrier by learning from the work of the strongest Dao Lord in the universe, then why wouldn't he? He was the best in terms of defense wherever he went, and he did not intend on losing that advantage any time soon, or ever, in fact.

While Lex was studying the barrier, there was a hidden realm in the universe unofficially called the Conquest Realm. Within that realm, there were countless beings, all of whom had the Grand Conquest System, with the goal of conquering the whole realm.

Whenever they defeated or conquered another lord's territory or captured the lord, they were able to absorb that lord's system and turn the defeated lord into a vassal while strengthening themselves.

Somewhere in that realm was a man - a human, who had once expressed his distaste for the Midnight Inn, and had dreams of conquering it, and using it to rule a realm. Now, he needed the Inn no longer. Now, he had the Grand Conquest System.

When he had first come to this realm he had been afraid, and hesitant. But the

longer he lived here, the more his inner animal came to bear, the stronger he became, and the larger his empire. He... had forsaken his name, and now went only by the title of Grand Conqueror.

After completing his latest quest far beyond what anyone else could hope to replicate, he got an incredible award. He got a cultivation technique focused on defense. Its name... was Regal Embrace.