Paradise of Demonic Gods

by Stayrr

“Obtaining the topmost degree of talent in sword arts in the world requires giving up 72 years of lifespan, which leaves you with only five more years of your life. At the same time, you will never be able to feel love, kinship, and friendship, and you’ll end up leading a lonely life until your death, unable to procreate, or to have any descendants. “From now onwards, everything r

13. 399

Read Paradise of Demonic Gods - Chapter 399: One Against Many online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 399: One Against Many

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

"Puny little summer bug, are you scared?"

Hearing Fang Xingjian's words, a hideous expression appeared on the face of the feminine-looking young man. The latter stretched out his arms like he were embracing the sky. In that instant, it was as if his chest had become a black hole, and numerous dragons shadows dashed out from his chest, charging toward Fang Xingjian's body.

This was the level 5 black magic, Dragon's Assault. It used the consciousness of dragons from other worlds to assault the opponents.

However, when faced with this attack, Fang Xingjian merely glared and sent the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent gushing out. He tore the dragon spirits into pieces like he was tearing the world apart, and he even bashed them into the mind of the feminine-looking young man, causing the latter to let out an agonizing cry.

At the next moment, Fang Xingjian pressed down his palm on the body of the feminine-looking young man. Wherever his palm passed by, the latter's blood and flesh would vanish and turn into waves of heat energy, scattering out into the world.

The young man's chest was penetrated by Fang Xingjian's palm, then it disappeared.

However, the young man was an expert from the Terrene Shrine. Fang Xingjian had once engaged in an intense battle with their bishop. So, how could he possible not be well-aware of these demons' strong vitality?

Without waiting for the young man to take any action, Fang Xingjian punched out repetitively. The Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique turned large areas of the young man's flesh and blood into heat. The sudden gush of hot air currents heated up the atmosphere, causing it to swell up and form shock waves which swept out into the surroundings.

Boom, boom, boom, boom! Currents swept out violently, and Fang Xingjian destroyed the feminine-looking young man's upper body completely. Not even a single particle was left behind.

When Fang Xingjian lunged out with his fists, about to crush the feminine-looking young man's lower body, a furious bellow rang out from behind him. A dragon person with green scales covering his entire body and a pair of wings on his back pounced toward Fang Xingjian.

This was the old steward who had been following the feminine-looking young man. The assassin had activated the level 5 black magic, Dragon's Parasitism, and unleashed explosively the powers of a dragon which had been residing in his body.

However, the powers of this dragon could only be comparable to those of a level 25 Conferred Knight at most. So, how could Fang Xingjian possibly be threatened by it?

Stretching out his five fingers, Fang Xingjian swung out behind him like he was sweeping rubbish away. Violent sword force gushed out, tearing the old steward into pieces.

However, this final attack completely used up the one second of Fang Xingjian's Heaven's Volition Sword Intent. Then Fang Xingjian turned back, wanting to attack the feminine-looking young man again.

However, at that moment, a stream of sword Qi gushed forth, slicing toward his head.

Infuriated, Fang Xingjian turned back and shattered the sword Qi with a punch.

The one who assaulted him with the sword Qi had been Sword Saint Sasa. When Fang Xingjian activated the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent, Sasa had already regained his focus. However, Sasa had not expected that the prowess of the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent, which Fang Xingjian had activated, was now far beyond what Fang Xingjian had unleashed previously. Fang Xingjian had annihilated the army of dragons instantly and even beaten up the feminine-looking young man to the extent that he was on the verge of being disintegrated.

Having seen Fang Xingjian's performance, Sasa understood that Fang Xingjian had completely suppressed and absorbed the essence of the Divine blood.

As Sasa thought of how Fang Xingjian's current great prowess was all from the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent and the Divine blood essence, his eyes turned bloodshot.

However, the powers Fang Xingjian had displayed when he instantly annihilated the army of dragons were far too powerful. It had stunned the two Sand Country assassins and Sasa within a very short period of time. Even though Sasa was raging with fury, he did not dash up at that very first instant.

This hesitation had lasted until the moment when the feminine-looking young man's old steward charged up to Fang Xingjian and the one second of the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent had finally ended.

Sasa had only dared to send out a sword slash when he sensed that the sword intent on Fang Xingjian was weakening and dissipating rapidly.

Simultaneously as when he sent out this slash, he let out a furious bellow through information currents, "This guy has absorbed the Divine blood essence! Kill him quickly while he has yet to fully digest the blood essence! Otherwise, all of us will have to die!"

However, the current Fang Xingjian was no longer the same as before. Confronted with Sasa charging over toward him, Fang Xingjian tapped out with a single finger, sweeping out with a series of Ether Sword Ripples and sending Sasa flying into the distance.

With a rumble, Sasa collided to the ground, kicking up dust and sand into the air.

Simultaneously, an overwhelming amount of sand was gushing and pouncing toward Fang Xingjian. However, just as the endless amount of sand encompassed Fang Xingjian's entire body, ten streams of Ether Sword Ripples shot out and blasted the sand off, creating a void space through their slashes.

Fang Xingjian did not take the opportunity to continue with his attacks. Instead, he looked at his Stats Window. His potential points had unknowingly increased to over 200,000 points. Additionally, as the Divine blood essence continued to be digested, his potential points also continued to increase rapidly.

Recalling what Sasa had said earlier, Fang Xingjian thought to himself, 'The Divine blood essence? This is... fantastic.'

With a dash, Sasa sent out over 10,000 streams of sword Qis swirling out. Even the air would shatter wherever they passed by. Rumbling sounds rang out continuously like over 10,000 claps of thunder. It was also as if the ground, which was deep in the earth's crust, was cracking.

Simultaneously, over 100 specialty seeds throughout Sasa's body unleashed explosive auras, flashing ceaselessly on his body like starlight.

He had detonated 100 specialty seeds at once in order to move the invisible sword Qis.

Sasa's invisible sword Qis had the ability to slash through the heavenly thunders and terrestrial magnetism forces in physical material. When a practitioner reached level 26 and was able to recognize physical particles, the prowess of this sword technique would improve in leaps and bounds, becoming increasingly stronger.

Moreover, Sasa had taken it one step further and detonated 100 specialty seeds in order to give an additional boost to his sword moves. Then his sword Qis slashed through the air. One had to know that even the air itself was formed from many physical particles, and each particle as like a small world of its own, containing boundless energy.

However, right now, Sasa was slashing through the connection between these particles directly in order to provoke the powers of these small worlds into exploding.

This was the equivalent of refining the powers in the small worlds of one's body and then bringing them outside.

The attack from the invisible sword Qis smashed through the air and destroyed many small worlds. It brought about a state which seemed like they were out to destroy all living things as well as the entire world.

This was Sasa's full prowess. Wherever the sword Qis passed by, it was as if everything was destroyed. Endless light and heat burst forth, dealing great destruction within a range of several kilometers.

The ground was vaporized, and the sword Qis, which were moving at a rate of several meters per second, turned everything it came across into dust.

Fang Xingjian, the target, was encompassed by the shock waves and light in that very instant.

Then at this moment, Sasa no longer hoped that he would be able to capture Fang Xingjian and absorb his blood. He was now all out to kill Fang Xingjian. It was because he knew that if he were to hold back now and Fang Xingjian were allowed to continue to grow, the one who was going to die would be Sasa himself.

Be it was the sand or flame clouds, everything dissipated under this terrifying sword attack.

The flame clouds were extinguished by strong gales, while the sand melted under the high temperatures. Then the strong gales surged up over 10,000 meters up into the sky.

The immense explosions continued on for over ten seconds, turning everything within several thousand meters into barren land.

After half a minute, the two Sand Country assassins bore their way through the sand. A strong wave of hot wind gushed over toward them. It was so hot that it seemed like it would even be able to cook human flesh.

The two of them looked at the disastrous battlefield which had been completely turned into flat land. Their eyes were filled with astonishment. They had not expected Sword Saint Sasa to have still been hiding such a terrifying move.

"Is he dead?" The old assassin asked.

"If he was directly hit by this sword attack, it's impossible for him to survive." The female assassin frowned. "Damn it, if that's the case, then wouldn't the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor be destroyed as well?"

"It shouldn't be," the old man said. "The Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor is a level 29 Superior Divine Weapon that was made from Lord Domirov's bone remains. Even if it didn't manage to save Fang Xingjian, the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor should still be fine."

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Chapter 400: Search

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

The female assassin nodded. However, the battlefield continued to be encompassed by endless smoke and dust. The sand and earth, which had been blasted into the air earlier, were now falling back down, filling the air with sand and blocking off the visibility.

Therefore, the two Sand Country assassins had to search through the battlefield bit by bit. They did not dare to use their abilities to push away all the smoke since they did not know the current situation, nor did they know how many people could manage to survive.

If they were to use their abilities to clear up the battle scene, they might possibly be the first ones to expose themselves and become everyone else's target.

Therefore, the two of them walked through the battlefield slowly. Wherever they passed by, the sand would ripple out in all directions like probing waves, scanning the surrounding situation.

"Oh, right. " With a wave of his hand, the sand under the old man's feet trembled, and a sand coffin rose up. Then it went through a series of changes and revealed Lilia's head. "I almost forgot about her. Mmm? To think that she's still alive even after such an intense battle? What a strong vitality."

From the start of the battle, they had placed Lilia into the sand coffin and buried her underground. They had thought that she would come to be of use when they were up against Fang Xingjian, but they had not expected everything to happen so quickly. Before they could react, the battle was practically over.

"Do we still have to bring her along?" The female assassin frowned. "Let's just kill her."

The old man shook his head. "Just in case, it's better to bring her along with us. She can be a hostage."

At another side, Yaris pushed the boulder, which weighed several tens of tons, off his body with a loud bang. Then he crawled out from the ground.

"To think that Sasa still had such a move hidden up his sleeve." Yaris let out a breath and looked at the fluttering smoke and dust in the area. He frowned and said, "This sword attack was far too close to Fang Xingjian. Even if he managed to survive it, he's probably suffering from heavy injuries. I must find him quickly and save him."

Thinking of Sasa's earlier sword attack which seemed as if it was going to destroy the world, a cold shiver ran through Yaris' body. If he had been in Fang Xingjian's position earlier, there was no way he would have been able to block that sword. So, it was expected for Fang Xingjian to be seriously injured or even on the verge of death.

With this in mind, Yaris raised his palm, and streams of sparks came forth. Then just as he was about to sweep the smoke away, he suddenly came to a stop.

"There are too many enemies here. Sand Country assassins, Sasa... and the monster from Terrene Shrine whose life or death remains unknown.

"If I take action immediately, I'll probably be surrounded and attacked.

"So, all I can do is search carefully in the dark for traces of Xingjian."

Thinking of this, Yaris walked slowly into the smoke, toward where he recalled Fang Xingjian to have been. On the way, he continued to scan the surrounding situations with his Heaven's Perception.

At another side, a small snake slithered out slowly from underground. The snake was of a dark green color and had a very smooth skin. It seemed to be a new-born.

However, if one were to take a closer look at the small snake's eyes, one would be able to see hints of viciousness, brutality, and fury.

'That damned Fang Xingjian. To think that he has actually swallowed Divine blood essence? Who on earth gave it to him?'

Thinking of how he had been defeated in the hands of Fang Xingjian and of how the army of dragons he had painstakingly gathered had been completely wiped out, the small snake's eyes filled with pain, as if his heart was dripping blood.

This snake was the feminine-looking young man, who had a large part of his body totally destroyed by Fang Xingjian. After that, he had also suffered from the impacts of the aftershock from Sword Saint Sasa's ultimate move. This caused his body's structure to be left with only this little bit.

However, he was only able to accomplish this transformation because he was a member of the Terrene Shrine. He was able to freely modify and reconstruct his body, displaying extremely powerful vitality.

'Divine level blood essence... To think that you had something like that. In that case, I have nothing to say about having lost to you.

'However, in the last attack, Fang Xingjian... You withdrew from your explosive state and then received Sasa's ultimate move. So, you might have gotten seriously hurt and may now be unconscious.'

Thinking of this, the small snake's eyes filled with excitement.

Although his army of dragons had been annihilated, as long as he could get his hands on Fang Xingjian's body and then devour it... absorbing his life as well as gaining his powers and the Divine blood essence in his body... then everything would be worth it.

'Haha, Fang Xingjian, it's true that you're very powerful. But so what if that's the case? This is just how foolish the path of Knights is. To pursue great power and instantaneous explosive force one-sidedly... Being overly rigid only makes you fragile and easily broken.

'It's in no way comparable with black magic which is omnipotent and allows one to gain all-rounded abilities.

'In order to survive in this world, one requires all-rounded abilities, not just one unique specialty.

'Fang Xingjian, just wait till I've snatched your body. Then I'll offer it as a sacrifice for black magic and refine it... I'll be able to become the best amongst everyone below the Divine level.'

Recalling the terrifying abilities which Fang Xingjian had unleashed explosively in that single second, the small snake's eyes were filled with a fervent intensity. Such a powerful body which even contained the blood essence of a Divine level expert... He was extremely tempted by the thought of it.

The little snake dashed toward the center of the explosion. By exerting strength in his abdomen and twisting his tail, he managed to scuttle several meters outward each time, as if he were flying.

When he landed on the ground once again, he leaped up abruptly.

"Hot, hot, hot!"

The melted surface was exuding a high temperature of several hundred degrees, causing green smoke to emerge from the little snake's abdomen area.

Just as he was wondering if he should continue moving forward, a strong gale blew past, clearing up the smoke before him and revealing the scene within a range of 100 meters.

The little snake lifted its head and looked over. When he saw that figure, which was still standing upright and as straight as a javelin, right in the center of the battlefield, great astonishment flashed in his eyes.

Fang Xingjian was standing there with his entire body covered by the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor. However, even though the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor was very tough, large scales were falling off, exposing his skin. There were red patches and areas with burn marks on his skin, but there were no tears.

'How is that possible? He was struck head-on, but this is it?'

In the little snake's imagination, it was within his expectations even if Fang Xingjian had been blown to pieces or if he had lost an arm or a leg. Regardless, right now, the injuries Fang Xingjian seemed to have were far too light.

However, what the little snake did not know was that in Fang Xingjian's body, the Divine blood essence was still unleashing its powers. When Fang Xingjian faced Sasa's sword attack earlier, he had pushed the toughness of his body to be comparable to that of a level 28 Superior Divine Weapon.

All the physical particles throughout his body connected together tightly. Each bone and muscle became like indestructible diamonds.He could sense, through his Heaven's Perception, that they were exuding bright gleams of light.

However, in order to fend off Sasa's final attack, the Divine blood essence had expended a surplus of power, preventing Fang Xingjian's physical body from developing fully. Therefore, it could not reach the toughness of a level 29 Divine Weapon and could only reach that of a level 28 Divine Weapon instead.

The potential points on Fang Xingjian's Stats Window had become over nine million points.

The last burn wound on his skin healed gradually, and the internal bleeding of his organs was also completely healed. Then Fang Xingjian opened his eyes slowly and looked at Sword Saint Sasa, who had dropped to his knees and was panting furiously.

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Chapter 401: Complete Annihilation

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Having detonated 100 specialty seeds at one go in order to push forth the invisible sword Qis, Sword Saint Sasa was now extremely weak. The battle today could be said to be the toughest he had ever experienced since becoming famous.

Therefore, when Sasa saw Fang Xingjian standing there before him, almost totally unscathed, his eyes filled with astonishment, regret, terror, and anxiety. All sorts of emotions were mixed together, forming an extremely complicated expression.

Fang Xingjian walked over to Sword Saint Sasa, one step at a time. With each step he took, the aura he exuded grew increasingly stronger. All the muscles, bones, and blood in his body trembled continuously. Not only were his wounds completely healed, it even went up one step further. The toughness of his body had increased and was now comparable to that of a level 28 Superior Divine Weapon.

The Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor he was wearing had become extremely fitting, tightly wrapping around the surface of his body. It provided him with various supporting force fields and also absorbed and released the energy from ether particles.

"Sasa, your determination isn't strong enough. If you had detonated 300 or more specialty seeds earlier, I would have only been able to escape. If you had detonated all 500 of your specialty seeds, I might have died."

Fang Xingjian looked calmly at his strong opponent.

Sasa let out a bitter laugh as he gazed at Fang Xingjian with an extremely complicated expression.

When Sasa had first met Fang Xingjian a few months back, Fang Xingjian had merely been a new student who had just completed his job transition.

Less than half a year had passed since then, and Fang Xingjian was already able to stand before Sasa and even defeat him.

Sasa broke out into a hideous smile, "Fang Xingjian, even if I... Ahhh!"

As a terrifying cry rang out, four streams of sword light swept by, and Sasa's limbs were completely severed.

Arghhhh!

400 streams of starlight lit up. Sasa was about to detonate all 400 specialty seeds in his body to perish together with Fang Xingjian.

However, his body was far too weak. Then as a whizzing sound rang out, his head was split open and his brain was crushed into dust, with blood splattering all over the ground.

With Sasa's abilities, although he was able to regenerate most parts of his body, his brain was clearly not one of the parts he could regenerate.

Therefore, after a single sword attack, this talented Sword Saint from the Eastern Sand Region died completely. Right until the moment he died, his eyes were still filled with endless regret and fury.

Having truly killed Sasa, Fang Xingjian let out a breath and then opened his mouth, releasing a loud bellow.

He threw out powerful air currents instantly, and the terrifying toughness of his body allowed him to achieve what he had not been able to do before. As he let out this loud bellow, white light flashed. Then air currents gushed out from his mouth and filled up the place with sword Qis, scattering the surrounding smoke and dust in a flash.

As the smoke dissipated off, Yaris' location was revealed, as was the location of the Sand Country's assassins who were progressing slowly while carrying the coffin on their backs.

Hearing the sounds and seeing all the smoke cleared up, the two Sand Country assassins went into a daze when they saw Fang Xingjian. Their eyes were filled with great astonishment.

'To think that he got away unscathed?

'How it is possible that he has got no injuries at all?

'Is the blood essence of a Divine level expert really so powerful?'

A series of thoughts flashed through their minds, but they did not stop moving. As they retreated rapidly, the female assassin sent sand flying and was about to control a sandstorm to protect herself, while the old assassin opened up the coffin he was carrying to reveal the unconscious Lilia.

The female assassin shouted, "Fang Xingjian! Your disciple is in our hands! Don't you dare act recklessly!"

Fang Xingjian threw her a nonchalant glance and said, "Do you really think that you'll be able to kill her?"

Wind and sand gushed forth, serving as an obstruction between them. When he finally stopped being able to see that glance which gave him an uneasy feeling, the old man let out a breath. He tightened his grip around Lilia's neck and shouted, "I am grabbing onto her throat now! It will just take a slight movement for me to kill her! Do you really think that I wouldn't dare to do it?

"We can at least kill her before we get killed by you. Since we're here to assassinate you, we're prepared to sacrifice our own lives.

"But if you want your disciple alive, let us leave!"

"I'm not doubting that you guys wouldn't dare to kill her."

The first half of Fang Xingjian's words was still ringing out through the wind and sand when the second half rang out directly from behind the old man.

"But rather, when do you feel that you'll have the chance to take action?"

The old man exerted force in his palms and was about to snap Lilia's throat when he realized that a line of blood was spurting out from his wrist, and his arm broke off from the elbow.

The old man wanted to activate his Killing technique. He wanted to absorb the water from Lilia's body. Many of these thoughts ran through his mind, but he had already been turned into pieces of shattered rocks.

The female assassin let out a sharp whistle, and millions of sand particles shot out toward Fang Xingjian like bullets. Simultaneously, a scorching and agitated aura continued to exude from her body. She pushed out her delicate fist slowly, then it was as if the world was going through a tremendous change and all things on earth were withering.

This was the Killing technique—Waning of All Living Things.

The Sand Country's religious view was that everything in the world had their own lifespan, and at the end of it, they would turn into a part of the desert. Sand was the final state of all things in the world.

Right now, the fist technique the female assassin was displaying, the Waning of All Living Things, contained the concept of the decline of all living things and the end of the world, with everything turning into desert.

However, it was clear that even the female assassin herself was unable to fully control such a powerful fist technique. The moment she performed it, her entire body shattered as if she was made from earth, and large areas of her body started to dry and crack up, withering away.

Faced with this punch, a hint of solemnity flashed in Fang Xingjian's eyes. He activated the Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique and lunged out with his fist, smashing it against the female assassin's fist.

A stifled boom rang out, as if an explosion had occurred underwater.

The surrounding sand particles were sent scattering away, and Fang Xingjian looked at his palm. To think that the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor had actually suffered from a layer of damage. Although his skin was not exposed, it was already very rare for this to be happening.

As he inhaled, the vital energy and blood throughout his body seethed. The ether particles in the surroundings continued to replenish his energy and send the nutrients to the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor, allowing the Divine Weapon to slowly regenerate.

Fang Xingjian then looked in the direction of the female assassin. Half of her body had already completely disappeared, particularly her brain. Over two-thirds of it was destroyed by Fang Xingjian's Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique, and she was now completely and utterly dead.

Yaris had initially wanted to rush over to provide assistance, but when he landed with a wide expanse of flame clouds, all he saw were the corpses of the two assassins.

Fang Xingjian handed Lilia to Yaris and said, "Bring her back first and keep her safe."

"Xingjian, aren't you heading back?"

Fang Xingjian broke into a vicious smile. Then with a flash, he brought along a large stream of air currents and appeared next to that little snake.

"Did you think that I hadn't noticed you earlier?"

With a stomp, Fang Xingjian brought up a huge area of rock spikes from under his feet, trapping the little snake. He looked at the little snake, who was twisting and struggling, and slowly let out a breath. This time around, he had lured out his enemies and managed to wipe out a number of parties who had secretly harbored malicious intents toward him. The risk he had taken this time around was worth it.

'Although it took a little bit more effort, it has been a success. Getting my hands on the Divine blood was an even greater surprise.'

The eyes of the little snake, which had transformed from the feminine-looking young man, were filled with terror and wariness. He said furiously, "Fang Xingjian, do you know that you're facing impending doom?"

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Chapter 402: Impending Doom

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

"Impending doom?" Fang Xingjian laugh coldly and stomped on the little snake's body.

The little snake twisted crazily, letting out a series of agonizing cries, "Fang Xingjian, you're dead meat. I'm telling you, you're dead meat! I'm one of the top three unrivalled geniuses that the Terrene Shrine has nurtured!

"For having destroyed my army of dragons today, the Terrene Shrine will fight it out with you until either party perishes! Even if I were to die today, someone stronger will come and you won't be able to fend them off. Forget about you fending them off, even the entire Great Western Region can forget about fending them off!"

Fang Xingjian nonchalantly replied, "You're just trying to instil fear and astonishment. If the Terrene Shrine really was so powerful, how could it have been wiped out by the Empire in the past?"

The little snake shouted, "Hmph, wiped out by the Empire? You don't know anything at all. How could ordinary Knights possibly be our match? Only the Krieg royalty, who are located in the central, as well as those Divine level experts could barely be worth mentioning.

"The ones who can truly defeat us are the Church of Universal Truth and the Mage Association."

Fang Xingjian's eyes lit up as he asked, "The Mage Association also had a hand in the battle 25 years ago?"

"Haha, are you trying to get information from me? But so what if you were to know? Once you know about it, you'll truly be able to understand the difference between black magic and Knights. It's one which you'll never be able to catch up to." The little snake let out a cold laugh and said, "Of course the Mage Association participated. They sent out that Silver Robed lunatic."

"Silver Robed?" Fang Xingjian frowned slightly. He knew that black magic had been split into a number of factions. The master of his cousin Fang Xingchen, the Black Mage King, belonged to the Black Robed Mages.

However, Fang Xingjian did not know which factions the Mage Association was comprised of.

"You said that they only sent a single person?"

"One person is sufficient." The little snake looked at Fang Xingjian with a jeer. "Before true experts, numbers mean nothing. Furthermore, Silver Robed Mages have always been passed down to a single person, each generation. However, that person's battle abilities alone would suffice to deal with 1,000 or even 10,000 of you.

"If not for the Church of Universal Truth working together with the Mage Association, how could we possibly have lost? The Empire would have been taken over by us a long time ago.

"Back then, the Empire's Conferred Knights had only participated in some battles on the outskirts and yet they thought of themselves to be stronger than us.

"However, they did not form the crux of the battle."

Fang Xingjian's thoughts fluctuated greatly and he could sense through his Heaven's Perception that there were no changes to the other party's emotions. It seemed that he had not been lying.

'Has the Mage Association really gotten so powerful?'

Fang Xingjian was aware of how powerful the Church was. However, he had never known that the Mages who had managed to get their hands on black magic were supposed to be even more unfathomable.

Fang Xingjian asked again, "Based on what you've said, the Mage Association's abilities are about the same as the Church's? Then why is it that they own so little territory?"

The little snake's eyes curled up as he let out a human sigh, "Compared to the Church, the Mage Association is still a little weaker. Otherwise, how could the Church of Universal Truth possibly be the leaders in this world?"

After saying that, the little snake looked at Fang Xingjian again, saying, "Fang Xingjian, do you understand now? You may think that the Empire is powerful, but to the true wielders of power, to both the Mage Association and the Church, the Empire is something which can be easily destroyed.

"The reason why the Empire still exists is only because both the Mage Association and the Church are wary of each other, thus giving the Knights space to survive.

"Haha... Knights, haha... Although you have great talent, you've started off on the wrong foot. Since you've already started on the path of a Knight, then you can forget about ever being able to surpass the Mage Association and the Church. Your limits have already been set into stone."

"Is that right?" Fang Xingjian trusted that most of what the little snake was the truth. However, there were probably some parts about the abilities of the Mages which were exaggerated as well. Otherwise, how could the Mage Association possibly choose to not take any action just because they were wary? Had he not just defeated them today?

"Of course!" The little snake stared at Fang Xingjian and said, "For the past 25 years, the Terrene Shrine has spent countless effort to nurture three unrivaled geniuses. This is so that the Terrene Shrine can reign over the entire world and stand up against the Mage Association and the Church in the future.

"Amongst the three of us, I'm the weakest. Moreover, there are also countless bishops in the Terrine Shrine who are old monsters who had lived for over 100 years. Any of them would have stronger powers than me."

Fang Xingjian squinted slightly. The little snake's main prowess was his army of dragons. It was something which even Sasa had not been able to defeat easily. At his level, he would be ranked in the third tier even amongst level 29 Conferred Knights. He could even be at the very top of level 29 Conferred Knights. He was someone who could possibly stand up for a few moves against those in the second tier such as Governor Devitt.

After all, those in level 29 could be said to have the greatest gap in their abilities. Even though they could all be at level 29, some of them might have 100 skill seeds while others might have 1,000; some of them might have refined 10,000 physical particles while others might have perfected the refining of all 1.08 billion particles in their bodies; some of them might have synthesized three sets of techniques while others might have synthesized 30 sets... When all these factors were taken into consideration, the gap became far too wide.

Clearly, it was the same for Mages. Although Fang Xingjian did not know how they cultivated, it was obvious that the differences between their abilities were worlds apart.

However, ever since Fang Xingjian had fought against the Knight on the arena who seemed to have used magic prints, and thereafter, against the bishop at the Terrene Shrine's base and had seen his magic, a guess appeared in Fang Xingjian's heart.

'My body, toward black magic, seems to...'

He looked toward the little snake and said, "You mean that I've offended the Terrene Shrine and am doomed?"

"That's right." The little snake looked at Fang Xingjian with a vicious expression. The reason he had said so much earlier was so that Fang Xingjian would feel wary toward the Terrene Shrine. "Your limit lies there. No matter how much hard work you put in, there's no way that you'll be able to go against black magic. Therefore, even if I were to die, there would be someone even more powerful coming to deal with you. You're doomed!"

"Is that so?" Fang Xingjian said nonchalantly. "Since you feel that I'm doomed, then take me to Terrene Shrine's base."

"What?!"

Fang Xingjian continued, "Take me to Terrene Shrine's base and let them kill me."

"That is impossible! Do you think that I'm an idiot?"

"Are you scared? Since you feel that I'm far from a match for Mages, why don't you dare let me barge into your base?" said Fang Xingjian calmly as he looked at the little snake, wearing a deep and unfathomable expression which made it hard for others to tell what his intentions were.

Right now, the little snake was also extremely baffled. He could not tell what Fang Xingjian was thinking.

'Is there a trap? Are there other people with Fang Xingjian? James? The people with the Second Prince?

'But I didn't sense any presences earlier on. Have they just arrived?'

Just as he was thinking about this, streams of sharp auras seeped out of Fang Xingjian's hand. "If you're unwilling, I won't waste my time either. You can go and die."

The little snake was stunned for a moment before he felt surges of powerful killing aura surrounding him.

'Damn it! What's going on?! What on earth is this guy thinking?

'What should I do? What should I do?'

Seeing Fang Xingjian's look of indifference made the little snake even more confounded over what Fang Xingjian was thinking. What was backing him up?

'No matter what, if I don't bring him there, I will end up in a very bad state.

'But if I were to bring him there and I got discovered, then wouldn't I be seen as a traitor to the Terrene Shrine?'

At that moment, the killing intent in Fang Xingjian's eyes grew increasingly stronger, "You're still hesitating? Do you really think that you still have a choice?"

"Haha, Fang Xingjian, you don't understand how terrifying the Terrene Shrine is. It's impossible for you to get any information out from me. You might as well kill me."

Translator's Thoughts

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Chapter 403: Tremendous Improvement

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

"Oh?" Fang Xingjian exerted a little strength with his hands, and the little snake felt as if his body was going to be crushed. The little snake let out a horrified cry, "I can't bring you to the Terrene Shrine, but I can teach you black magic. Don't you wish to learn it? Black magic is several hundred or even several ten thousand times stronger than the path of Knights. If you don't learn black magic, you'll be remain cannon fodder for your entire life."

"Can I learn it now?" Fang Xingjian squinted his eyes slightly and asked. He had done tests back when he was in the Demonic City. He did not show any aptitude for black magic at all.

The little snake was a little taken aback and said, "It does require some aptitude, but with your strong talent, it'll definitely be possible."

Just as they were in the midst of their exchange, Fang Xingjian suddenly lifted his head to look into the sky. Under the eastern horizon, he saw a black figure rush over at great speed. Then in the blink of an eye, the black figure had already arrived in the space above them.

Fang Xingjian immediately said, "Hide yourself."

The little snake was very intelligent and quickly wrapped himself around Fang Xingjian's neck. His body twisted and changed, and became seemingly lifeless.

Head of Department James cut across the air, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived before Fang Xingjian. Yaris quickly followed behind him.

James' already extremely aged-looking face now appeared to be even weaker and withered. The two unusual flushes of red on his face were very obvious. Slightly stunned, Fang Xingjian asked, "Head of Department, you've been injured?"

As James waved his hand, his eyes were full of regret. "We had a fight with the Dark Knight and a few others. I hadn't expected that after the First Prince went into seclusion, he would still be able to show his prowess across space through his clone. It's true that he has reached the entrance of the Divine level. To begin with, my lifespan is already nearing its end, and my strength is no longer as before. So, this time around, I was injured by him.

"Are you guys alright?" James lifted his head to looked at the now barren battlefield and an astonished expression flashed in his eyes. "Xingjian, it seems like you've gained a lot out from your seclusion this time around."

"I really have gained a lot," Fang Xingjian replied.

"It's not just a lot," Yaris chipped in, "Putting those two Sand Country assassins aside, Xingjian single-handedly defeated Sasa and destroyed that expert from the Terrene Shrine."

After saying this, Yaris then described in detail how powerful the feminine-looking young man had been. In the end, he said, "To think that you were able to wipe out his army of monsters in just an instant... Xingjian, you've already reached level 29, right? I even have the feeling that you're close to the level of the Head of Department and the others."

Inwardly, Fang Xingjian nodded slightly. Right now, without using the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent, he would basically be able to go up against a tier three or four level 29 expert. However, with the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent activated, he would be able to go up against tier two experts like James and Governor Devitt.

Alas, he was still a far cry from those first tier level 29 existences like the First Prince and The School of Sword Arts' Supreme Chief.

James looked at Fang Xingjian with a look of disbelief. In fact, anyone else would also find this unbelievable. To think that it had been possible for Fang Xingjian's abilities to be brought to such a level within a mere half a year...

"Excellent, excellent, excellent. I'm still able to see your progress before I die. Xingjian, you might really have a chance to participate in next year's National Selection." James coughed and continued, "But this time around, you've killed Sasa, who was a Conferred Knight. That Terrene Shrine expert must also be one of their geniuses. We can't let news of this spread. Otherwise, you'll probably end up being on the receiving end of some crazed revenge."

Fang Xingjian nodded. He had the same intentions. Especially after having heard the little snake brag about the Terrene Shrine, he had even less interest in spreading the news and being chased endlessly by people who wanted to end his life.

Of course, after a few more months, when he would have gotten stronger again, he could consider releasing the news.

Thereafter, James and the others announced to the public that Sasa had escaped and disappeared, and that Sand Country assassins had assaulted Fang Xingjian and gotten killed. As for the Terrene Shrine, nothing was mentioned at all.

After another half a month, another year had passed, and it was now the start of the new year's January. Fang Xingjian continued to stay and cultivate in his training room. Right now, he was only left with three years before the end of his remaining five-year lifespan.

He could hear that his internal organs and blood were continuously releasing loud swooshing sounds and that the circulation in his internal body was extremely agitated. As he performed the Nine-Headed Dragon Sword Technique, a martial technique for internal training, the potential points on his Stats Window depleted incessantly while the other attributes increased.

For the past half month, Fang Xingjian's abilities had improved and become even more terrifying. It was because the Divine blood had given him a total of over nine million potential points.

Today, he had finally depleted over eight million potential points and saved the remaining one million potential points. This would allow him to use Boundaries Negation and Heaven's Volition Sword Intent at anytime.

However, the depletion caused by the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent was far too great at a rate of 100,000 points per second. Even if he had one million potential points, it would only last him ten seconds.

Additionally, Fang Xingjian had depleted the over eight million potential points mostly for the purpose of improving his strength attribute, allowing it to increase tremendously. His level had also been raised to level 27 in the past half a month. After another two million gold deposited into his account in January, his mystical prints had also progressed to the seventh level.

The seventh level of the mystical prints allowed his aptitude to increase once again, reaching an astonishing level.

His specialty seeds increased by another 101, and the attributes in his Stats Window became:

Name: Fang Xingjian

Age: 17

Occupation: Heavenly Sword Sovereign

Level: 27

Strength: 26116

Agility: 28416

Reaction: 183

Endurance: 161

Flexibility: 160

Ether Synchronization Rate: 85%

The attributes above come into effect once the Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves are activated.

Due to Perfect Muscles, 16 in strength and agility (10% of the endurance attribute).

Skills / Techniques: Boundaries Negation, Level 40 Rebirth Sword Technique, Level 40 New Nine-Headed Dragon Sword Technique, Level 40 Zenith Light Sword Formation, Ether Sword Ripples, Level 40 Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique, Level 12 Ether Divine Art, White Bone Divine Weapon, Heaven's Volition Sword Intent

Internal Specialties: 203

External Specialties: 8

Physical Particles: 1,000

Waves: Level 7 Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves

Mental Cultivation Method: Level 7 Universal Sword Dominance Lunisolar

By depleting his potential points to temper his attributes, the toughness of his body had increased to become like that of a level 28 Divine Weapon. Fang Xingjian could be said to have completely digested the essence of the Divine blood.

This was especially evident as after attaining level 27, he had also started to refine the powers in his body's physical particles.

Through his Heaven's Perception, Fang Xingjian could sense all the cells in his body. He then continued to probe deeper to sense the countless particles which made up his body.

He could sense that within each particle, there was an extremely violent force brewing. Once the forces burst out, they would bring about tremendous power.

Specialty seeds strengthened the physical body, allowing Conferred Knights to have extremely powerful bodies. As such, these strengthened physical particles were currently the source of Fang Xingjian's power. Once a Conferred Knight could refine all the power contained within the 1.08 billion physical particles, they would no longer need to worry about the energy storage they had. They would be able to reassemble and regenerate their physical bodies as they wished, unleashing various ultimate Killing techniques.

Fang Xingjian could sense that there were 1,000 physical particles throbbing in his body, capable of unleashing the most violent powers anytime, anywhere. Those were the 1,000 physical particles he had refined during this period of time.

At the next moment, he looked at his wrist and the dark green bangle it wore,on which an eye suddenly opened up.

Fang Xingjian asked calmly, "How is it? Have you thought of a way?"

Translator's Thoughts

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Chapter 404: Black Magic

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

"Don't be anxious." The opened eye on the bangle, which the little snake had transformed into, appeared to have a hint of panic. "Your physique is special, and therefore it's harder for you to learn black magic. But I'll try to think of something else."

After Fang Xingjian brought the little snake back with him, the latter had continuously tried to bewitch Fang Xingjian into learning black magic. However, it was just like the result of the aptitude test Fang Xingjian had taken in the past; he was incapable of picking up any black magic.

According to the little snake, black magic allowed one to borrow the powers of gods, using divine energy to change the objective world. Depending on the god the powers were borrowed from, there were a total of 12 different types of Mages, including the Black Robed, Gray Robed, Silver Robed, and Red Robed.

However, Fang Xingjian was unable to even form the slightest connection with the gods, thus resulting in him being incapable of performing black magic.

"If it can't be done, then forget it. Coming back to you, shouldn't you have recuperated enough by now? Are you able to perform black magic now?"

A hint of displeasure flashed in the little snake's eyes. "What do you mean recuperated enough? You didn't even allow me to recuperate. I want to eat meat, meat, meat! You must let me engulf blood and flesh for me to be able to recover my powers. What's the use of resting everyday?"

"If black magic is as profound as you say, then engulfing flesh and blood can't possibly be the only way for you to recover your powers, right? There must also be a way for you to increase in strength as well as take in and release energy. " Fang Xingjian said, "Try it. Try performing black magic on me."

Fang Xingjian urged, "Perform one which can have a direct effect on me. Don't use those summoning ones."

"But as Grey Robed Mages, our black magic is primarily on summoning life and powers from other worlds."

"There must be some sort of black magic which can be used on the target directly." Fang Xingjian's eyes were like sharp blades brushing against the little snake's body. The little snake felt piercing pain all over his body like his body had been split opened.

However, the little snake was extremely infuriated. Aside from engulfing flesh and blood, it was true that he could also borrow a god's powers bit by bit to store in his body for using later. However, in comparison to offering flesh and blood or pain as a sacrifice in exchange for the diabolic energy, this method was far too slow. It was like the difference between a small water pipe and a great river.

Therefore, after half a month had passed, the amount of divine energy stored in his body remained pathetically low.

However, when he saw Fang Xingjian's expression, he knew that he could not push this off anymore. The little snake could only moved his body helplessly and say, "Then I'm really going to do it. Don't resist it, alright?"

"Come on," Fang Xingjian said nonchalantly, wanting to verify if his guess was right.

A hint of maliciousness flashed in the little snake's eyes, 'Hmhmph, you're not going to resist at all? You're the one who's asking for it.' At the next moment, a layer of gray light shot out from his body. That glow was from the terrifying powers which the Mages called divine energy, while others referred to as the diabolic energy.

Accompanied by the gradual lighting up of the gray glow, many spikes appeared on the surface of the little snake's body, piercing toward Fang Xingjian's body.

With a soft clank, the spike was blocked by the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor directly. The little snake shouted, "I can't pierce it in like this!"

Fang Xingjian nodded, and a layer of skin came off on his arm. That was the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor withdrawing and revealing his skin. Small streams of electricity flashed past the surface of his skin as he removed majority of his heavenly thunders and terrestrial magnetism forces, lowering his defense.

'Is this guy for real?' Looking at this scene, the little snake's heart skipped a beat. Although he did not understand why Fang Xingjian was suddenly so foolish, he felt that this was an excellent chance.

'To think that he actually removed his guard... Knights really are all brawn and no brains.' A cold smile appeared on the little snake's lips as it sent its spike piercing into Fang Xingjian's arm. At the next moment, streams of gray light gushed out toward Fang Xingjian.

This was the level 1 black magic—God's Resonance.

It was one of the simplest black magic spells, offering what was before him to the god. Since it was an offering, the target must have no resistance at all and use no items with defense. Otherwise, not only would there be no effects but the caster of the spell would also suffer from the backlash of the diabolic energy.

One would be able to gain different degrees of divine energy subject to the different offerings.

For instance, the god the Gray Robed Mages revered liked powerful flesh and blood the most, as well as life forms filled with agony and desperation.

'Hahahaha. Fang Xingjian, to think that you've really given up on resisting. You asked for this yourself!'

Extreme excitement flashed in the little snake's eyes. However, soon after the gray light gushed into Fang Xingjian's body, all of it disappeared completely, as if nothing had ever happened.

'Hmmm?' The little snake looked at this scene in a daze. 'What's wrong?'

Fang Xingjian threw him a glance and asked, "Is it over?"

"I haven't started!" A hint of anxiety flashed in the little snake's eyes, and gray light once again exuded from his body. He performed God's Resonance once again, and the result this time still produced no reaction from Fang Xingjian.

"What's wrong? Why is it like this? This doesn't make sense!" The little snake looked at Fang Xingjian's body in a daze like the entire world had collapsed.

"Something like this doesn't make sense at all!"

The black magic of the Gray Robed Mages primarily offered flesh and blood to the god. The god would then bless them with divine energy, which would allow them to perform various powerful black magic spells.

The stronger the black magic, the stronger the godly powers required, and the greater the offerings needed.

Watching this scene before him, the little snake suddenly broke his own tail. Then he pierced the spike into his tail before performing God's Resonance.

In almost an instant, his tail started to shrivel up, turning into tiny remnants and disappearing into the air. This was a successful offer.

A hint of excitement flashed in the little snake's eyes as he once again attempted to use Fang Xingjian as an offering.

However, it still continued to be ineffective... ineffective... ineffective... ineffective...

This was not a backlash effect due to the failure of the black magic. It was just purely ineffective, like he had not performed any black magic at all.

Fang Xingjian looked at the exasperated appearance of the little snake as he continued to perform black magic time and time again, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. Electric sparks flashed on Fang Xingjian's arms, and the toughness of his physical body resumed its previous state. With a shake, he shook off the spike.

Fang Xingjian thought to himself, 'As expected, this isn't an illusion. My deduction is true. Black magic... is ineffective against me... Then the powers from magic prints...'

Thinking of this, his mind started to boil over. The feelings of fury, desperation, and vengeance filled up his mind in an instant.

Thinking of how the diabolic energy and black magic were useless against him, Fang Xingjian had the urge to immediately rush back to the Demonic City and fight it out with the magic prints warriors whom he had been thinking about day in and out.

However, his rationale told him that this was not the best time. Regardless, if the magic prints' powers were useless against him, then...

'Hang on, I still need to wait for a bit more. I'm still in the phase of rapid progression. I have to wait at least until I've reached level 29 before I go back. I'll also need to do a good test on the range of effects which black magic has on me.

'I can't rush. It's soon, it'll be very soon.

'Li Shuanghua... Caroline... Wait for me. I'll be coming back soon.'

Beside him, the little snake stared at Fang Xingjian with an anxious and doubtful gaze. Amidst Fang Xingjian's flickering gaze, the little snake had no idea about what Fang Xingjian was thinking about.

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Chapter 405: Universal Truth

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

In the Great Western City, a pure-white horse-drawn carriage drove slowly through the streets. There were guards wearing white clothes and armor both in front of and behind the horse-drawn carriage. These guards had strong bodies and solemn expressions. It took only one look to tell that they were powerful warriors, experienced in the battlefield.

Wherever the horse-drawn carriage passed by, the crowd of people along the streets knelt down in succession like a wave while wearing respectful expressions.

There was no reason for this except that these people were from the Church of Universal Truth. The person in the horse-drawn carriage was an archbishop of the Church of Universal Truth, a great expert at level 29.

Other than cultivating the path of the Knights, all clergies of the Church of Universal Truth would cultivate divine arts, which were the magical arts that allowed them to tap into the legendary powers from the God of Universal Truth.

Being the Church of Universal Truth's archbishop meant that he was not just a level 29 Conferred Knight. He was also equipped with several divine arts and had unfathomable powers.

If it could be said that most Governors in the Empire were the top notch characters of the country and were at the second tier amongst those at level 29... then any archbishop from the Church of Universal Truth would be able to rank in the first tier amongst those in level 29. The archbishops were the strongest influences in the world.

"My Lord, we've arrived."

In the carriage, a bald elder, whose facial expression was as hard as if it was carved from marble and had eyes which seemed extremely deep, came down slowly from the carriage. He looked at the small building before him and said, "Come, let's go in."

A total of 12 warriors wearing white armor followed behind him. These people had gone through the secret second transition job, the Radiant Knight, which was passed down in the Church of Universal Truth. Each of them were equipped with three or more divine arts, and their prowess far surpassed that of ordinary Conferred Knights of the same level.

The leader of the 12 white armored Knights had golden prints engraved on his armor, and he wore a blue cape. With his golden hair and blue cape, he looked just like a Knight from fairytales.

He walked exactly half a step behind the archbishop, making it apparent that he was of a different status from the others.

The archbishop said, "How is it, Gardner? What do you think about the southern expedition this time around?"

The golden-haired Knight spoke with indifference, "Each generation is weaker than the last. If there is no intervention from those in the Divine level, I'll only need 500 second transition warriors to seize the entire southern territory."

"Haha, aren't you going overboard there? This time around, it seems that there are still quite a number of talents in the central. This is especially so for the successor to the throne, George Krieg. He has extraordinary talent.

"And that Dongfang Ling who became a Royal Knight at the age of 14... He is not to be underestimated either."

The golden-haired Knight closed his eyes and said nonchalantly, "For them to not trust in god, they'll just end up with nothing. But I'm interested in meeting Fang Xingjian this time around. It's true that the Rebirth Sword Technique has changed the world. However, to think that such a rare talent is unwilling to join the Church. He is really pitiable."

The archbishop smiled, "Relax a little. Gardner, you aren't doing work for the Holy Inquisitorial Court at the moment."

The two of them walked through the entrance to the building and saw that Governor Devitt and Head of Department James were already standing there to welcome them. In the entire Great Western Region, Devitt was the only one who was of a suitable position to receive them. Sending anyone else would be showing a lack of courtesy.

The two parties shook hands, exchanged greetings, and went to take a seat in the hall of the building.

On one side, it was the archbishop of the Church of Universal Truth and his 12 guards. On the other, it was Governor Devitt, Head of Department James, Zhou Xingwen, Ferdinand, as well as the star this time around, Fang Xingjian.

The archbishop said, "I'll cut to the chase. The main reason we're here this time around is for Fang Xingjian and the Rebirth Sword Technique.

"Lord Holy Orison has personally told me about the Rebirth Sword Technique and was full of praise for it. I personally think well of this sword technique too." He then turned toward Devitt and smiled. "Lord Governor has really done a good job in nurturing the younger generation. The Great Western Region now has another unrivalled genius."

Governor Devitt's aged face smiled very brightly. "This is all Xingjian's own talent."

The group then continued to exchange some polite greetings and chat about all sorts of topics. Throughout all of this, Fang Xingjian merely close his eyes and continued cultivating his sword techniques. The royalties for disseminating the Rebirth Sword Technique in the north would naturally be handled by the Governor, Zhou Xingwen, Ferdinand, and the others.

After all, they would also be receiving a share from the royalties, and they were more experienced and proactive than Fang Xingjian.

Therefore, Fang Xingjian would rather be fully focused on cultivating his sword techniques. He felt that his current train of thought was extremely fast and clearer than ever. There were even various streams of inspiration surging endlessly into his brain from the air.

Right now, he was practicing the Killing techniques he had scanned from the library. He was able to pick them up with just merely a casual thought and could reach level 10 after thinking about them a couple more times. Just by practicing the techniques, he would even be able to find ways to improve them.

Fang Xingjian then suddenly came to a realization that as he got to know several hundred sets of sword techniques, his sword arts mastery had continued to surge. Additionally, because he had memorized the myriad of Killing techniques in the library, he had now gained sufficient experience to create his own sword techniques.

At that moment, someone called out to Fang Xingjian.

Fang Xingjian opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the Church of Universal Truth's archbishop. A warrior who had been standing behind the archbishop stepped out into view. He was wearing white clothes and armor with golden prints on them, as well as a blue cape.

Seeing that Fang Xingjian looked as if he had just woken up, the warrior's gaze had a hint of despise.

The archbishop introduced, "This is the Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner, and he is also the newly appointed council member of the Holy Inquisitorial Court. He has been ensuring my safety during this journey."

Out of the nine divisions of the Church of Universal Truth, the Holy Inquisitorial Court was the one in charge of ferreting out the undesirable aspects within the Church of Universal Truth. There were countless terrifying and bloody rumors involving them. It was said that they were a bunch of fervent believers and genuine lunatics.

The Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner, was a level 29 Conferred Knight, and he was equipped with several tens of Universal Truth Divine Arts. He was one of the talents the Church of Universal Truth had been nurturing for the last few years. It was even said that there were hopes for Gardner to attain the Divine level.

Hearing the archbishop's introduction, everyone gazed at Gardner with high regard.

However, Gardner only turned his gaze toward Fang Xingjian and said, "I had already heard of your name back when I was in the north. They all said that your talent in sword arts is astonishing, and Lord Holy Orison has even recommended for your participation in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan.

"The reason we're here today is also to have a talk about the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

However, Gardner's tone changed when he said, "But even though you created the Rebirth Sword Technique, it doesn't mean that you're qualified to participate in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan.

"Those who are able to participate in this plan are all people who are at least at the peak of level 29. Or they come from great martial art clans that have made a name for themselves for many years, even if they aren't Divine level experts. From what I see, you aren't suitable to take part in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

The Martial Techniques Grading Plan was an amazing large-scale plan which involved many parties across the world, and the Church of Universal Truth were planning on spending several hundred million or even several billion on it . Naturally, countless people would see it as a big, fat piece of delicious meat they want to have a share in.

Fang Xingjian had rejected the Holy Orison's invitation to join the Church of Universal Truth.

Yet, he was coming to have a big bite of the meat. So, it was natural for the Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner, to be displeased. This was especially so when the area which Fang Xingjian was going to be in charge of was originally intended for the Holy Inquisitorial Court.

It should be said that this time around, one of the reasons he had accompanied the archbishop to the south was to meet the Empire's younger generation. Another reason was to try to stop Fang Xingjian from participating in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan.

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Chapter 406: Divine Arts

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Hearing that, Fang Xingjian threw him a look of indifference and said, "You're not convinced?"

Of course, Fang Xingjian was aware of how the Martial Techniques Grading Plan was a terrifying tremendous opportunity many people sought after. For him to be taking a slice of such a big cake, it was impossible for there not to be anyone approaching him for this. After all, he was neither a Divine level expert nor a prince, so how could others just watch on as he took a portion of the money?

Fang Xingjian's seeming extremely arrogant attitude further infuriated the Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner.

Gardner's eyes narrowed and gleamed in cold light as he spoke, making each of his words very clear, "With your qualifications, experience, as well as your sword arts cultivation, you aren't suitable to lead a section of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. The reason I've come here is not just to discuss the matters of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan with you, but I'm also here to test to see if you deserve to participate.

"Now that I've met you today, I know that you're merely a young and proud genius. Young man, in this world, it isn't so that the one who speaks the loudest and is the most arrogant will be the one who is right."

Hearing that, Devitt and the others frowned, feeling displeased. However, the archbishop merely smiled, as if he had not seen anything at all.

Fang Xingjian spoke calmly, "The air of a grandmaster isn't one which can be sensed by anyone either. You can never discuss the cold with the summer bugs, and you can never discuss the sea with the frog in the well.

"When your cultivation isn't sufficient, of course you won't be able to tell."

In that moment, a cold gleam surged in Gardner's eyes. If they were not in the Great Western City, he would have taken action to teach Fang Xingjian a lesson on the spot. After all, according to the records, it had only been half a year since Fang Xingjian had completed his job transition. He should only be at about level 25 or 26, with a battle prowess capable of defeating a level 27 Conferred Knight. So, how could Fang Xingjian possibly be Gardner's match?

As for the fact that Fang Xingjian had defeated Sword Saint Sasa and beat back the Terrene Shrine's army of dragons... That was known only to Yaris, James, Devitt, and a few others.

However, Gardner did not take any action and just laughed, "I'm not going to bicker with you. If you wish to participate in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan, sure. But you must get past me first."

"Get past you?" Fang Xingjian let out a cold laugh and said, "Then get someone else from the Church to come talk to me about this."

Gardner drew back a gasp while looking at Fang Xingjian with a gaze which was getting increasingly malicious. After all, he was a council member of the Church of Universal Truth, and the Church of Universal Truth was the strongest influence in the world. Moreover, Gardner was over 30 years old and already at second transition and level 29. No matter where he went, he would attract attention and gazes. Everyone would definitely treat him with great respect as an important person.

When had Gardner ever come across a person like Fang Xingjian who acted even more arrogantly than he did?

"Young man, I don't like the way you talk." Gardner looked at Fang Xingjian and said coldly, "It's true that when one is younger, you should have a greater spirit and drive to excel. However, you mustn't be so blindly arrogant. When I was at your age, I also thought that I was special and the most powerful.

"However, after a few years, you'll realize just how foolish is your way of thinking. I'm telling this to you now. I hope that you'll go back and think about what I've just said."

Fang Xingjian said, "You should just cut to the chase and say what you want."

Gardner shook his head and look at Fang Xingjian with an expression of pity, like he was looking at a talent who had taken the wrong path. "The two of us shall have a test on our speed of learning a sword technique."

"Test on the speed of learning a sword technique?" Fang Xingjian asked.

Gardner said, "That's right. You choose two sword techniques for me to learn, and I'll choose two for you to learn. We'll see who is the faster learner. The most important aspect of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan is one's learning ability and understanding toward swords arts. One will only be able to give a faster review on a sword technique's grade when they have a stronger learning ability and a deeper comprehension toward sword arts.

"My mastery and talent aren't even amongst the top 100 in the Church. If you can't even defeat me, then there's no need for you to take part in this plan." As Gardner spoke, strong confidence exuded from his eyes.

Fang Xingjian's mouth twitched. How could he possibly be afraid to compete in terms of the speed at which they learned sword techniques? He said directly, "What if I win?"

"If you win, of course, I'll be supportive of your participation in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

Fang Xingjian turned toward the archbishop who was smiling like Santa Claus. The archbishop said, "I have no objections. If Xingjian can defeat Gardner in this area, then it shows that your sword arts cultivation is exemplary and your understanding of sword arts surpasses that of ordinary people. Of course, it also means you'll be a good candidate for the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

Fang Xingjian then turned to look at Governor Devitt. Devitt gave it some thought and said, "It's fine. You can just choose the sword techniques from our school. Gardner, you should choose from the Church's sword techniques. The two of you will just have to promise not to impart the sword techniques to others after learning them."

"Then let's start."

Gardner frowned and asked, "You're not going to ask what will happen if you lose?"

Fang Xingjian said nonchalantly, "There's no point in asking. It's impossible for me to lose."

Hearing that, Gardner could not help laughing coldly to himself. He pointed at Fang Xingjian and said, "Alright, but I'll still have to let you know beforehand in case you go back on your words later.

"If you lose, you must give up on participating in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. Do you have a problem with that?"

"You're being annoying. Let's just start quickly."

Faced with Fang Xingjian's arrogance, Gardner became even more spiteful of him. To Gardner, Fang Xingjian was just someone who had grown in a small place and ended up becoming extremely arrogant just because he had managed to get some results due to his talent.

'What a fool. Your outlook on life determines your achievement. It is totally beyond your imagination as to how deep the waters of this world are. For you to be so arrogant just because of the bit of talent that you have... You'll get into big trouble one day.'

Thinking this, Gardner even felt slightly reproachful toward the Holy Orison. Why had the Holy Orison recommended for such a person to participate in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan?

At the side, James, Governor Devitt, and Fang Xingjian started communicating to each other through information currents.

Governor Devitt said with worry, "Xingjian, the other party won't do something which he has no confidence in. I think we should just forget about it. We'll just get Lord Holy Orison to settle this."

"That's right," James was also advising, "That Gardner seems too confident. I'm afraid that he will use some underhanded means."

The Martial Techniques Grading Plan involved several billion gold worth of funds and was a massive transnational plan.

Even if Fang Xingjian were to get only 1% of the funds, it would also be a tremendous amount worth several million or several tens of million. It was no wonder that James and Governor Devitt were being so careful about it.

Moreover, when it involved such a massive amount of gold, Gardner clearly would only come up with this proposal because he had sufficient confidence.

Fang Xingjian shook his head and said, "Don't worry. In a competition over the speed of learning sword techniques, there's no one who can surpass me."

Fang Xingjian then randomly picked out two sword techniques from the library's Killing techniques and wrote them down on a piece of paper. Gardner also wrote two down two sets of sword techniques down on paper.

Seeing how leisurely Fang Xingjian was, Gardner continued sneering inwardly.

Then he looked down at the two sets of sword techniques which Fang Xingjian had written down. "Eventide Sword Technique and the Sanctuary Sword Technique?"

At the next moment, Gardner closed his eyes, and a faint white light radiated from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Then a book which emitted a white glow appeared in his hands.

He pressed his palm down on the cover of the book, letting out a soft bellow. The book moved despite there not being any wind, and the pages flipped by themselves. When it came to a stop, the information regarding the Eventide Sword Technique and the Sanctuary Sword Technique gradually appeared before him.

Then the numbers in his Stats Window started to jump. Eventide Sword Technique 1%... 2%... 3%...

This was a level 8 Universal Truth Divine Arts—Akashic Martial Techniques Enchiridion.

Governor Devitt and Head of Department James frowned. Both of them had a bad feeling about this strange scene.

The archbishop merely smiled and said, "This is the divine art Gardner gained after praying to god when his ether synchronization rate reached 100%—Akashic Martial Techniques Enchiridion.

"The God of Universal Truth knows of everything in the world and the universe, and the Akashic Martial Techniques Enchiridion records all martial techniques from the past and future. Gardner can spend half an hour daily acquiring three martial techniques to the maximum from the enchiridion. Although he isn't able to impart these techniques and would forget about them the next day, it's still a miraculous power.

"This is how mighty our god is." The archbishop looked at Fang Xingjian who seemed to be in a state of shock. "Oh, God of Universal Truth, everything is born from you, and everything is nurtured by you."

Head of Department James exclaimed in astonishment, "Why haven't I heard of such divine arts before?"

The archbishop smiled and said, "The God of Universal Truth knows of everything in this world. Of course, we won't be able to acquire all the divine arts he can bestow upon us even if we were to use up our entire lifespan. Gardner was only bestowed with this divine art during one of the exchanges with god, having managed to touch god with his strong faith."

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Chapter 407: Rapid Speed

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Through the cultivators' continuous prayers to the gods, their faith and abilities would get increasingly stronger. It was after this that the Church of Universal Truth's divine arts were bestowed upon cultivators.

It was impossible for the divine arts to be studied, passed down, or learned.

Signs of shock appeared on the faces of Governor Devitt and Head of Department James. Such a divine art was far too powerful, and the powers of the Church of Universal Truth which had such divine arts were unfathomable.

Zhou Xingwen and Ferdinand exchanged a glance. Their gazes were filled with astonishment and worry. Since young, they had heard of how the prowess of the Universal Truth Divine Arts were boundless and how the Church of Universal Truth was the strongest influence in the church. However, they had not expected for them to have such an unbelievable divine art.

'If that's the case, then in terms of the speed of learning, wouldn't this divine art that Gardner has make him the fastest in the world?' Ferdinand looked at Fang Xingjian, who seemed to be looking at the sword techniques written on the paper like he had been knocked silly. 'Sigh, seems like Xingjian won't be able to participate in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. Participating in this plan would bring in millions or tens of millions of gold, as well as access to countless sword arts manuals... Pity, such a pity.'

Gardner looked at the jumping numbers on his Stats Window. Eventide Sword Technique 11%... 12%... 13%... He then looked at Fang Xingjian, who seemed to be in a daze, and inwardly let out cold laughter uncontrollably. In a competition for learning speed, it was impossible for him to lose.

However, just then, Fang Xingjian stood up. He had taken a look at the sword techniques Gardner had written on the paper. They were Universal Truth Longsword and Star of Adjudication.

The two sword techniques were not difficult, and there were only a few thousand words written down. Fang Xingjian had merely gone over them in his mind and then visualized putting them into practice. Just like that, he had already managed to learn the sword techniques, Universal Truth Longsword and Star of Adjudication.

Then Fang Xingjian stood up. As he clenched his hand into a fist, streams of water vapor gathered, turning into a water sword.

Next, he swung the longsword about, performing the Universal Truth Longsword. The Universal Truth Longsword was one of the renowned sword techniques of the Church of Universal Truth. Based on the Church of Universal Truth's teachings, it had been put through the hard work of countless generations of people before it was created.

The moment Fang Xingjian performed this sword technique, a majestic feeling gushed forth. This set of sword technique was extremely righteous and also extremely domineering. After the sword technique was performed, it was as if everything else was being excluded, and he entered an internal state of being the one and only.

There was only one universal truth, and the same went for the God of Universal Truth. So, the Universal Truth Longsword had a state of being the one and only in the world.

Gardner had been thinking of ridiculing Fang Xingjian for overestimating himself and swinging the sword after just a few looks. However, after seeing Fang Xingjian perform the Universal Truth Longsword, Gardner was so astonished his eyeballs seemed like they were going to pop out.

How long had it only been? Not even a minute had passed. That was barely enough time for one to just read through the Universal Truth Longsword technique. Yet, to think that Fang Xingjian had already learned it?

The more of the Universal Truth Longsword Fang Xingjian performed, the more astonished Gardner was. It was because Fang Xingjian's mastery of the Universal Truth Longsword seemed to be increasing at a crazy rate with every passing minute and second.

On the first attempt, he was like an inexperienced beginner. On the second attempt, his movements were already rectified. On the third attempt, it seemed as if he had been practicing the technique for several years. Then when he came to his fourth and fifth attempts, Fang Xingjian looked as if he had been practicing for decades, and his level of mastery was extremely high.

From there, as Fang Xingjian continued to perform the sword technique, the water sword he was holding emitted streams of strong pushing force. Everyone felt as if invisible powers were gushing toward them, trying to push them far away.

The surrounding furniture and accessories were sent flying, then they landed on the ground. The soil under their feet was unearthed and swept away in layers. This force grew increasingly stronger and increasingly powerful. In the blink of an eye, the space within ten meters of Fang Xingjian had formed a vacuum.

Gardner felt extremely bitter as Fang Xingjian was performing the Universal Truth Longsword at a level of mastery which was no longer below his own.

Amongst the people present, Ferdinand was one with the lowest level of cultivation. He looked at this scene puzzledly and asked, "What sword technique is this? Is Xingjian using his Reduced Force Field to toss out everything?"

"It isn't the Reduced Force Field. This is the Universal Truth Longsword." Head of Department James let out a sigh and said, "The Universal Truth Longsword is based on one of the Church of Universal Truth's teachings of there being only one universal truth. It stresses on being the one and only in the entire world. Extreme dominance and the state of being the one and only are required, bringing out the disposition of being the one and only in the whole world.

"This sword technique isn't just a cultivation of sword theories. It is also a nurturing of one's disposition and character. At the start, it might not be as good as many other sword techniques, but the further the cultivation advances, the greater the prowess.

"Right now, the Universal Truth Longsword which Xingjian is performing acts on pushing out all physical substances which aren't a part of him. There is currently nothing within a radius of ten meters around him. He is already demonstrating the Universal Truth Longsword of at least level 20."

Ferdinand said excitedly, "Then does that mean Xingjian has succeeded? Has he learned the sword technique faster than Gardner?"

James stared at the longsword in Fang Xingjian's hand and said, "It's not just that."

Fang Xingjian did not stop, and the movements of the longsword he was wielding became increasingly slower. However, the slower it moved, the more everyone could sense that an extremely violent force was gathering on the longsword, as if trying to suppress and push out everything else.

Finally, at the next moment, even the light was starting to twist. The area within ten meters of Fang Xingjian got increasingly darker, and everyone gradually could not see what was happening in there.

"This... This..." James' mouth was agape as he said, "Has he attained a breakthrough to beyond level 20? To think that even light rays are being twisted and pushed out."

Governor Devitt was also staring at Fang Xingjian, his eyes flashing with great astonishment and disbelief.

The Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner, looked at Fang Xingjian, who was slowly being shrouded in darkness. A turmoil of emotions ran amok in Gardner's mind like a series of turbulent waves.

How could he not feel astonished? How could he not be taken aback? Right now, Fang Xingjian was already performing the Universal Truth Longsword at an extremely high level of mastery which surpassed that of his own.

Or rather, it should be said that even though Gardner had been in the north for so long, he had only encountered four or five people with a Universal Truth Longsword of this level.

'Fang Xingjian... Who on earth are you?' Watching as the area within ten meters of Fang Xingjian turned pitch-black, Gardner could not help but suspect, 'Could it be that he has learned the Universal Truth Longsword before?'

Just as he was thinking this, a gush of cold wind came gushing toward him, and he shuddered unconsciously. However, at the next moment, he reacted, lifting his head and glaring toward that darkness.

James' mouth was agape, and he moved slightly, not saying a word.

However, Governor Devitt sighed and said, "He's even starting to push out heat. The temperature within the dark area keeps on plunging."

Large areas of frost started to form on the boundaries of the darkness, freezing up the ground incessantly.

Gardner was astonished. It was because he had never heard before of someone who had cultivated the Universal Truth Longsword to such a degree, let alone seen it for himself.

"Impossible," Gardner suddenly said coldly, "It's impossible for someone to be able to cultivate the Universal Truth Longsword to such a degree within just a few minutes. You must have cultivated the Universal Truth Longsword before in the past. That's the only possibility!"

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Chapter 408: Suspect

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Hearing what Gardner said, both Governor Devitt's and Head of Department James' expressions appeared slightly grim.

Ferdinand spoke directly, "Hmph, going back on your words when you've lost? Based on what you've just said, if Xingjian learns the technique faster than you, then the only explanation would be that he must have already learned them all."

"Then have you heard of someone who has been able to cultivate the Universal Truth Longsword to such a level within just a few minutes? There hasn't been a single person able to do such a thing throughout history." Gardner said coldly, "I can't think of any other explanations for this other than him having learned the Universal Truth Longsword before."

The archbishop nodded slightly. Fang Xingjian's performance was far too astounding. It was practically impossible for a person to cultivate the Universal Truth Longsword to such a stage within a mere few minutes.

Just then, the area of darkness started to fade away gradually as Fang Xingjian stopped performing the Universal Truth Longsword. In his Stats Window, his Universal Truth Longsword had already reached level 40. The attacking prowess of this sword technique was not strong and it was not of much help to the Zenith Light Sword Formation, the Ether Sword Ripples, or the Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique.

However, this sword technique had an extremely powerful defense. Therefore, Fang Xingjian did not plan on synthesizing this set of sword technique before he reached level 29. He planned to leave it as defense for now.

With that, Fang Xingjian had now completely perfected his current stereoscopic battle structure using the Zenith Light Sword Formation for long-range attacks, Ether Sword Ripples for mid to short range attacks and support, Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique for close combat, and the Universal Truth Longsword for defense.

After solidifying the sword theories in his mind, Fang Xingjian turned to Gardner and said, "You're thinking of going back on your words?"

Gardner's countenance fell as he stared at Fang Xingjian and said, "Fang Xingjian, to learn the Universal Truth Longsword and to cultivate it to such a stage in just a few minutes... Who are you trying to fool?" By this time, Gardner was left with no choice but to hold his stand. Furthermore, from the very start he could not believe that someone would be able to pick up and cultivate the Universal Truth Longsword to such a stage just within a few minutes.

Even James, Governor Devitt, and the others had the same suspicions. A few months back, when Fang Xingjian was trying to clear through the Killing Techniques Palace, it took him one to two hours before he could learn a set of sword technique. And it took him several days before he could cultivate the sword technique to the maximum level.

To sum it up, Fang Xingjian's earlier performance was not just astounding. It was horrifying.

Fang Xingjian merely shook his head, looked at the other set of sword technique written on the paper, the Star of Adjudication, and said, "Then what if I were to learn this set of sword technique within one minute?"

To learn the Star of Adjudication within a minute?

Gardner frowned and could not help but suspect that Fang Xingjian had learned the Star of Adjudication before. However, recalling the attributes to the Star of Adjudication, he felt that it was impossible.

It was because the Star of Adjudication was a sword technique that was unique to the Holy Inquisitorial Court. It was not because it was forbidden for them to impart the sword technique to outsiders, but because the Star of Adjudication was a technique which required the individual to believe in the God of the Universal Truth. It could be said that the stronger the individual's faith, the greater the prowess of the sword technique.

And if one did not believe in or held disrespect for the God of the Universal Truth, not only would the person be unable to unleash the prowess of the sword technique, but one could also end up hurting oneself in the process.

'Fang Xingjian isn't a believer of the Universal Truth and the chances of him having cultivated the Star of Adjudication are far too low. If he had cultivated the Star of Adjudication before and he were a believer of the Universal Truth, then how could he possibly dare to go against me?'

Fang Xingjian smiled inwardly as he looked at Gardner and said, "So how will it be? If I were to learn the Star of Adjudication within a minute, what more would you have to say?"

However, immersed in his own conceit and convinced that he had thought everything through, feeling that Fang Xingjian's words were getting increasingly pretentious and judging how things had developed, Gardner was left with no other choice. He coldly replied, "If you can really learn the Star of Adjudication within a minute, of course I'll be fully supportive of your participation in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

Fang Xingjian smiled and threw a glance at the Star of Adjudication. Then, as he swung his longsword, white light started to rise from the sword's tip. A set of simple, mediocre-looking sword technique which did not seem to have any prowess was performed.

Faint white light started to hover around the tip of the water sword, which Fang Xingjian was holding in his hand. It looked as if the light was going to be extinguished anytime.

When Fang Xingjian performed this set of sword technique, he only felt an extremely twisted force, as if countless voices were shouting out in his body, and at the same time as if there was an invisible power in the world that was preventing him from continuing to perform the sword technique.

He felt that after he had performed this set of sword technique, he was not even able to unleash 10% of his battle prowess and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

And as he performed the stances one by one, he felt that the resistance over his body was getting increasingly stronger. Streams of light started to appear in various parts of his body, looking like sparks that rose from endless friction.

However, despite that, Fang Xingjian continued to perform the entire set of the Star of Adjudication technique by relying on his unrivalled sword arts talent. On his Stats Window, there was a new addition—level 1 Star of Adjudication.

Ferdinand anxiously asked, "What's going on? Why is it that Xingjian seems to have performed the technique successfully, but this sword technique..."

"This sword technique appears to be very mediocre, right?" Head of Department James shook his head, saying, "This is the Church of Universal Truth's Star of Adjudication. If people who don't believe in their faith practice this sword technique, it appears to be mediocre and one's battle prowess plunges instead of increasing.

"And when people who believe in the God of the Universal Truth perform this sword technique, it's as if they were bestowed with additional powers from the god, as if there were nothing which they couldn't accomplish."

Governor Devitt had already looked toward Gardner and said, "One minute hasn't even been up. Earlier, what Xingjian had experienced earlier was the backlash impact from performing the Star of Adjudication, right? This means that he has learned the Star of Adjudication and has established a connection with the God of the Universal Truth. It was only because he's not a believer that he didn't succeed."

Gardner glared at Fang Xingjian, thoughts running amok in his mind. He seemed to be wondering how on earth Fang Xingjian had managed to learn the Star of Adjudication within a single minute.

Although Fang Xingjian had only just picked up this set of sword technique, Gardner could clearly remember that back when he himself was learning the Star of Adjudication, even with his extraordinary talent and his firm belief in the Genius Swordsmanship, it had taken him an entire day before he had been able to perform it successfully.

However, right now, Fang Xingjian had managed to learn it just by casting a glance at it.

Fang Xingjian looked at Gardner and asked, "Why, are you still unable to accept this?"

Looking at Fang Xingjian's gaze of contempt, Gardner got even more infuriated. However, just then, the archbishop pat him on the shoulder and then asked in Fang Xingjian's direction, "Xingjian, you really haven't learned the Universal Truth Longsword and the Star of Adjudication before?"

"Of course not."

The archbishop nodded, "Alright, Gardner, Xingjian didn't lie. It's truly your loss."

Gardner was stunned as he looked at the archbishop. He knew that the archbishop had a level 4 divine art called the Truth Discernment. It allowed him to judge if a person had lied.

Since the archbishop had said this, then it was true that Fang Xingjian had managed to learn the two sets of sword techniques within just a few minutes.

A chill ran up Gardner's spine.

He lifted his head to look at Fang Xingjian, and could only feel a hint of terror. To be able to learn two sets of sword techniques within a few minutes and to cultivate the Universal Truth Longsword to such a level of mastery... What demonic talent did Fang Xingjian have?

At the thought of how Fang Xingjian was using such a learning speed to improve everyday, what Gardner felt was first astonishment, then deep wariness.

A hint of doubt gradually grew in the archbishop's gaze. From the very start when he laid his eyes on Fang Xingjian, he'd had a familiar feeling about him. And right now, the more he looked at Fang Xingjian, the more he felt that he looked very familiar. It was not until the next moment that his eyes suddenly revealed an expression of great astonishment.

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Chapter 409: Lobster

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

A hint of astonishment flashed in the archbishop's eyes, and he stood up abruptly. The chair he was seated on instantaneously turned into dust.

Seeing how astonished the archbishop was, everyone present was taken aback as well. They looked at the archbishop, not knowing what was wrong.

The archbishop had his eyes fixed on Fang Xingjian, as if he had just seen something unbelievable.

Fang Xingjian turned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No... nothing... Why are you... Uh... no..." the archbishop uttered incoherently. This showed just how astonished he was.

However, he was, after all, an archbishop. After a short moment, he took in a deep breath and calmed down completely. Then he took in another deep breath and said, "Xing... Xingjian, there's no issue at all for you to participate in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan with your talent and sword arts cultivation. I'll be reporting the result of our inspection, and the management will send news very soon. With regard to the concrete amount of funding and plans, I'll be staying for a few days and going through them with you slowly."

Gardner looked toward the archbishop in surprise. The archbishop was a person of high status, in charge of spreading their beliefs in a region. In many small countries in the north, his status was even beyond that of the King.

However, at this moment, Gardner sensed from the archbishop's tone an imperceptible hint of... terror.

Amidst everyone's surprised gazes, the archbishop became extremely cooperative. For the next few days, he discussed the concrete details of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan with Fang Xingjian on friendly terms.

Fang Xingjian would be in charge of about 1% of the progress schedule, which consisted of approximately 1,000 sets of sword techniques. The Church of Universal Truth would provide funding of about 15 million gold, which would be paid in a total of ten instalments. The speed at which the instalments were made would be based on the rate at which Fang Xingjian completed the appraisal of the sword techniques. With each 100 sets of sword techniques he completed, he would get 1.5 million gold.

One could imagine how tremendous a sum of money would be required for the Church of Universal Truth to gather the martial techniques required for the entire Martial Techniques Grading Plan. The amount of wealth required for the preparation phase of this project would already be sufficient to cause the collapse of many small countries.

The specifics of the appraisal process would be to use the information provided by the Church as the basis and issue an overall appraisal to each sword technique based on their control, destructive force, explosive force, difficulty of learning, and other aspects. There were seven tiers of grading, which were S, A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively.

The Church of Universal Truth had planned this out extremely carefully, and the statistics provided were very detailed. For example, the exact temperature of the said high temperature, what was the destructive force when it exploded, how much agility was added... Each document had a very detailed list attached to them.

The tremendous amount of manuals was sufficient to almost fill up an entire room. There were also 1,000 sets of detailed materials and cultivation methods. One could only begin to imagine how much work was required.

As for the royalties for the Rebirth Sword Technique, due to the archbishop's change in attitude, Ferdinand's and Zhou Xingwen's progress with the negotiations was fantastic.

A few days later, in the academy's dining hall, Fang Xingjian was seated at the table, waiting for food to be served. He closed his eyes, and various sword moves continued flashing incessantly in his mind. Even when he was waiting for his meal to be ready, he did not stop cultivating his sword arts.

Just then, Rota walked over. In the past, this female Knight had sworn to catch up to Fang Xingjian. Having not met Fang Xingjian for several months, she now had short hair, her eyes were filled with chivalry, and her limbs appeared longer and more slender. These features, accompanied by her originally tall and slender figure, made her appeared even more enchanting.

When Rota saw Fang Xingjian at the table, the corners of her lips curled up as she walked up to the table and sat down. "You've been keeping yourself in the Sacred Land all day long. It was really hard to find you."

When Fang Xingjian saw her joyous expression, he asked, "Is something up?"

"I succeeded in my second transition, the Flame Dragon Cavalry." Rota said, "The Flame Dragon Cavalry can create the Grand Solar Flame Dragon which can compensate for the weakness I had previously of not having sufficient prowess with my Killing techniques." She looked at Fang Xingjian. She did not know why she felt like running to tell Fang Xingjian after she had successfully completed her second transition.

Fang Xingjian nodded, "That's good news. To have succeeded in your second transition in your twenties... You're considered a genius."

"Who would dare to claim to be a genius before you? You managed to pick up two sets of sword techniques in three minutes. And you even maxed out the level for the Universal Truth Longsword. The news has already spread through the entire Great Western City." Rota's beautiful eyes assessed Fang Xingjian like she wanted to sound him out.

Fang Xingjian smiled. "You don't believe it?"

Rota said, "To be honest, if it was someone else, there's no way that I would believe it. However, if it's you, then I'll have to give it more thought. Isn't that why I've rushed over to ask you?"

Just then, the shadows on the ground trembled. Then Anderson, with his second transition job, Shadow of Death, emerged from the shadows. He stared at Fang Xingjian and said, "I heard that you managed to cultivate the Universal Truth Longsword to the maximum level within three minutes. Is that true?"

After he heard the news, Anderson had been sleepless for the past few nights. The dark eye circles under his eyes made him seem just like a panda.

'If that's true... If Fang Xingjian's talent has already reached such a level... then wouldn't it be impossible for me to catch up to him in this entire lifetime?'

Fang Xingjian looked at the person before him and nodded casually. "It's true. Is there a problem?"

Both Rota and Anderson fell silent, and their gazes reflected a sense of confusion and loss.

For them to suddenly realize that it had taken Fang Xingjian only a few minutes to complete something which they would need several months, or even one to two years, to complete... This was a devastating hit to their confidence level.

Fang Xingjian could not help but say, "There's no need for the two of you to compare yourself with me. We aren't the same."

"What's different?!" Anderson spoke angrily, "Fang Xingjian, are you looking down on me? In your eyes, are we all very silly? When you watch us cultivating, do you feel like bursting out in laughter?"

Fang Xingjian shook his head. Then right at that moment, Diana brought five servants with her to serve the food. "This is Golden Lobster. The Golden Lobster is a level 29 ferocious beast. Its outer shell is far too hard, but I got help from Lord Zhou Xingwen to cut off its shell and extract the meat."

On a huge plate approximately one meter long, all of the Golden Lobster's flesh was lying there quietly with its shell removed.

Be it the flesh in its claws or body, they were all perfectly left in one piece, with no signs of damages.

"For the sauce, I've used Royal Butter from the north and the Ferocious Wild Chicken soup, that I stewed for 12 hours, at a 1:1 ratio. I've also added a little wine. Please try it."

Fang Xingjian looked at the Golden Lobster which took five people a tremendous effort to bring to the table, and the corners of his lips curled up.

He looked toward Rota and Anderson. "The two of you should try it as well."

Rota gulped as she looked at the tender, juicy, and huge golden lobster which was emitting a tempting fragrance. She could not help but ask, "Level 29 Golden Lobster? How much does this cost?"

Fang Xingjian cut off a piece of the lobster meat, dipped into sauce, and swallowed it in one mouth. The sweetness from the lobster as well as the freshness and saltiness of the sauce went perfectly together. The fragrance of the wine blended in superbly as well, making Fang Xingjian smile once again.

Hearing Rota's words, he said nonchalantly, "100,000 gold. It's the specialty of the Federation. I got Zhou Xingwen to get it specially for me."

Anderson had just taken a bite of the lobster, and upon hearing that it cost 100,000 gold, he spat it out. Then using a hint of shadow from his palm, he caught the lobster meat and swallowed it in one shot.

"100,000 gold?! Are you crazy?! 100,000 gold for a meal?!"

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Chapter 410: Expensive and Fast

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Rota also gulped and then put down her knife and fork, not daring to take another bite.

A Golden Lobster which cost 100,000 gold... This made her feel that the bite she took earlier had expended one month's worth of her living expenses.

However, Fang Xingjian ate very calmly. Right now, he no longer cared about the small purchases. Regardless of whether it was the money the Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves brought him every month, the Rebirth Sword Technique's royalties which came from within the Empire, the money which would be coming in from the Martial Techniques Grading Plan, or the Rebirth Sword Technique's royalties which would be coming in from the north... he would be getting several millions gold in income every month.

This also meant that every month, he would get enough money to purchase a number of Prefectural Academies. Each action he made would affect the economy of the entire Great Western Region.

However, his expenditure was also tremendous. The mystical prints for the eighth, ninth, and tenth levels would exceed millions of gold.

In order to expedite the rate at which he condensed specialty seeds, he needed to spend a tremendous amount of wealth to purchase heavenly and earthly treasures. This would help him to condense the specialty seeds.

Looking at Anderson, Fang Xingjian said casually, "Don't be so nervous. After all, it is a level 29 ferocious beast. Although it's considered the weakest amongst level 29 ferocious beasts, it's normal for it to be expensive. Moreover, the other ingredients are also worth the money."

"But... that is 100,000 gold!" Thinking of the several thousand gold he received every month, Anderson felt increasingly displeased. Fang Xingjian's one meal was equivalent to the amount of money he would take several years to earn.

However, Fang Xingjian continued to eat the lobster while sensing the streams of auras rise up from the specialty seed at the back of his waist.

Fang Xingjian controlled his Heaven's Perception to sense the area, and countless cells came gushing forth. It seemed that with his control ability to continuously gather power, he had started to condense his specialty seeds.

Fang Xingjian said nonchalantly, "The Golden Lobster isn't just delicious. Although its shell isn't comparable to a Conferred Knight's remains, it can also be made into a level 25 Superior Remains Divine Weapons. After its flesh has been processed and combined with other ingredients, it can stimulate my body's internal organs and help me condense a specialty seed called Renitent Physique. This specialty can increase my body's resistance level in all areas."

As Fang Xingjian spoke, he continued to take big bites of the Golden Lobster. The more he ate, the more the specialty, seed which had newly appeared in his body, exuded a strong aura.

Both Rota and Anderson could also sense that there were some changes that were happening in their body. However, they did not have the ability of a level 25 Conferred Knight to condense specialty seeds, and they had only eaten a little bit. They would still need to cultivate for a while more before they could bring out the Renitent Physique specialty.

'Renitent Physique? If I were to cultivate this specialty by myself, I recall that it would take around half a year. To think that just by having a meal, it's already halfway to completion.' Rota looked at the Golden Lobster on the table and let out an inward sigh as she thought to herself, 'Wealth and resources truly have a great effect on one's cultivation. However, if I pursue wealth as well, I won't have enough time for my cultivation.'

Rota shook her head but made a decision in her heart, 'Fang Xingjian is different from me. With his talent, he's totally capable of managing both sides without any worries. There's no way about it, and it's useless even if I were to feel jealous. I must focus on one area to be able to go further.'

While Rota was making her resolution, Anderson was looking at the Golden Lobster on the table. He gulped as he thought, 'Fang Xingjian has been eating such things all this while? His talent was originally a teeny bit better than mine in the beginning. But if this goes on, won't it be impossible for me to catch up to him forever?'

Anderson was stunned and continued saying, "I heard that you're appraising martial techniques. Can I go over and help out?"

Fang Xingjian threw Anderson a glance and knew that Anderson wanted to see for himself if Fang Xingjian could truly pick up sword techniques at such a fast speed.

Additionally, Fang Xingjian knew that if he could let Anderson take a look, he would be better able to establish his reputation in sword arts. After all, he had never thought of hiding it. With his current abilities, there was not much need for him to hide.

At the very least, unless Fang Xingjian was dealing with a Divine level expert, there was no way that a Conferred Knight below Divine level would be able to kill him, even if he could not defeat the opponent.

Moreover, letting Anderson take a look would allow Fang Xingjian to suppress him, allowing Anderson to be focus better on his work.

Rota spoke up too, "I'd like to take a look as well."

Therefore, Fang Xingjian nodded. "Wait till I've finished eating these."

An hour later, the three of them arrived at the Sword Tower and entered the room which had been specially set aside for Fang Xingjian. The entire room was built in steel, and Anderson could see large pieces of steel plates in the corners. He frowned.

Other than steel plates, there were nothing else in the hall.

Anderson asked, "There's nothing here? How are you going to appraise the techniques?"

"If one's speed is fast enough, one will be able to do anything faster. Your cultivation will be faster, and your research will be done faster as well." Fang Xingjian shrugged and said, "Moreover, the appraisal is just to test the various statistics of the martial techniques. I use the grades set by the Church of Universal Truth as the basis for differentiating the grades of the martial techniques.

"In the end, this matter is very time-consuming. It would be good if the appraiser can find a technique which they have already cultivated. Otherwise, the appraiser can only rely on himself to cultivate.

"Thankfully, I cultivate fast."

After Fang Xingjian said this, strong gales gushed by, and it was as if there was a tempest running amok in the entire hall. Air currents gushed forth, and Fang Xingjian's body seemed to turn into a faint black line, flashing about everywhere.

Anderson could hear the whizzing and clashing sounds, as well as the rumbling thunders which were ringing out incessantly. All the sounds were connected and stacked together, making him feel like he was going deaf. This was when Fang Xingjian had already performed the Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique to drown out the air currents, so the rest of the sounds were just from him stepping on air. Otherwise, if he had not done that first, the tremendous sounds would be even more terrifying.

If the view were slowed down by 100 times, one would probably be able to vaguely see Fang Xingjian performing sword techniques. The speed at which he was performing the sword techniques was very fast. It took him an average of ten seconds to finish performing one set.

After he finished performing the sword techniques, he would head to where the steel plates were and record down the various statistics of the sword techniques.

However, his movements were too fast. Anderson and Rota could only see surging gales, a black figure flashing, and over 100 slabs of steel plates flying about with sparks occasionally flashing out. Then words would gradually appear across the empty space.

It was only then did they understand why Fang Xingjian was using steel plates. It was because with the great speed he was moving at, paper would not be able to withstand his force.

However, they were still extremely astonished. It was already exceedingly difficult for a person to reach Fang Xingjian's speed. Furthermore, to be capable of writing while moving at such a great speed and also test out the effects of each sword stance... How much control would that require?

Fang Xingjian was only able to achieve this because of his extraordinary talent and his Boundaries Negation, which allowed him to get accustomed to the high speed movements. Additionally, he then used the Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique to get rid of air and reduce air resistance.

If one were to be short of any of the three factors, this would not have been possible.

An hour later, the strong gales came to a stop, and over 100 slabs of steel plates dropped onto the ground, releasing colliding boom boom boom boom sounds. There were closely packed words written all over the surfaces of the steel plates.

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Chapter 411: Seize

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Anderson lifted his head and saw that the entire hall was battered beyond recognition. The steel ground was filled with shattered marks and holes. Meanwhile, the center of the room had sunk completely into a large crater, revealing the soil underneath.

The entire steel hall seemed like a toy which had been ravaged by a young child.

This was when Fang Xingjian had done his best to control his power and not borrow power from the earth.

Soon after Fang Xingjian came to a stop, over ten Knights entered and started moving the steel plates. They were going to take down the content on the steel plates to create documents and then send to the Church of Universal Truth.

Each of them looked toward Fang Xingjian in awe and veneration like he was a god.

On the other hand, Anderson's eyes were filled with great astonishment and dejection. He asked, "How many sets of sword techniques have you learned and appraised in the past one hour?"

"32 sets. Writing takes up too much time," Fang Xingjian spoke with indifference and headed out of the door, while some Knights rushed over to fix up the place.

Anderson looked at Fang Xingjian with disbelief. For him to be learning over 30 sets of sword techniques within an hour... Would that not mean that Fang Xingjian would merely need a few days time to complete the mission the Martial Techniques Grading Plan had allocated to him?

After leaving the Sword Tower, Fang Xingjian found a place to take a sit. He started to filter through the sword techniques he had just learned, removing the skill seeds of those which were useless. Then he directly synthesized the useful ones onto the Zenith Light Sword Formation, Ether Sword Ripples, Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique, or the Universal Truth Longsword.

Based on the benchmark of the Church of Universal Truth, his Universal Truth Longsword was at grade B, while the other three were grade A. They still had great room for growth.

As it so happened, the Church of Universal Truth had sent him 1,000 sword techniques this time around. Fang Xingjian planned to spend a few days to finish them all up and then merge these 1,000 sword techniques into his own, increasing his experience and cultivation of sword arts.

Concurrently, he was also recovering his demolition sword light while he waited to continue his sword arts appraisal in a while.

As Fang Xingjian synthesized sword techniques in his mind, he threw a glance toward Anderson and Rota, both of whom appeared to be very dejected. Fang Xingjian had clearly dealt a blow upon them.

Just then, another Conferred Knight ran over. The Conferred Knight looked at Fang Xingjian coldly and arrogantly, then he said, "You're Fang Xingjian, right? Young Master Hildebrand is inviting you to make a trip over to meet him."

Without even looking at the Conferred Knight, Fang Xingjian said, "I don't have time. If he has something to talk to me about, then get him to come over himself."

Hearing that, the Conferred Knight's countenance changed like he had not expected Fang Xingjian to be so disrespectful. He clenched his teeth and spoke again in a low voice, "Lord Hildebrand who is ranked second in the Regional Academy is inviting you to head over. Are you really not going?"

Fang Xingjian did not say anything, but Anderson could not help but speak out. For quite a while, Anderson had been detesting the snobbish way the Conferred Knight spoke.

"He already said that he doesn't have time. Are you deaf? Leave quickly."

That Conferred Knight frowned and said, "I've already brought the message. If you don't go over today, then you can just deal with the consequences yourself." With a flick of his cape, the Conferred Knight turned to leave, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from everyone's gazes.

After the Conferred Knight left, Rota immediately said, "That guy was Peter, the Conferred Knight ranked 15th in the academy. It's said that he has reached level 25. Of course, compared to you, he's nothing. But Hildebrand... should you be offending him so directly?"

Anderson said, "Who the hell is Hildebrand? Why can't he be offended?"

"You don't even know about Hildebrand? And yet you were blabbering off earlier?" Rota looked at Anderson with an astounded gaze.

"Why would I care who he is? Can he possibly be stronger than me?" After Anderson said this, he unconsciously threw a glance at Fang Xingjian and sighed, "In this academy, Fang Xingjian is ranked first, and I'm second. The others are nobodies."

Rota smiled bitterly and shook her head. Then she looked at Fang Xingjian. "Xingjian, Hildebrand is not only ranked second in the Regional Academy, but he is also the one of the only three students who are level 29 Conferred Knights.

"Furthermore, not only is he strong and possess amazing talent, but he also comes from a great background. His grandfather is the previous Governor of the Beize Continent who returned to his hometown in the Great Western Region after his retirement. Hildebrand's father is also a high ranking official in the Knight Association in the central.

"Their family's influence is deeply rooted in the Great Western Region, and even Governor Devitt has to pay a visit to his grandfather during the festivities every year.

"Hildebrand himself is also the leader of all underground influences in the entire Great Western City.

"Xingjian, if you can help it, it's best to not offend this person."

Fang Xingjian gave it some thought but eventually still shook his head. "I've got no time."

Rota smiled bitterly and shook her head as well. However, she then thought to herself, 'Only Xingjian is able to do something like this.' Recalling the speed at which Fang Xingjian had learned the sword techniques earlier, Rota felt greatly disappointed.

She had originally wanted to catch up to Fang Xingjian, but now she found that their gap was getting increasingly further.

During the next few days, Fang Xingjian went through all 1,000 sets of sword techniques the Church had provided, learning them one after another and completing his appraisals on them.

The speed at which he went through them was truly too fast, regardless if it was in terms of learning the sword techniques, appraising them, or recording them down on the steel plates.

Three days later, Fang Xingjian personally brought the cart of appraisal results and headed to the inn the archbishop was staying at. The representatives from the Church of Universal Truth had yet to leave.

In the inn, the archbishop and the Knight of the Rising Sun were seated at the dining table. Before them was a man with neatly combed hair and a strong, well-built physique. He exuded an extremely strong aura of masculinity and looked just like the sun god, Apollo.

The man was Hildebrand, one of the leading characters in the Great Western Region Regional Academy, whose talent, abilities, and background were all impeccable.

As he looked at the archbishop and the Knight of the Rising Sun, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile which would dazzle countless young ladies. "Archbishop and Mister Gardner, this time around, I've come with great sincerity. I'll deal with Fang Xingjian's side."

"Are you sure?" Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner, looked at Hildebrand and said, "Fang Xingjian doesn't look like a person who is easy to talk to."

"It's just a kid kicking up a fuss. The Martial Techniques Grading Plan is a large-scale project with great influences. It's an incomparable project, and for such a project, our country doesn't feel reassured that the Church is only establishing contact with a single student.

"Therefore, for the continuation of the plan, our country hopes to form an official working relationship with the Church.

"Of course, Fang Xingjian will be the one leading this part of the project, and with the funding from the Empire, the project's progression and accuracy will only be higher.

"I've also received the approval from the association. They'll be sending the funding for the project in batches. It'll mean that our country and the Church are collaborating on the Martial Techniques Grading Plan.

"With more funding and more manpower, of course, the speed and accuracy will be even higher."

The archbishop nodded. Logically, this was true. However, with Fang Xingjian's talent... and in addition to Fang Xingjian's appearance... the archbishop foresaw a different outcome.

Therefore, although Hildebrand brought up various terms to persuade them, the archbishop merely seemed to be agreeable in his attitude. However, he did not actually give any verbal confirmation.

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Chapter 412: Completion

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

After two hours, Hildebrand walked out of the restaurant with a frown. The Conferred Knight standing next to him was Peter, the one who had gone to inform Fang Xingjian the other day. Peter said, "Big Brother, why didn't they agree? It's clear that our conditions are better. Could it be a problem with Fang Xingjian's side?"

Hildebrand did not understand either. However, he merely said, "The problem is probably with Fang Xingjian's side. This guy... Haha.. Seems like I really have to pay a visit to him personally."

"Big Brother, you're going to meet him personally? Do you have to go that far?"

Hildebrand said, "Of course, I have to. The Martial Techniques Grading Plan... Even if we get have a slight relation with it, that would be a cash flow of ten million and above. As long as we can get involved in this project, it won't be an issue for me to completely surpass Odysseus and Xiao Tianxia in the later half of the year.

"I'll also be able to fight for the top three position in the National Selection." Odysseus and Xiao Tianxia were the other two students in the academy who were at level 29. They were ranked first and third respectively in the academy. Closely matched with Hildebrand, they were seen as Hildebrand's greatest rivals.

To Hildebrand, the Martial Techniques Grading Plan was a super big piece of meat. He had the support of the Knight Association as well as strong connections. Furthermore, the Empire's upper echelon was also highly supportive of collaborating with the Church for the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. All of Hildebrand's preparations were perfect.

Hildebrand was not expecting that he would be able to hog the entire involvement of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan for himself. There were numerous people in the central who had their eyes on the money the Church had set aside for this project. Just the first batch of 1,000 sword techniques, which involved a price of 15 million gold, had already caused their eyes to light up.

However, even if Hildebrand were to get only a small slice of the project, he would be able to get access to several million gold. To him, it would be an easy feat to keep aside several hundred thousand gold. He could use the rest of the money to purchase various cultivating resources as well as heavenly and earthly treasures to use on himself. In a way, it was all in order to speed up the progression of the project.

"Fang Xingjian would probably be unwilling. When I met him the previous time, he reacted very badly."

Hildebrand shook his head and smiled. "So what if he isn't willing? The collaboration with the Church is something driven by the current situation. Many important characters in the central are highly supportive of this collaboration. This is a national policy! So what if he has amazing talent?

"Moreover, in this world, it's impossible for one to hog all the benefits to himself. Fang Xingjian's sale of the Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves to the Second Prince was but a stroke of luck. That act has already attracted many jealous gazes.

"For the Martial Techniques Grading Plan this time around, if he knows better, he should voluntarily give up a large part of it. That isn't a resource which he can keep for himself."

"If he really wants to hog the entire project, he'll only stuff himself to death."

Hildebrand shook his head and sighed. "A man whose heart is discontent is like a snake which tries to swallow an elephant. If a person tries to hog all the good things to himself every single time, he won't be able to hold on for very long in this world. Humans are social animals. In order to ensure long-term benefits, there is a need for the sharing of the benefits.

"If Fang Xingjian continues wanting to keep everything for himself, it'll just be the most idiotic way to die."

Peter nodded, going deep into thought.

Hildebrand thought about it as well and said, "Make another trip to the central, and ask the steward for another 10,000 gold."

"Another 10,000 gold?" Peter smiled bitterly. "Aren't you giving them too much?" In order to expedite the negotiation for the collaboration, Hildebrand had already given the officials in the central government over 80,000 gold. He could be said to have paid a huge price.

The liquid funds he had only surmounted to just over a million.

"To gain something, one must first pay a price. Many people are unable to even get close to the project, and thus, they won't be so proactive. By giving them money, it'll mean that they also get some benefit. Otherwise, if I hog all the benefits to myself, they won't allow the plan to pass through so easily, even if my father is the Deputy Chief of the Knight Association." Hildebrand pat Peter's shoulder and said. "Alright, you should head off in a while. One must be willing to part with a small sum of money in order to earn great fortune.

"Using 80,000 gold in exchange for several million or several ten million gold... There's nothing else that could be more worth it."

Peter sighed and said, "All the dirty work is done by us. The people in the central government are having such a good life, just waiting for money to come in."

Hildebrand said, "They have their own difficulties. Living right under the eyes of His Majesty isn't so easy either. Moreover, even if the connections with these people aren't of use this time around, there will be a day where they'll come in handy.

"I'll be heading to the Imperial Capital sooner or later. What you're doing now can also be considered as helping me prepare for the future."

Peter looked at Hildebrand and nodded. "Big Brother, this time around, you'll definitely emerge as the top three in the National Selection. No, you'll definitely be able to get first!"

Hildebrand smiled, "I must first win over Odysseus and Xiao Tianxia, and become the top in the Great Western Region before I think about that."

As the two of them spoke, they saw Fang Xingjian walking over.

Peter frowned, stopped Fang Xingjian in his tracks, and said, "Fang Xingjian, what are you doing here?"

Fang Xingjian threw him a glance. "It's of no concern to you."

A hint of fury flashed in Peter's eyes. However, he had heard that Fang Xingjian had managed to defeat two level 27 Sand Country assassins. He also knew that Fang Xingjian had once gone to the Beize Continent by himself and suppressed Gao Clan. The head of Gao Clan had been a level 27 Conferred Knight.

Therefore, even though Peter was infuriated, he did not raise his hands. It was because he knew that Hildebrand was behind him.

Hildebrand said, "Alright, Peter, don't be bickering with a kid." After saying that, Hildebrand walked up to Fang Xingjian, looked at the latter's young-looking face, and shook his head. Then he said, "Fang Xingjian, you're really very foolish.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be making so many enemies for no reason. Right now, you're doing whatever you wish by relying on your talent. You show no signs of any traits which a leader or a successful person should possess."

Fang Xingjian looked at Hildebrand and asked, "Who are you?"

Hildebrand smiled. Peter could not hold back and said, "This is Young Master Hildebrand, an expert ranked second in the Regional Academy. Show some respect."

Hildebrand spoke calmly, "With regard to the Martial Techniques Grading Plan, the association has already made the decision. I'll be taking over and working to ensure an in-depth collaboration between the Empire and the Church. I'll be sending someone to head to the Sword Tower to get the concrete documents the Church has given. I hope that you'll be able to cooperate with us when the time comes."

"Oh, you've sent someone to the Sword Tower before?"

Hildebrand frowned and shook his head.

Fang Xingjian smiled. He now knew that Hildebrand had no idea that he had already completed the appraisal of all 1,000 set of sword techniques. Moreover, Hildebrand would be unable to imagine that Fang Xingjian could have completed it so quickly.

Therefore, Fang Xingjian paid no heed to them. He merely threw them a glance and continued heading toward the archbishop's room.

Hildebrand looked at Fang Xingjian's back and said while shaking his head, "As a senior, I have to give you a word of advice. Fang Xingjian, if you don't even know the basic principles that a person should have, how are you going to reach the pinnacle of Knights?

"What should I say about you? The Westerners have a saying that being overly rigid makes one fragile. Right now, this is what your attitude is like. I understand that you're young and feel that there's nothing that you can't achieve. However, that is but an illusion. You are unable to see the situation clearly.

"The whole world is formed by countless trends, and if you wish to work your way up to the pinnacle, you must accept the trends of the world.

"It's the same for the collaboration between the Empire and the Church this time around. You better take a good look at the situation and not stir up trouble recklessly, spoiling it for everyone."

With that, Hildebrand did not bother waiting for Fang Xingjian's reply and took his leave.

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Chapter 413: Attaining Divine Level

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Through his Heaven's Perception, when Hildebrand saw that Fang Xingjian left without showing any reaction, he frowned slightly.

'Not in the least concerned? Confident? Or is he just a fool?'

Peter followed behind Hildebrand and said, "Lord, do you think that he'll really be stirring up trouble?"

As if he had complete control over the entire situation, Hildebrand spoke unperturbedly, "It's hard to say. However, youngsters are impulsive and easily infuriated, especially a genius like him who thinks too highly of himself. It's normal for there to be some trouble. I'm considered to have done my part as a senior by gifting him with those words earlier."

Hildebrand then smiled and added, "The reason he's here is naturally to look for the archbishop. I'll wait for you at the bar counter outside. Go and check out the situation. If he really does wreak havoc, then don't blame me for not holding back."

Upon meeting the archbishop and the Knight of the Rising Sun, Fang Xingjian went straight to the point, "I've completed it."

"What?" Gardner, the Knight of the Rising Sun, asked puzzledly, "What have you completed?"

"I've completed the appraisals for all of the 1,000 sets of sword techniques." Fang Xingjian rubbed the middle of his forehead. Right now, numerous sword arts material were still churning around in his mind. After he submitted the documents, he planned to enter seclusion for a few days to process all the information and turn them completely into a part of his sword arts.

Hearing what Fang Xingjian said, the Knight of the Rising Sun's expression turned grim as he said, "Fang Xingjian, stop spouting rubbish. This joke isn't funny."

Peter, who was using his Heaven's Perception to look through the door's gap, also smiled coldly when he heard Fang Xingjian's words. He felt that Fang Xingjian must have turned into a fool.

However, Fang Xingjian continued to look straight at the archbishop and Gardner, saying, "I don't joke about such things. When I say that I've completed it, it means that I've completed it. I've brought along all the appraisal details together with me today."

Gardner frowned as he looked at Fang Xingjian as if he were looking at a lunatic.

"That's a total of 1,000 sword techniques. Even if you learn fast, appraising them and testing through all the statistics... Do you know how much time it would take?" Gardner continued to say, "Fang Xingjian, I know you learn fast and your speed is fast. But this speed and the speed of research are two different things altogether.

"No matter how fast you are, is it possible for you to be as fast when you appraise and write? Are you still able to be as fast when you test out the temperatures, explosive effect, prowess of light rays, and the transmission of energy?

"You can be the be the fastest when you run, but how are you able to be just as fast during the appraisal process and when you move your fingers to undergo a small range of movements?"

Gardner pointed out the crux of the problem. Even if Knights who excelled in high-speed could move fast when they dashed and when they performed Killing techniques, it did not mean that they could also do various things just as fast, including writing, eating, drinking, and reading. This was impossible.

Without Fang Xingjian's talent, Boundaries Negation to negate other conditions to move at the fastest speed, and the Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique to wipe out the air, of course, it would be impossible. Therefore, Fang Xingjian nodded.

Gardner smiled and said, "Look at you boast."

Just then, the archbishop stopped Gardner from continuing and looked at Fang Xingjian. The archbishop said, "You said that you've brought the appraisal documents. Where are they?"

"They're outside." Fang Xingjian tilted his head to the side and said, "But if I give all 1,000 sets to you at one go, you're able to pay me the 15 million gold at once as well, right?"

"If you deliver the goods, of course, we'll give you the money." The archbishop stood up and said, "Then let's go take a look."

Gardner frowned as he looked at Fang Xingjian suspiciously. 'Could it be that he had really completed them? But... how on earth did he do that?'

Hildebrand was seated at the bar counter, drinking by himself. In merely over ten minutes, he had already rejected the invitation of three beauties.

As the eldest son of the first wife in one of the Empire's wealthy and influential clans, Hildebrand had lived a life different from others ever since birth.

Hildebrand was trained in martial arts, politics, trade, arts, assessing interests, and many more skills. He had been able to pick up each of them easily, and by the age of 15, his father had already dismissed all of his home tutors and started teaching him the path of a Knight personally.

Seven years later, Hildebrand had participated in the Regional Selection, clinching first position. He became a representative of the younger generation in the Great Western Region.

Eight years later, he became a level 29 Conferred Knight. From then on, he was clear about the meaning of his life.

Wealth, power, status, reputation... he had already enjoyed all of them before.

He had also realized that he did not hold much interest in these. To him, these were but means for him to achieve many goals.

Martial arts was the only thing which was worth him spending his entire life to study.

'Become a Divine level expert!'

Unknowingly, this thought had started to fill up Hildebrand's mind completely, turning into the goal he frantically chased.

He spent over 18 hours cultivating daily, consuming all sorts of heavenly and earthly treasures as well as ferocious beasts. He had also received the meticulous guidance from his father, and even from his grandfather who was the previous Governor of the Beize Continent.

His abilities had improved in leaps and bounds, making him come to an understanding on some things.

Although his talent was amazing and he was already considered a genius amongst geniuses, there was no lack of geniuses on the path of martial arts.

Which person who could become a Knight was not a genius? Which person who could become a Conferred Knight was not a genius amongst geniuses?

However, there were different tiers of geniuses. Across history, those who could become Divine level existences would all be equipped with various terms which would make ordinary people feel desperate.

Therefore, Hildebrand understood that with his talent, it was impossible for him to attain the Divine level just by immersing in hard work by himself behind closed doors.

Although this was a disappointing result, it also sent Hildebrand down a brand new direction.

Since he could not rely on his own talent, then he could only gather resources. Be it money, Divine Equipment, or Divine level experts' legacies... as long as they were things which could aid him to become a Divine level expert, he would gather them all.

Integrating and seizing resources... As long as they could help them to attain Divine level, anything worked.

Therefore, when he came across the Martial Techniques Grading Plan this time around, Hildebrand immediately took action.

He drank another cup of alcohol, and the details of the project continued to churn in his mind as he checked to see if there were any other aspects which he had overlooked.

Just then, a beautiful lady, who wore a beautiful dress and had fiery red short hair, swung her hips and walked up to him like a little demoness.

Hildebrand said out of habit, "I'm sorry, I'm waiting for someone."

"Isn't the person you're waiting for, me?" The little red-haired demoness smiled, exuding an astonishing charm through her red lips.

As she looked at Hildebrand who seemed to have gone into a daze, the little red-haired demoness said, "I'm Maria, a reporter from the Central Times."

Hildebrand nodded. Practically right at the moment when the Second Prince had just created the Central Times, Hildebrand had already been able to see its value clearly.

Therefore, this time around, in order to apply pressure from the public onto Fang Xingjian, Hildebrand had even contacted a reporter. However, he had not expected the reporter to be really well-informed and capable of finding her way here.

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Chapter 414: Interview

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Hildebrand smiled and said, "Our appointment should be tomorrow morning, right?"

Maria replied with a smile, "I'm a little bit on the impatient side and always try to get my articles out as soon as possible. As they say, time is money."

Seeing Hildebrand nod, Maria took out pen and paper, taking notes as she asked, "By the way, I haven't really been able to understand this completely. What is the purpose of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan?"

Hildebrand replied, "The Martial Techniques Grading Plan is a project to gather and sort out all the martial techniques in the world. What benefits are there? Far too many. The minute parameter of each martial technique will be tested, and we will also gain an understanding of the growth trend of the grades.

"If an ordinary Knight were to cultivate a set of martial technique, he would tend to require several years or several decades to reach the maximum level. What if this set of martial technique doesn't meet his expectations?

"The Martial Techniques Grading Plan allows everyone to know what they are cultivating, the best way of cultivating each technique, and what the eventual results would be.

"The same goes for the research on martial techniques. The existing synthesis formulas and creative research tend to require records of the martial techniques. These pieces of information tend to be based on the academy's documentations or may even require the researcher to cultivate the technique by himself. This is too time-consuming, and there are too many repetitive studies being conducted.

"Once the Martial Techniques Grading Plan is completed, all researchers would be able to get the records of the martial techniques they require.

"This isn't just beneficial to the current generation but also to the entire world's future. This is a project that builds on the foundation. After all the martial techniques have been tested and categorized, it'll bring great convenience to people worldwide, both in terms of cultivation and in terms of conducting research on martial techniques.

"It can be said that once the Martial Techniques Grading Plan is completed, the speed of research on martial techniques conducted worldwide will be increased by ten times or more."

"Based on my understanding, the Church had not initially planned on collaborating with the Empire for this project. It's only because the Great Western Region's genius, Fang Xingjian, was personally recommended by the Holy Orison that the collaboration has been agreed on. Is that right?"

"That is right." Hildebrand said, "There is no doubt that Fang Xingjian is talented. However, this tremendous project doesn't just concern one person, nor is it one which he can accomplish alone. Therefore, there's a need for the country to offer assistance. Otherwise, if he were doing it alone, how long would it take him?

"Moreover, although one's talent is very important for the project, a great level of mastery in sword arts, many years of experience, as well as an understanding of the sword arts are also very important. The central government will be sending many great masters to assist this plan."

Just then, Peter, who had been sent out, returned. Hildebrand threw him a glance, and the two of them started communicating through information currents.

Hildebrand asked, "How is it? What did they say?"

Peter frowned and replied, "Fang Xingjian said that he has completed the appraisal for the 1,000 sets of sword techniques."

Hildebrand shook his head. "How is that possible? I thought that he had some way of going around this. Isn't this him being like a kid and just trying to pull some tricks?"

"But he said that he has brought all the documents here, and he's bringing the archbishop and the Knight of the Rising Sun to see them."

"Hmmm?" Hildebrand frowned. "Could it be that he has completed a portion of it? Or did he forge the records?" Hildebrand shook his head. He was still unsure what trick Fang Xingjian was trying to pull. Therefore, he just stood up and said, "Let's go and have a look together. We shall see what on earth Fang Xingjian is trying to do."

The female reporter, Maria, said in astonishment, "Fang Xingjian is here as well? What has happened?"

Therefore, with Hildebrand's approval, Peter shared the whole turn of events with the female reporter.

Upon hearing that the appraisal for all 1,000 sets of sword techniques had been completed, her beautiful eyes popped wide open. However, she immediately realized that this was a great scoop and looked excitedly at Hildebrand while saying, "Is that possible?"

"It's just a load of nonsense." Hildebrand sighed and said, "It can be that Xingjian isn't satisfied with the collaboration between the Empire and the Church. The segment which he was supposed to be in charge of is now to be split between many others. He is still too young and aggressive, so he may be unwilling to accept this."

The female reporter's eyes gleamed. The contention between a genius and the upper echelon... This was going to be another piece of breaking news. She asked, "You're saying that Fang Xingjian wants to be the sole leader of the entire project?"

"He's young, so it's natural for him to be a little arrogant."

The female reporter asked again, "But when I came here, I heard that Fang Xingjian only spent a few minutes to pick up the Universal Truth Longsword. Is that true? If that is true, then wouldn't he only need a few thousand minutes to learn 1,000 sets of sword techniques? It might not be impossible for him to complete the task within a few days.

"Furthermore, he created the Rebirth Sword Technique previously. It's said to have received commendation from Lord Holy Orison."

"Haha, you're making it sound too simple. First of all, creating a sword technique and the speed at which one learns sword techniques are two different things altogether.

"50 years ago, the Blood Knight created the Blood Sea Divine Spear which is unrivalled at the southern borders. However, when he was young, because he learned things very slowly, he was thought to be useless.

"It's true that the Rebirth Sword Technique is very amazing, but it is just a Nurturing technique. It only goes to show that Fang Xingjian is very experienced in the area of physical cultivation as well as the circulation of the vital energy and blood. It doesn't have a great relation to his sword arts cultivation."

Hildebrand explained, "Furthermore, even if he did learn the Universal Truth Longsword very quickly, being able to learn one sword technique fast doesn't mean that he can do the same for all sword techniques. The unique trait, direction, and the people suited for each sword technique are different. The fact that Fang Xingjian learns the Universal Truth Longsword very quickly goes to show that he has the experience in a similar area. If it's a different sword technique, he may not be able to learn it.

"Furthermore, learning new sword techniques requires a high level of concentration. He might be able to focus for a few minutes, or even a few hours. However, he can't possibly stay focused for several tens of hours, right?

"Additionally, the Martial Techniques Grading Plan doesn't only require one to learn the techniques. One has to test them out one by one and then record the details.

"Putting aside the various tests required, and looking just at the recording of the details... Let me ask you a question. No matter how fast you move, are you able to write at the same speed? Writing and recording require delicate control of one's movements. No matter how fast one is, the person wouldn't be able to be that fast in this area.

"Even if he were to replicate out all the documents for the 1,000 sword techniques, it would probably take him half a month. So, how could he have possibly completed the task?"

Maria nodded, feeling that what Hildebrand analyzed made sense. She wrote down all the things Hildebrand had shared with her and felt even more excited. As expected, everything related to Fang Xingjian was breaking news. The Rebirth Sword Technique had already attracted the attention of Divine level experts. It was unexpected that this time around, Hildebrand was opposing Fang Xingjian.

On the way, Hildebrand refused to accept that Fang Xingjian had truly completed the appraisal for all 1,000 sword techniques.

'In the end, the only person Fang Xingjian can rely on for this matter would be Governor Devitt and the Second Prince's faction.

'However, the issue of the collaboration between the Empire and the Church isn't something which the Great Western Region alone would be able to take the leading role in. It'll definitely attract the central government's attention. In the central government, of course the First Prince's words would hold greater weight.

'Even if Fang Xingjian were to bring out Devitt, I can just use the First Prince's name. There's no way that he'll be able to win against me.'

Thinking of all these, Hildebrand felt that it was unlikely for Fang Xingjian to have forged the documentations. However, it was still a well-used method by appraisers to complete a portion first and then say that he was still sorting through the other records in order to delay some time.

With that, Hildebrand was even more curious. If he were to expose Fang Xingjian's plan, what would Fang Xingjian do?

'In the end, he is still inexperienced. He already met me at the entrance. Didn't he think of the reason why I've come?'

Hildebrand, Peter, and the female reporter arrived at the outside of the inn. They saw that the archbishop and the Knight of the Rising Sun were standing before a cart of documents.

The two of them were clearly checking the contents of the documents with their Heaven's Perception.

Hildebrand walked over only to discover that Fang Xingjian was no longer around. Looking at the cart of documents, Hildebrand smiled and thought inwardly, 'Could it be that he was rejected by the archbishop on the spot?' After giving it some thought, Hildebrand thought that it was not impossible. To the Church, working together with the Empire would definitely be better than to just be working with Fang Xingjian, who was merely a student.

'In the end, Fang Xingjian is just a student. Before he advances into a level 29 top notch expert, becomes a leader of a region, and turns his talent into strength, he is merely a student.'

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Chapter 415: News

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

As Hildebrand was thinking about these, he turned toward the archbishop and the Knight of the Rising Sun. He called out to them, "Hello, I wonder if you've given it some thought about the collaboration with our country?"

The archbishop did not say anything, neither did the Knight of the Rising Sun. The latter just opened his mouth and then looked at Hildebrand with a strange expression.

"You should take a look at the contents of these documents first."

Hildebrand thought what Gardner said seemed strange and turned toward the cart of documents. At the next moment, he activated his Heaven's Perception and started scanning through the contents of the documents.

"Sword of Blood... Temperature at which the blood boils... The curve from level 1 to 20..."

The detailed statistics were presented before Hildebrand. Even though he had not cultivated the Sword of Blood before, he could clearly understand the sword technique's traits and data.

However, he quickly went through this sword technique to the next, and then another, and then another.

As a level 29 expert, Hildebrand's ether synchronization rate was naturally at 100%. Therefore, the rate at which he scanned through the books was very fast. However, the more he scanned, the more unsightly his countenance became.

It was because from the beginning till now, he could not find any flaw. At the very least, all the documents of the sword techniques seemed to have no problem at all.

'Impossible.

'How is this possible.

'He completed the appraisals for 1,000 sets of sword techniques within a few days?'

As he thought through these, Hildebrand's face suddenly broke out in astonishment.

If this was true, then Fang Xingjian had already learned 1,000 sets of sword techniques. Even if he had only managed to synthesize half of them successfully, how powerful would his Killing techniques have become?

Moreover, if Fang Xingjian's talent was truly this heaven-defying, then how astonishing would the rate of growth for his sword arts be? How many sword techniques had he learned till date? After all, the collection in the Great Western Region Regional Academy was quite significant.

This was the first time that Hildebrand had started to feel a hint of terror upon knowing of another person's talent.

It was because he had never known that a person's talent could be so terrifying.

The female reporter, Maria, said, "What's wrong? Are all these the sword techniques documents Fang Xingjian wrote? Are there really 1,000 sets?"

Hildebrand broke into a bitter smile. "That's right. It's a total of 1,000 sets."

The female reporter once again asked naively, "Then does that mean Fang Xingjian has completed the appraisal for 1,000 sets of sword techniques?"

Hildebrand could feel that his face was heating up as he recalled what he had said to her before. He felt like he had just been slapped in the face.

However, the archbishop broke into a satisfied smile and pat Gardner on the shoulder before leaving.

The Knight of the Rising Sun, Gardner, wore a grim expression similar to that of Hildebrand. No one could imagine that there would be such a terrifying talent like what Fang Xingjian had.

Not only had he picked up 1,000 sets of sword techniques in just a few days, he had even completed the appraisals on all of them.

'Is he still human?' Gardner was stunned.

The female reporter asked, "Are all these records real?"

Hildebrand smiled bitterly and said, "From the statistics, there doesn't seem to be any problem."

Then the female reporter continued to ask, "Then does this mean that Fang Xingjian completed the cultivation and appraisal of 1,000 sets of sword techniques within three or four days?"

Hildebrand fell silent for a moment before forcing a nod. "There's this possibility. But we'll need to investigate further to get the concrete details."

Maria took notes excitedly. This was groundbreaking news! For Fang Xingjian to have completed the appraisal for 1,000 sets of sword techniques within just a few days... This was an achievement which no one had ever succeeded before.

Then Hildebrand suddenly thought of what he had said to Fang Xingjian earlier.

'With this talent... with this talent... why would he still need any logic...? Why would he still need to follow any regulations?

'Being overly rigid will make one fragile? But if the person himself is a Divine level equipment, how can he be broken?'

His smile got increasingly rigid. 'What a joke. Hildebrand, when you said what you did... that was probably just a joke to him.'

At the next moment, he looked at Peter and communicated with him through information currents, "Invite Fang Xingjian to participate in the next auction. Remember, put up a good attitude.

"Oh, right. Tynon is coming back soon, right?"

"Yes, he's coming back soon."

Ignoring the twisted expression on Peter's face, Hildebrand thought to himself, '1,000 sets of sword techniques... 1,000 sets of sword techniques...'

The more Hildebrand thought about it, the more he felt a heavy tension.

That was an entire 1,000 sets of sword techniques. Hildebrand let out a long breath. 'Fang Xingjian is a person I mustn't make an enemy of. However, if I use him to clear away obstacles, it would be even better than using the world's sharpest blade.'

Thinking of this, Hildebrand once again broke into a calm and confident expression.

The office of the newspaper company set up by the Second Prince was located in the Empire's Imperial Capital. As the newspaper company's influence was growing wider, the newspaper company was now taking up the entire fifth story of a tall building, and there was endless human traffic.

Charlie walked into the hall slowly, his face wearing a gloomy expression.

Having become a Conferred Knight at a young age, he could be said to have a smooth-sailing life. He had even received the First Prince's recommendation and entered the Knight Association. Charlie had a bright future waiting before him.

However, because of the investigation in the Great Western Region of the matter involving Fang Xingjian, Charlie had gotten himself into a fix. In the end, after bribing various parties and also imparting the Effulgence Weapon, his special skill which was not imparted to outsiders, to Fang Xingjian, he had managed to remove the offence he was pinned with. This allowed him to avoid being pushed to the southern borders.

However, despite this, after he returned to the Imperial Capital, he continued to be excluded and be suppressed by others. He was being marginalized in the association.

Just then, a middle-aged man said, "Charlie, you're here!"

Charlie nodded. "Thank you, Derek. If I continue to not find anything to do, I'm going to rust soon."

"We're old friends. There's no need to say all these words of courtesy. Come on, many people are waiting."

Charlie followed the man into the office and saw five other experts, who were also at the second transition level, waiting there.

"This is Zac from the Fireworks Academy, this is Bartho form the Steelrend Academy, this is..." The middle-aged man, Derek, then finally turned to Charlie and said, "This is the representative from the Knight Association, Charlie."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you."

Charlie politely exchanged greetings with this second transition teachers from aristocrat academies. They were all people who had seen no progress in their martial arts, thus they went to the respective aristocrat academies to become teachers, hoping to get rich.

In the past, there was no way that Charlie would think much of them.

After they exchanged greetings, the middle-aged man, Derek, said, "The reason I've invited everyone here today is because there's a piece of news that we need to verify."

With that, stacks of information were distributed out. Charlie took a look and saw that they were all information regarding sword techniques. However, these were all sword techniques which he was familiar with.

He continued to read on and saw the growth trend of the respective sword techniques. The changes and statistics for each level were written out in detail, and it could be said that these were perfect references and teaching materials.

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Chapter 416: Volcano

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Charlie's brows twitched as he asked, "This... Could it be that these are the documents for the Church of Universal Truth's Martial Techniques Grading Plan?"

The others lifted their heads as well, taking turns to ask the questions that were on their mind. It was because they noticed that the sword techniques recorded were all sword techniques which had brought their academies to fame. However, right now, the various aspects of the sword techniques were being recorded in great detail by someone else.

Although the concrete cultivation method was not documented, even just the densely packed data alone had already caused them to be terror-stricken.

"These are the documents for the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. However, the more detailed portions are classified as highly confidential, so pardon me for not being able to say any more. The main reason I've invited everyone here today is to ask if there are any problems or errors with these documents."

The entire office fell silent and everyone looked at the documents they were holding as they compared it with what they knew.

About slightly more than half an hour later, a bald elder sighed and said, "The Church is truly deserving of its title as the number one influence in the world. These sword techniques are clearly what our academy teaches, but the records are even more detailed than what our own school actually has."

Another person shouted, "They aren't just detailed. Many aspects of the sword techniques have been tested as well. There are areas which we haven't even thought of ever before. After looking at these records, even I feel that I've been cultivating sword arts in vain."

"The Church is truly amazing. Their research on martial techniques are at least 20 years ahead of us."

Charlie frowned as he read the documents. However, in his mind, he agreed with what the others were saying. This set of documents was far too detailed and the many statistics listed were something which he himself would find hard to complete. This clearly demonstrated the abilities of the Church of Universal Truth.

Just then, another guy with a short stature smiled and said, "Everyone has come to a misunderstanding. If my guess is correct, this is probably something which was done by our country's Conferred Knight, right?"

"How is that possible?"

"Could it be that the Empire is also thinking of coming up with a Martial Techniques Grading Plan? If our country were to do a project like this, wouldn't it just be a sheer waste of manpower and resources?"

"Brother Charlie, you're from the association. Have you heard of any news regarding this?"

Charlie was slightly stunned. Right now, he was merely a marginalized person, so how could he possibly know of any news that were crucial to the association? He could only say, "I did hear similar rumors, of there being a collaboration with the Church. As for the details, I have no idea."

The guy with the short stature grinned, "If my elder brother isn't in the Great Western City, I wouldn't know of this either. Let me ask first, you guys know of Fang Xingjian, right?"

"Who wouldn't know of Fang Xingjian?"

"It's that person who invented the Rebirth Sword Technique, right?"

"The Rebirth Sword Technique is too hard to cultivate. Up until now, our academy's students have yet to succeeded in learning it."

"But it really is good stuff. So far, our Headmaster has cultivated to level 3, and it's already at about the same amount of potential points that he could get daily through the other Nurturing techniques he had cultivated"

"Mmm, Fang Xingjian is really talented."

"Oh, I think I heard that Lord Holy Orison recommended his participation in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

"Previously, when the Church's representatives came to the Imperial Capital, didn't they ask to meet Fang Xingjian?"

"Fang Xingjian is really young and invigorating. I heard that he rejected outright and then the Church's representatives headed to Great Western City."

"It's because he's amazing. He really has brought our Empire great honor."

Charlie listened to what the others said and frowned slightly, feeling increasingly unhappy. He thought, 'Fang Xingjian, you can go ahead and be complacent for a few years. While you're spending your effort on creating your own martial techniques and on the Martial Techniques Grading Plan, I'm improving, each and every moment. One day, I'll have you pay back 100 times over.'

Hearing what everyone said, the man with short stature said, "Let's not stray from the topic. Let me tell you something. The documents that you are reading right now, they should have been written by Fang Xingjian."

"How is that possible?"

"Only how long has it been and he has already appraised these over ten sets of sword techniques?!"

The man with short stature became increasingly proud as he said, "This is something that I'm sure you aren't aware of. Fang Xingjian is truly an amazing talent blessed by the heavens. It's not only ten or so sets of sword techniques. He has completed the appraisal of the 1,000 sets of sword techniques which the Church assigned to him. He got paid several tens of million on the spot."

"What kind of joke is this?"

"You must be exaggerating. Even a Divine level expert wouldn't be able to learn 1,000 sets of sword techniques in one go."

The man with short stature looked at the noisy bunch of people with contempt and said, "My elder brother saw it for himself. How can it possibly be fake? Let me tell you, I didn't believe it myself in the beginning, but the news spread out like wildfire in the entire Great Western City."

With that, he turned toward Derek, from the newspaper company, and said, "This time around, the reason you've invited us to check through the documents is so that you can verify this, right?"

Seeing that everyone's gaze was turned toward him, Derek from the newspaper company helplessly replied, "It's true that the documents you're looking at right now are from the sword arts team in the Great Western Region's Regional Academy. However, I can't tell you who wrote these."

A copy of the appraisal records Fang Xingjian had written had also been kept in the academy. After all, the Church of Universal Truth's Martial Techniques Grading Plan was originally intended to raise the level of research in martial techniques worldwide, and there were no requests to keep it a secret.

Therefore, the records were sent to the central government and were currently being looked into by countless members of the upper echelon.

Although Derek from the newspaper company had not spelled it out, the implied meaning was fairly clear.

Derek looked toward everyone as they were talking among themselves with great astonishment, and continued, "This news is currently considered to be highly classified. Kindly keep to the non-disclosure clause."

"Yes, yes, yes... We'll definitely not let the news leak out."

"But it's 1,000 sets..."

"There really are great talents in every generation..."

"This Fang Xingjian is someone to be reckoned with. In another few years, there'll probably be another Divine level person."

Hearing everyone's remarks, Charlie's frown gradually deepened. With a cold snort, he left in a huff, taking everyone by great surprise.

Only Charlie himself was aware of how bitter he was feeling right now.

'In this lifetime, I'll probably never be able to surpass Fang Xingjian...'

Ten days later, in the Cherkes District, located 150 kilometers to the north of Great Western City.

The skies were dark, bearing faint signs of violet streaks of lightning that cast a layer of gloom on everyone.

Ferdinand, who was leading the team, looked at the mountain peak in the distance and said, "Xingjian should be there now."

The person next to Ferdinand was a warrior under the Church of Universal Truth, dressed in white clothes and armor. He was one of the archbishop's guards, named Jia Wei.

Jia Wei looked toward the volcano in the distance which was encompassed by fog and was incessantly exuding black smoke. He asked, "This volcano is going to erupt soon, right?"

"That's right. Xingjian said that he wanted to look for a volcano like that in order to test out his sword arts."

"Use a volcano to test out his sword arts?" Jia Wei was stunned, and then he nodded, "I see. He must have a sword technique which would require him to cultivate by borrowing the force from the flames in the earth's core, right? However, this volcano seems to be raging. Once it explodes, this entire area will most likely be destroyed. Isn't it a bit too dangerous?"

Ferdinand smiled, "When cultivating martial arts, one can't be afraid of danger, right?"

The group of people was slowly heading for the top. However, as they moved, the ground under their feet tremored without stop. There were also large bouts of sparks splattering from the direction of the volcano's crater.

The piercing smell of sulfur was gushing at them as the air around them became increasingly hot.

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Chapter 417: Natural Disaster

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

After another small-scale earthquake, Jia Wei said, "It's too dangerous if a volcano like this were to erupt. We can't let the group proceed any further."

Ferdinand said, "But Lord Xingjian is just right inside. We need to sign the authorization for the Rebirth Sword Technique today."

"Let me go along with him." A white armored warrior in his twenties stepped out and said, "Team leader, I cultivate the Earthly Flames Divine Sword and have been training in volcanoes since the age of ten." The young warrior smiled and looked at Jia Wei. "At this place, my abilities are double that of my usual, and I should be the most knowledgeable with regard to surviving around a volcanic region."

Jia Wei frowned. He looked at the volcano which was flaring up at an increasing rate, as well as the sky which was covered in volcanic ash. He nodded and said, "Ferdinand, let Ben bring you there."

The young man, who was called Ben, was also a talented second transition Conferred Knight. He was at level 24 and had the experience of cultivating in volcanoes starting from a young age. This allowed him to be able to move around here with great ease.

Ben grabbed onto Ferdinand, and with a dash, they headed toward the volcano's peak.

On their way up, lava started to flow down, and the ground under their feet became like scorching steel plates. Occasionally, large pieces of rocks were also being splurted out.

However, despite this, Ben continued to move on at rapid speed. It was true that he was very familiar with such an environment. Bringing Ferdinand along with him, he avoided numerous dangers, and in the blink of an eye, they had already gotten close to the volcano's crater.

Ben pointed to the figure above the volcano's crater and asked, "Is that Fang Xingjian?"

Ferdinand nodded. "It's him." At the next moment, he shouted loudly, "Xingjian!"

Up in the air, Xingjian was originally looking down toward the volcano's crater. However, when he heard Ferdinand's shout, he looked back, and in the next moment, soaring sparks gushed forth toward him.

Amidst Ferdinand's and Ben's astonished gazes, the volcano erupted again. The soaring lava and rocks swallowed up everything, and the entire world became completely dark in that instant.

Terrifying explosions rang out, surging to and fro in the atmosphere. Ferdinand's ears seemed as if they were going deaf.

"No!" With an astonished cry, Ferdinand wanted to dash over, but he was pulled back by Ben.

"Are you crazy? Even if we go up there, we'll just be courting death." As Ben said that, he drew out his longsword and activated the Earthly Flames Divine Sword.

It was only then that Ferdinand saw the surrounding situation clearly. The ground below his feet continued to crack, and lava spurted out from all directions.

Ben swung the longsword in his hand consecutively, hitting large chunks of rocks into the surrounding lava.

It was as if everything before them had turned into a sea of flames. Ben activated the Earthly Flames Divine Sword at full power, putting up a fight against the surrounding lava. Simultaneously, he dashed down the volcano while holding onto Ferdinand.

However, the explosive force of this volcano was beyond his imagination. The lava pounced toward them like a tsunami, and they were surrounded in blazing flames in all directions.

In merely a few seconds, several hundred thousand tons of substances spurted out from the volcano's crater. Even Ben was unable to fend off even a small portion of it.

His Earthly Flames Divine Sword once again collided with the wave of flames. Then with a thunderous rumble, Ben spewed out a mouthful of blood and flew out while grabbing onto Ferdinand.

As the two of them seemed like they were about to land into the sea of flames, a hint of desperation flashed in both Ben's and Ferdinand's eyes.

However, at the next moment, an extremely brutal gush of cold air surged toward them.

An extremely low temperature which exceeded negative 200 degrees celsius gushed out from the volcano's crater. It was as if a person had scattered several hundred tons of liquid nitrogen, freezing all the lava in that instant.

All the lava, volcanic ash, and rocks were all sealed in ice and just lying there quietly. It was as if the entire world had turned from a fire blazing hell to Antarctica.

No, it was even colder than Antarctica. Ferdinand merely let out a short breath, then he felt that the air in his lungs seemed like it was going to freeze up.

However, they did not have the time to care about these. They just had their eyes agape while looking at this scene in great astonishment.

Ta ta ta! The sounds of footsteps rang out, and amidst their astonished gazes, Fang Xingjian came toward them slowly as he stepped on the frost. Wherever he passed by, the air would release kacha kacha sounds, as if everything was freezing up before him.

In ten days, Fang Xingjian had finally processed all 1,000 sets of sword techniques and synthesized them respectively to his Zenith Light Sword Formation, Ether Sword Ripples, Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique, and the Universal Truth Longsword respectively.

Right now, his sword arts mastery had already attained the peak of perfection.

Fang Xingjian threw a glance toward the two of them and said, "You guys head down first." He looked at the layer of ice under his feet. "This little bit of temperature won't be enough to stop it."

Ben nodded and ran while grabbing Ferdinand, who shouted, "Xingjian, aren't you coming down together with us?"

Fang Xingjian had already turned away once again and was now looking down at the layer of ice which seemed to be tremoring faintly. With a single thought, he once again sent over 1,000 streams of Ether Sword Ripples scattering out.

The Ether Sword Ripples had three forms: initial state; high temperature; and low temperature. RIght now, Fang Xingjian's sword arts mastery had improved by leaps and bounds, and the prowess of his Ether Sword Ripples had increased tremendously as well.

Wherever the 1,000 streams of Ether Sword Ripples passed by, the air would freeze up, and it seemed like everything was going to be sealed up in ice for all eternity. The layer of ice under his feet was reinforced once again, resisting the pressure which came from deep underground.

Due to the entire volcano freezing over, Ben and Ferdinand had a smooth trip downhill. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the foot of the volcano and then ran over ten kilometers away in one breath to meet up with Jia Wei.

Jia Wei asked, "What's wrong?"

Ben turned his head abruptly and saw that sparks were coming out once again from the direction of the volcano's crater. The ground under their feet was also tremoring abnormally. "This isn't good. Because of the resistance he applied, the explosive force from the earth will only be even more powerful. Its prowess will be over ten times stronger than what it originally was."

Ben had been cultivating in volcanic regions over the years, and thus, he understood well what kind of power an erupted volcano possessed.

That was a violent force squeezed and pushed out from many layers deep underground. This was a terrifying violence which could destroy an entire city. It was an astonishing power which could spurt out several million tons or ten millions of tons of substances.

This was especially when Fang Xingjian was still sealing up the entire volcano in ice, amplifying the pressure within the volcano. With the layers of restraint pressing down, the pressure within the volcano had reached a limit. It was just like how a pressure cooker, which had surpassed its limits, would explode at any moment. Moreover, the power produced would far surpass that of an ordinary volcano eruption.

Hearing Ben's explanation, Ferdinand quickly said, "But Xingjian is still inside!"

Jia Wei frowned and said, "He can only rely on himself now. It's useless even if we go over."

At the next moment, a frightening thunderous sound rang out from the direction of the volcano like the entire world had shattered. Everyone turned in that direction and saw that, above the volcano, there seemed to be an invisible palm descending from the heaven, slapping down onto the volcano.

The entire volcano was destroyed, slapped flat by an immense invisible force at a speed which could be seen by the naked eye.

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Chapter 418: Like A Person

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

The entire mountain range was slapped down into the ground. Limitless lava and volcanic ash were just about to erupt when they were smashed by that terrifying power and pushed back in.

All the dust in the air was slapped back down onto the ground as well. The entire scene had looked like a volcano eruption had been about to occur when it was slapped right back down.

Everyone looked at this astonishing scene and sensed the overwhelming feeling brought about by that pure violence.

Jia Wei suddenly bellowed, "All those who are at the second transition come to the front! The shock waves are coming!"

Although they were over ten kilometers away, the shock waves created by the collision of such violent forces continued to gush in their directions, bringing about sand and dust with them.

All the Conferred Knights took action immediately, extending out force fields and forming a barrier in the front.

Bang! Countless amounts of gravel collided against their force fields like bullets. The entire team was now encompassed by sand and dust, and the darkness which covered them made it seemed as though it was the end of the world.

After an entire minute, the shock waves passed by their bodies, and the several Conferred Knights exchanged horrified glances.

Jia Wei was extremely astonished. To think that the shock waves coming from over ten kilometers away would still have such great power... One could only begin to imagine just how terrifying a force had emerged from the palm which had smashed down on and crushed the volcano.

Just as everyone was still drowned in the aftershock, a small dot quickly expanded to become a human figure as it approached from the direction of the volcano. In the blink of an eye, the human figure passed through the distance of over ten kilometers and arrived before everyone.

Fang Xingjian was wearing ordinary training clothes and carrying only the bare necessities with him, and appeared naturally before everyone.

"You need my signature for the authorization letter?"

Ferdinand was stunned for a moment before he walked up and said, "That's right. It's this." He took out a document and a pen, and passed them to Fang Xingjian.

Fang Xingjian took them and scanned through the document briefly. When he saw that the total price was at three million gold, his brows twitched, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

He signed and said, "When will the money be transferred over?"

Jia Wei said, "It'll be remitted into your account within three days. May I ask... the volcano eruption from earlier..."

He had asked the question which everyone wanted the answer to. The impact from earlier was far too terrifying. In everyone's impression, it was something that likely only Divine level experts would be able to accomplish. However, right now, it had occurred before their eyes.

Additionally, Fang Xingjian happened to be in the direction of the volcano. Although they were very suspicious, they found it a little unbelievable too.

Had that impact been caused by Fang Xingjian?

When Fang Xingjian heard this question, he threw a glance toward Jia Wei and did not say a word. Then he tossed the document to Ferdinand and disappeared.

With how much Fang Xingjian had improved during the past ten days, not only were his sword arts at currently the peak of perfection, but he had also reached level 28 and gained ether organs.

Right now, Fang Xingjian's lungs had already turned into an ether organ. With each breath he took, a tremendous amount of ether particles would enter his lungs, which would then complete the energy transition.

With every breath, the energy increment in his body was the equivalent of an ordinary person having eaten a sumptuous meal. As such, it could be said that the energy storage in his body was constantly increasing.

This was how powerful a level 28 Conferred Knight was. As long as one were to complete transforming all their internal organs into ether organs, then they would be able to gain endless power and never have to worry about dying from a depletion of energy.

Of course, Fang Xingjian's Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves had also finally reached level 8. The impact on the volcano earlier was from his use of Terra Ingurgitation.

Therefore, Fang Xingjian's currents attributes had become:

Name: Fang Xingjian

Age:18

Occupation: Heavenly Sword Sovereign

Level: 28

Strength: 28216

Agility: 29716

Reaction: 198

Endurance: 176

Flexibility: 175

Ether Synchronization Rate: 90%

The attributes above come into effect once the Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves are activated.

Due to Perfect Muscles, 16 in strength and agility (10% of the endurance attribute).

Skills / Techniques: Boundaries Negation, Level 40 Rebirth Sword Technique, Level 40 New Nine-Headed Dragon Sword Technique, Level 40 Zenith Light Sword Formation, Level 40 Prodigious Demolition Sword Physique, Level 12 Ether Divine Art, White Bone Divine Weapon, Heaven's Volition Sword Intent, Ether Sword Ripples

Internal Specialties: 213

External Specialties: 8

Waves: Level 8 Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves

Mental Cultivation Method: Level 7 Universal Sword Dominance Lunisolar

The reason why Fang Xingjian had gone to the volcano's crater this time around was so that he could go against a natural disaster in a bid to test out his sword arts. The last attack using Terra Ingurgitation was to test out the impact of the level 8 Terra Ingurgitation, which could utilize the prowess of the gathered gravitational forces from an eight kilometer radius.

The gravity, which was within a range of eight kilometers from Fang Xingjian, gathered with a prowess 512 times stronger than the Terra Ingurgitation he had used at the very beginning. Even if Fang Xingjian's sword arts cultivation had reached the peak of perfection, it was still a bit hard for him to keep it under his control.

Otherwise, the sword attack from earlier would not have destroyed the entire volcano but merely suppress the volcano's eruption.

Elsewhere, the Church of Universal Truth's archbishop frowned and said, "You said that after you left, there was a sudden surge of extremely violent force which collapsed the entire volcano, sinking it into the ground and leaving behind a deep crater?

"Furthermore, even the lava was pushed back and the volcanic ash was unable to erupt?"

After asking Jia Wei for a few details, the archbishop sighed and said, "Fierce, that's really fierce. The instant explosive prowess of such a violent force is one which only the few people at the top of level 29 are able to do."

Gardner asked puzzledly, "But Fang Xingjian... He's really able to do this? It wasn't done by someone else?"

The archbishop smiled and threw a glance at the guards before saying, "Alright, you guys can take your leave first. One more thing, don't spread the news about Fang Xingjian."

"Yes."

After a short moment, the archbishop ensured that there was no one around. Then he looked at Gardner and said, "Gardner, haven't you always been curious about why I've been giving Fang Xingjian such preferential treatment?"

A gleam of light lit up in Gardner's eyes. This was really something which had been on his mind. Ever since the day when they competed in the speed at which they picked up sword techniques, the archbishop had been taking the initiative to provide Fang Xingjian with favorable conditions. He had even increased the royalties to be paid to Fang Xingjian and accelerated the speed at which the funds for the Martial Techniques Grading Plan were remitted. However, Gardner could not understand all of these.

The archbishop said, "It's because he looks like someone."

Fang Xingjian looked like someone?

When Gardner heard this, a hint of disapproval flashed in his eyes. No matter who Fang Xingjian looked like, what difference would it make?

However, at the next moment, the name of someone who would make his teeth clatter emerged from the archbishop's mouth.

"18 years ago, you hadn't started working in the Holy Inquisitorial Court. Therefore, you haven't met him before."

Gardner was stunned, and his eyes narrowed. "18 years ago... 18 years ago... Are you referring to..." The hair all over his body stood up at once as he looked at the archbishop in disbelief.

The archbishop nodded. "18 years ago, the Pope vanished. Ever since then, our Church of Universal Truth fell apart. The three Saints each held onto their own statements, and each of the 16 Guardian Kings had their own thoughts.

"Everything only settled down last year."

Cold sweat started to drip down Gardner's forehead. "From what I know, the past generations of Popes were selected from the Saints. None of them have any kin, siblings, or descendants. However, to think that Fang Xingjian would look akin to the previous Pope? Could it really be just a coincidence?"

"Haha," the archbishop laughed. "Do you really think that things could be so coincidental? That a genius from the Empire, who would be hard to find in a 100 years—no, in 1,000 years, would look exactly the same as the previous Pope? And that at 18 years old, Fang Xingjian's age coincides with how long the Pope has been missing for? But to him, this is probably not a good thing."

"Gardner, I know you have a Guardian King, or even a Saint backing you up. But this is not a small matter, and it's best for you to pretend that you don't know about this. Quickly finish up the mission here and return. Don't procrastinate any further with the Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

Gardner let out a long breath and said, "Yes, archbishop."

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Chapter 419: Rich

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

A few days later, Fang Xingjian looked at Zhou Xingwen and said, "Has the money for the Martial Techniques Grading Plan come in?"

Zhou Xingwen nodded and said, "Yes, all 15 million gold have been received. I don't know why they are suddenly so fast. At first, they said that they needed to check through all the records and would only release the funds when all of them have passed the checks. But I was suddenly told today that the funds have all come in."

Fang Xingjian nodded and looked out the door. Ferdinand came in as well. Zhou Xingwen said in astonishment, "Could it be that the money for the royalties has come in as well?"

Ferdinand's brows twitched. "Old Zhou, how did you know?" At the next moment, Ferdinand understood, "Is the money for your side in as well?"

The two of them exchanged a glance and then looked at Fang Xingjian. Then they said, "Xingjian, from today onward, you're probably the richest person in the Great Western Region."

The gazes at which the two of them used to look at Fang Xingjian were filled with envy. A total of 18 million... Even after deducting the payouts to the people who were helping him as well as the administrative fees, Fang Xingjian would still be left with about 16 to 17 million gold. Moreover, there were only a few more days till February, and the next monthly payment for the Prodigious Astral Divine Powers Waves would be coming in then. By that time, Fang Xingjian would have savings of close to 20 million gold.

20 million gold... If a comparison must be made, it would probably be equivalent to several hundred billion USD on Earth.

This meant that Fang Xingjian, having gotten his hands on such a tremendous amount of money, would be considered one of the richest in across the world, let alone in the Great Western Region.

However, Fang Xingjian was definitely not going to keep the money he had with him for long. It was because he would be spending all of them very soon, turning them all into various attributes, specialties, and mystical prints.

To him, his power was the most important.

Ferdinand said, "Hildebrand has invited us to participate in the upcoming auction. It's said to be the first auction after the new year. Everyone participating is loaded with money, and there will be many good items up for auction.

"Xingjian, are you going to participate?"

Fang Xingjian nodded, "I'll participate then."

Over ten minutes later, Ferdinand and Zhou Xingwen walked out together. Zhou Xingwen looked at Ferdinand and asked curiously, "Ferdinand, I heard that a great explosion occurred at the volcano, and the entire volcano was destroyed from the explosion. Do you know what happened? Is it related to Xingjian?"

Hearing that, Ferdinand was stunned for a moment before saying, "I don't know." However, after giving it some thought, he came up with a hint. "Maybe someone was cultivating there."

Zhou Xingwen could not help but turn to look in the direction of Fang Xingjian's room, and the admiration in his eyes grew increasingly stronger.

Outside the Great Western City, a man dressed in beast hide, who had a height of over 2.5 meters and the appearance of a wild beast, was standing there. He looked toward the Great Western City's city gate and broke into a grin.

A member of the City Guards Institution walked over and asked, "Tall guy, how long more are you going to be standing there? Do you know that you're blocking the way?"

"Oh?" The man did not move his head but just looked downward with his eyes, breaking into a smile.

With just one look, the guard became like a rabbit who encountering a tiger. He stiffened up, and his body trembled, unable to say a single word.

This lasted until the man gently pat him on the shoulder while saying, "I'm sorry. I understand."

The guard only regained his senses a good while later. He turned his head, but the man was already nowhere to be seen.

"Who exactly was the person from earlier?'

Tynon, who was ranked fifth in the Regional Academy and had came back after having traveled for a year, walked along the streets. His height of 2.5 meters attracted gazes everywhere he went.

Thinking of the achievements he had gotten for the past one year, endless emotions surged in his heart.

One year ago, when he left the academy, his goal had been to temper his martial will and prepare to strive for level 29 with an ether synchronization rate of 100%.

One year later, not only had he become a level 29 expert, but he had also inherited the legacy of a great ancient technique—Gates of the Netherworld.

Looking at the formation map in his palm, his eyes were brimming with confidence.

Gates of the Netherworld was a powerful Killing technique which involved both space and time. After one cultivated this Killing technique, the person's palm would gain a door leading to an alternate space.

The alternate space was a cube which was about 100 meters in length, width, and height. Tynon could store anything which came into contact with his palm into the alternate space and then release them at any time or place he wished to.

Everything he stored in the Gates of the Netherworld would enter an almost completely immobile state.

Therefore, they would emerge at the speed at which they entered.

They would also remain in whatever state they had been in when they entered.

The only flaw was that he was unable store living things.

Despite this, it was still considered terrifyingly powerful.

With the Gates of the Netherworld, Tynon would be able to absorb all the attacks his opponents launched at him. He would then be able to send the attacks back in the same state.

Regardless if it was light rays, shock waves, explosions, cold wind, thunderbolt... He would be able to take all of them and then send them back.

With such a horrifying Killing Path, Tynon gained the confidence to returned to the Great Western Region to vie for being the top in the Great Western Region. He would then take part in the National Selection as being the number one rank in the Great Western Region and then becoming first in the National Selection.

'As long as I have sufficient resources and I fight with enough experts, my Gates of the Netherworld will be able to have limitless potential.

'For the past three months, I've been fighting in the eight great continents. I challenged several hundred dojos and stored over 100 types of astonishing Killing techniques. '

Tynon stood on the roof of a tall building, looking down on the Great Western Region which was packed with human traffic. Suddenly, he had the feeling of although the world was big, there was still no one who could be his match.

'As long as I'm given time, with the Gates of the Netherworld, I'm invincible.

'And the Great Western Region will only be the beginning.

'Odysseus, Hildebrand, Xiao Tianxia... Despite being the top three in the Regional Academy, you will only be my stepping board.'

Thinking of this, his expression became increasingly satisfied. Then with consecutive flashes, he brought along a series of strong gales as he rushed toward the Great Western City's aristocratic district.

'I just happened to get my hands on a batch of ancient treasures. After selling them off, I now have about two million gold. Since Hildebrand has invited me to the auction he is organizing, I'll make a trip there to spend this sum of money.

'After spending these two million gold, the prowess of my Gates of the Netherworld will definitely be brought to greater heights.'

To the Tynon from one year ago, two million gold was a number which he would not have even dared to imagine. However, right now, that amount was in his hands.

'Two million gold... Even Hildebrand, who comes from a wealthy family, wouldn't have two million gold worth of fluid funds, right?'

Thinking of how Hildebrand would look when he made his bids, Tynon could not hold back the excitement he was feeling.

Tynon reached the auction hall and displayed his Knight medallion. The attendant showed a surprised expression. "Lord Tynon, you're back? I heard that you have become famous in the Eastern Rain Continent after you consecutively challenged the 12 dojos of the Great Thunder Alliance. You were amazing and unrivalled."

"Mmm," Tynon replied softly and tossed out a gold coin casually. The attendant immediately broke into a smile. Tynon said, "Get me a private room."

The attendant happily held onto the gold coin and led Tynon to a private room.

As they walked, Tynon asked the attendant about what items would be put up for auction.

Just then, amidst a great commotion, a group of people clustered around a young man who was wearing a cold expression. Over ten men and women fawned upon that young man, showering him with endless compliments.

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Chapter 420: Serious Injury From A Single Hit

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

"Xingjian, I heard that the Martial Techniques Grading Plan has paid out quite a huge sum of money this time around. It was even reported on the newspaper that there was over ten million."

"That is nothing. With Xingjian's talent, he probably won't even have any issues if he were to lead the entire Martial Techniques Grading Plan."

"That's true. With Xingjian's sword arts cultivation, it'll just be a matter of time before he attains the Divine level."

Tynon frowned and looked at the crowd that was heading off. Out of them, there were quite a number of Conferred Knights whom he recognized. They were all his juniors from the Regional Academy. So, he could not help but say, "What on earth is that racket? Where is that kid from?"

The attendant smiled and said, "That's Lord Fang Xingjian. I heard that he has accepted to do 1% of the Church of Universal Truth's Martial Techniques Grading Plan single-handedly. Right now, he's the most popular unrivalled genius in the entire Great Western City."

"Genius?" Tynon smiled in contempt. Right now, other than the top three, who were Odysseus, Hildebrand, and Xiao Tianxia respectively, he did not pay the others any heed. This was also because he had just returned to the Great Western City and had not heard of any detailed news regarding Fang Xingjian.

However, even if he were to hear Fang Xingjian's reputation as a genius, as well as the detailed events, he would probably just shrug it off.

It was because with the Gates of the Netherworld, aside from pure physical attacks, he could absorb and repel almost all kinds of attacks. To him, the top three, or even people like the Governor and the Regional Chief, were merely people he would need time to take down one by one.

He was only halfway to the private room when he heard another cold and eerie voice coming from behind him, "Tynon, you still dare to come back here?"

Hearing that voice, Tynon turned and saw a pale-faced and lean-looking man walking toward him.

When the man saw Tynon's face, he broke into a cold smile and said to the subordinate next to him, "Bring that item to Xingjian first. I'll be there shortly."

After seeing his subordinate carry the box in his arms and run toward the room Fang Xingjian was in, the man then turned to look at Tynon. His face wore hints of malice as he said, "Tynon, you still have the face to come back?"

"Achilles..." Tynon looked at the cold-looking man before him, and a vengeful voice emerged from his mouth. This expert who was ranked fourth in the academy had personally defeated and humiliated Tynon before everyone. He had stomped down on Tynon's pride.

It could be said that without Achilles's bullying, Tynon would not have made up his mind to leave one year ago.

Right now, the meeting of these two foes caused their eyes to light up with fury. Tynon glared at Achilles and said, "Achilles, it won't be long before I let you know that offending me is the most foolish thing you have done in your entire life."

"Tynon, you're still as petty as ever. If a person who cultivates fist techniques doesn't have a broad mind that can accept the whole world, how will he be able to cultivate the most domineering fists in the world? Let me see what you've achieved after one year of hard work."

As Achilles spoke, he stepped forward, and several hundred streams of aura from his specialty seeds gushed forth. The forces of countless physical particles suddenly exploded, and in that instant, his right fist seemed to have become extremely heavy. Then when he punched out with his fist, it felt as if the entire world was contained in this punch.

In that instant, he also appeared to have become extremely magnificent and tall.

This was the Killing technique, Tyrant Fist.

It was hard to imagine that Achilles, who appeared so cold, could suddenly perform such a violent fist technique. His disposition also changed tremendously in that instant.

With his punch unleashed, violent shock waves condensed to form a huge dragon which charged toward Tynon.

However, when faced with this punch, Tynon merely put out his right palm and opened the Gates of the Netherworld.

In that instant, his palm seemed to transform into a black hole which could absorb everything. Faced with Achilles's attack, Tynon merely resisted gently. Then the dragon-shaped shock wave seemed to enter into an alternate world in that split second, immediately absorbed in entirety by Tynon's Gates of the Netherworld.

Looking at Achilles's astonished gaze, Tynon let out a cold laugh and said, "Seems like you haven't had much progress for the past one year. Let me be the one to test you out instead."

As Tynon spoke, he opened up the Gates of the Netherworld. Endless red light gushed forth from his palm, and a red meteor soared out. The moment it appeared, it already threatened to turn the entire auction into ash. With an aura which seemed like it was going to incinerate the entire world, the red meteor shot out toward Achilles.

"This is the Great Red Lotus?"

In almost the same instant when the red comet appeared, over ten Conferred Knights dashed out, extended out their force fields, and encompassed the two who were fighting.

Hildebrand was the first to appear. With a swing of his palm, the space at which the two were at seemed to have been sliced out. The explosive forces Achilles and Tynon unleashed could no longer affect the auction hall.

With a tremendous boom, Achilles received the Great Red Lotus and was covered in dust from the explosion. More than half of his clothes had also been destroyed, and he spewed out a large mouthful of blood. He seemed as if he was greatly weakened.

The scorching air currents and shock waves surged out in all directions, but when they came into contact with the area Hildebrand had cut off, it seemed as though they had gone onto a never-ending path. As such, the shock waves were totally unable to reach the auction hall.

For him to be seriously injured by his sworn enemy, Achilles was infuriated. He summoned up his boiling aura once again with the desire to activate his secret arts.

"Tynon!" Achilles let out a furious bellow, wanting to attack again. However, he was stopped by Hildebrand who appeared before him.

"Enough. Where do you think this place is?" Hildebrand looked at Tynon, nodded, and said, "Tynon, you've really improved tremendously in this past one year. That Great Red Lotus from earlier is the ultimate technique of the Eastern Rain Continent's Red Lotus Dojo, right? How did you learn it?"

Tynon smiled coldly but did not reply. He looked at the space around them which had been reformed and thought, 'Is this the World Partition which has been passed down in Hildebrand's clan? The space in the world which we're in is formed by countless shattered pieces. He's unable to smash space but is able to expand the gaps between spaces, forming an illusion as if the space has been sliced up.'

Seeing how the location of where he and Hildebrand were standing was all charred, and yet the auction hall, which was one meter away, was still perfectly fine, Tynon could not help but feel more wary toward the World Partition technique.

'However, although it is amazing, it's still a far cry for my Gates of the Netherworld.'

Achilles let out a cold snort and said, "Hildebrand, I'll let this go on your account this time around." With that, Achilles turned to leave.

However, it was impossible for Tynon to let him leave just like that. He said coldly, "Achilles, are you thinking of leaving just like that? Do you dare to have a fight with me in the arena three days later?"

Tynon had put hard work into his cultivation for one year, and trained day and night after having gotten his hands on the Gates of the Netherworld. He had worked hard around the clock just to fight back for himself and to suppress Achilles. How could he possibly let Achilles go just like that?

Achilles turned and gazed at Tynon vengefully, "Tynon, are you courting death?"

"We all know who is the one courting death." Tynon shrugged, "Why, do you not dare to take up the challenge? That's true, after all, you are unable to even accept one attack from me. How could you possibly be willing to fight it out in the arena with me?"

Tynon had absorbed too many attacks at the same level as the Gates of the Netherworld while travelling. So, to him, Achilles was far too weak.

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Chapter 421: Start of Auction

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Achilles was so angry that his eyelids kept on twitching. He said, "Alright, then we'll meet each other during the evening in three days time."

Seeing Achilles leave with a crestfallen expression, Tynon felt immensely satisfied.

Meanwhile, Fang Xingjian had watched the entire scene from the entrance. Beside him, his female disciple, Lilia, said, "Master, that Achilles seems to have sent a gift."

After Fang Xingjian had completed 1% of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan, the archbishop announced that he would discuss with the Church's upper echelon regarding the second round of collaboration with Fang Xingjian.

They might give Fang Xingjian even more sword techniques to appraise.

No one knew how much Fang Xingjian had earned for the first round, nor how much funds were involved in the next round. These were after all, top secret.

However, it did not take much of a guess for one to know that there would only be more and more money. Therefore, more and more people came to get into his good books.

Just how much money was involved with the Martial Techniques Grading Plan? Moreover, for Fang Xingjian to be snatching this project and even Hildebrand failing in his attempt, no one else would dared to vie for a chance.

However, if they were to get into Fang Xingjian's good books and he were to put aside some loose change for them, it would still be a tremendous sum of money.

Fang Xingjian nodded. "Achilles isn't his match. That Tynon seems interesting." Then he smiled and went inside.

"Send someone to ask if he's willing to come over for a chat."

"Fang Xingjian is inviting me over?" Hearing that, Tynon's eyes narrowed as he thought, 'This guy has seen how amazing my Gates of the Netherworld is and wishes to get into my good books? Or is he trying to find out the secrets to the Gates of the Netherworld?'

Regardless, Tynon did not plan on obliging to Fang Xingjian's request. He said, "Tell him that I have some things to attend to today, and that we should meet up another time."

With that, the attendant left. Not long later, Hildebrand walked into the private room and said, "Tynon, it's been a year since we've last met. To think that your martial arts have improved to such a great extent."

Tynon stood up and looked at Hildebrand. "Hildebrand, why have you come to my private room?" He then turned to look toward the front facing windows of the private room. Tynon could see the preparation work being done on the stage and the countless ordinary guests starting to enter the venue.

The other private rooms in the area were all for the influential characters of the Great Western City. Aside from the organizers, no one knew who were in the rooms.

The private room had an area of over 100 square meters, and the walls and the ceiling were layered with many panels of metal.

With such a large distance apart in addition to the many layers of metals, even Conferred Knights would find it very hard to use their Heaven's Perception to sense who were in each private rooms. This provided the guests in the private rooms the highest degree of privacy.

Hildebrand smiled and sat next to Tynon. "We haven't met for so long. Are you being so unwelcoming to me?"

Tynon found this funny. One year ago, even though he was ranked fifth, when had Hildebrand ever taken a good look at him?

However, right now, after he had injured Achilles seriously with a single move, Hildebrand was now being so friendly with him. This was the charm of power.

"Young Master Hildebrand, how could I possibly not welcome you?" Tynon said with a shrug.

Hildebrand looked curiously at Tynon and said, "Your improvement over the past one year is exceptional. Did you came across a fortuitous encounter?"

Tynon said calmly, "I've only entered a few historical remains and learned some small skills." It was of course impossible for Tynon to share the secrets of the Gates of the Netherworld.

Hildebrand smiled and did not pursue any further. He merely tried to maintain on good terms with Tynon. Soon after, an attendant walked over to him and whispered something to his ears.

Hildebrand said, "I'll go accompany Xingjian. Please feel at ease. All your expenses here today will be on me."

Tynon waved his hand to indicate that he understood. His eyes were already glued to the content of the auction, which had officially started.

The auctioneer revealed the first item. It was an almost fully translucent rock which exuded hints of electricity.

The auctioneer introduced, "This geomagnetic essence is an exquisite piece from the Sand Country. It comes from the Sand Country's Geocentric Shrine and is a high quality item that can increase the toughness of one's body. The starting bid is 10,000 gold, and each additional bid mustn't be less than 1,000 gold."

Tynon looked greedily at the geomagnetic essence on the stage. He had just entered level 29 and such items which could strengthen his foundations were what he needed the most. Therefore, he said to the attendant, "50,000 gold."

The attendant outside raised a paddle.

"50,000 gold!" The auctioneer shouted out exaggeratedly. "The guest from private room number three has called out a bid of 50,000 gold! Are there any other bids? This is the geocentric essence that has been nurtured for over 10,000 years in the Sand Country's Geocentric Shrine! It can bring about an unrivalled elevation to the toughness of one's body!"

In private room number two was Hoult, a student under the teachings of Divine level expert, Astral Ancestor. Hoult wore a sapphire blue long-robe and appeared very graceful. By his side, a gorgeously dressed young lady was seated there.

The young lady was called Miley, and she was the daughter of the Great Western Region's Regional Chief. After hearing Tynon's bid, she smiled and said, "The guy from room number three seems to be very anxious."

Hoult broke out into a brilliant smile. "The geomagnetic essence is really something which most Conferred Knights need. I'll bid 60,000 gold."

Over the past few months, Hoult had walked out from Fang Xingjian's shadows and no longer set him as his goal. In fact, after excluding Fang Xingjian, Hoult would be considered as a top notch character amongst the younger generation.

Meanwhile, the Regional Chief's youngest daughter, Miley, was a rare beauty. She was also the youngest daughter whom the Great Western Region's Regional Chief doted on the most.

Although Hoult was a student under the teachings of a Divine level expert, he was not the only youngster in the Myriad Star Palace, and like the others, he needed external assistance. Aside from the Governor, the Regional Chief was the second most influential person in the Great Western Region. Clearly, he was a good person to seek assistance from.

Therefore, Hoult had gotten very intimate with Miley recently, relying on his handsome appearance and outstanding talent in martial arts.

The auctioneer shouted, "60,000! Private room number two has bid 60,000 gold! Are there any other bidders!"

Hildebrand returned to his private room number nine, looked at the bids outside, and smiled. "Both Hoult and Tynon are exceptional." As the organizer of the auction, he was of course very happy.

"Congratulations, Big Brother. You're going to rolling in big bucks." Peter, who was next to him, said, "But that Fang Xingjian is really arrogant. He keeps on wearing a cold expression, as if everyone owes him a great debt."

Recalling how Fang Xingjian seemed expressionless when he went to look for him earlier, Hildebrand also frowned slightly and said, "He's now in the limelight now. It's better for us to not offend him head-on.

"Have you investigated the case concerning the volcano?"

Peter said, "We didn't find any witnesses. The villagers there had already evacuated due to the volcano eruption. Big Brother, are you really suspecting that Fang Xingjian can suppress a volcano alone by himself?"

"It's better to be safe than sorry. Fang Xingjian can complete the cultivation of 1,000 sword techniques in a few days. Do you really think that this is all there is to his abilities?" Hildebrand said, "We must think of a way to test him out." Thinking of this, Hildebrand turned his gaze toward private room number three where Tynon was located.

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Chapter 422: Ongoing Auction

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

"70,000 gold!"

"80,000 gold!"

"90,000 gold!"

"100 thousand gold!"

The price of the geomagnetic essence continued to rise as Tynon and Hoult continued to vie for it. In the end, Hoult shook his head and left the competition with Tynon calling for a high bid of 180,000 gold.

"This lunatic. It's only a geomagnetic essence. Is there a need to spend so much money?"

When Tynon noticed that private room number two no longer made any calls, he broke into a satisfied smile.

However, just then, private room number one, which had kept being silent all this time, suddenly called for a bid, "300,000 gold."

Hearing this bid, everyone present gasped. Even if this piece of geomagnetic essence was especially outstanding, it was worth 150,000 gold at most. However, someone had actually called out a bid of 300,000, double of its value.

Tynon gritted his teeth and said, "310,000 gold."

In private room number one, Fang Xingjian said, without a care, "Call for 500,000 gold."

The whopping price of 500,000 gold once again astonished the entire hall. Hoult shook his head, smiling bitterly, "Who is this, being so overbearing with his riches?"

Tynon clenched his teeth angrily and seethed, "Idiot, spending 500,000 gold on something that's worth 150,000 gold."

Beside Fang Xingjian, Lilia said, "Master, is it really alright to be spending so much money on this?"

Fang Xingjian shook his head. "It's fine as long as it's useful. Money is just a number to me right now."

Currently, Fang Xingjian had over 18 million gold at hand. After giving Anthony five million to purchase the ingredients required for the mystical prints, Fang Xingjian was still left with 13 million.

Moreover, he was still going to take up the second phase of the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. Additionally, there was also still the money which the Regional Academy would be remitting to his account monthly, as well as the Rebirth Sword Technique's royalties. Fang Xingjian had so much money that he did not know what to spend it on.

Well, actually, it was not that he did not know what to spend them on. Ferdinand and the others had tried to persuade him on multiple occasions to purchase properties, set up a trade association, and things like that. However, Fang Xingjian was not interested in all these. He only wanted to purchase more things to increase his power.

Just then, the second item up for auction appeared on the stage.

It was a box which was looked like a diamond. There was a golden sphere in the middle of the box, jumping about as if it was alive.

Everyone looked at this scene in great astonishment, curious to find out what it was.

The auctioneer shouted, "Everyone, may I have your attention please! This is a rare treasure from the mysterious Western Land. It's a mysterious item the top notch experts there have created. They call it the Golden Pellet.

"This Golden Pellet was refined by seven level 29 top notch experts using the essence of the flesh and blood from over 12 types of high quality ferocious beasts, as well as over 1,000 precious medicinal herbs.

"This single Golden Pellet alone can change one's physique, increasing one's potential points by one million points. Furthermore, it can stimulate the three great specialties, namely the Body Alleviation, Reflected Retaliation, as well as the Strength and Gentleness Unison.

"The starting bid is 100,000 gold. Each increment mustn't be lower than 1,000 gold."

Tynon looked toward the Golden Pellet on the stage and laughed maniacally inwardly, 'Good stuff, good stuff. I'm bent on getting my hands on this!!' With that, he called for a bid of 200,000 gold.

Hoult also stood up with great curiosity. This item was also very beneficial for a new Conferred Knight like himself. He called out a bid, "220,000 gold."

The people before the stage and those in the other private rooms also took turns to call out their bids. In the blink of an eye, the bidding price had escalated to 400,000 gold.

At this price, most of the people present were already incapable of raising the price any higher. This was a price which only the top characters amongst those in the second transition would be able to afford. Across the entire Empire, there were probably only one to two hundred people who could afford to spend such a huge sum of money.

In the end, Tynon called the bid, "410,000 gold."

Finally, no one else called for a higher bid, and Tynon let out a sigh of relief.

However, from private room number one, Fang Xingjian called out a bid once again, "600,000 gold."

The bid of 600,000 gold caused everyone in the auction hall to gasp. This was considered an extremely high price, and 99% of the people present would not be able to afford that even if all their assets were put in.

Tynon gritted his teeth so tightly like they would shatter. 600,000 gold was about one-third of the funds he had, so it was impossible for him to raise the bid any further. He could only look furiously in the direction of private room number one.

In private room number one, Fang Xingjian no longer looked at the stage after calling his bid. He just looked toward Lilia and said, "Lilia, do you have the confidence to get through the Prefectural Selection this year?"

Right now, Lilia was sitting on Fang Xingjian's lap, grabbing onto his arm like a little kitten. Hearing that, she nodded and said, "I do, but there are too many great talents in the Great Western City and my father is asking me to return to Kirst and take the test."

Lilia was dressed in a black gown and had a small hat on her head. Her short dress revealed a pair of pale and tender legs, which showed the faint curves of her muscles. She was both lively and cute.

Fang Xingjian nodded as he looked at the light spots on Lilia which represented her emotions. Simultaneously, he was contemplating something.

He was thinking of letting his subordinates have access to one or two levels of the mystical prints. It would not cost much, but the effects would be exceptional.

For the first person he would try this on, he would of course look for his most loyal subordinate.

Having brought Lilia out today and after asking her some questions, he realized that she was still full of admiration for him and was also reliant on him. Therefore, he said, "After the auction ends, head over to my place with me."

"Ah!" Lilia let out an astonished cry as she said while blushing, "Master, is anything the matter?"

Fang Xingjian nodded and pat Lilia on the head, saying, "I'm going to apply some things on your body. It's beneficial for you."

"Mmm." Lilia lowered her head, feeling that her body was heating up and her mind was in a mess. She could no longer hear what was happening in the auction hall.

For the next few auctions of medicinal herbs and Superior Divine Weapons, Fang Xingjian did not intervene. Thus, the items were split up between Tynon, Hoult, and a few other wealthy people.

With the many waves of bids, the auction came to a climax. The best item of this auction was finally going to appear.

As the auctioneer gradually took off the red cloth covering the item, a chunk of white spinal bone appeared before everyone.

The moment the bone appeared, an extremely tyrannical aura gushed forth, causing countless people to faint and others to back off.

Looking at the white spinal bone on the stage, even Hoult could not help but stand up and utter, "This is..."

Tynon's eyes were fixed on the spinal bone on the stage and seemed to glow with a green light of greed.

The auctioneer on the stage shouted out with great enthusiasm, "That's right! Your guesses are right!

"This is a piece of Divine level remains!

"A group of people stole this piece of spinal bone from the grave of the Great Spiritual Divinity, a Divine level expert from 300 years ago!"

Looking at the crowd who had entered a state of fever, Hildebrand broke into a satisfied smile.

Beside Hildebrand, Peter was struck with a pang. "Big Brother, you're going to sell the Divine level remains just like that?"

"What can I do with it if I don't sell it? It's only good for looking at. It's completely useless! This piece of the Divine level remains can't be used at all." Hildebrand said calmly, "However, if I sell it, it can bring me a huge sum of money."

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Chapter 423: Divine Remains

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

The Divine level spinal bone on the stage was something which a small group of grave robbers had gotten from a graveyard. Thereafter, they had sold it to Hildebrand, the leader of the Great Western City's underground influence.

When Hildebrand first saw this Divine level spinal bone, he had been extremely excited. However, after countless attempts, he discovered that the Divine level intent had already disappeared. What it now contained was a different consciousness which was extremely evil. Upon contact, one would be attacked, and the prowess of the consciousness would not lose out to that of a Divine level expert.

Unless a Divine level expert took action, it was impossible for it to be forged into a weapon.

Additionally, the cost of getting a Divine level expert to help drive out the evil consciousness in it was far too high. The losses would outweigh the gains. Therefore, he decided to just put it up for auction and pass on the headache to whoever bought it.

When Fang Xingjian saw the Divine level spinal bone on the stage, he revealed an interested gaze. If it was said that the previous items he had bidded for were all things which he had casually bought, then this Divine level spinal bone had really aroused his interest.

Lilia, who was seated on his lap, shifted her hips a little and said, "Teacher, you're thinking of buying this Divine level spinal bone?"

Fang Xingjian nodded as his eyes were fixed on the spinal bone on the stage. He said, "Mmm, it'll be best if I can make a longsword from this Divine level spinal bone."

Just then, Hoult took the chance to call out the first bid, "One million gold!"

The highest bid of the night had appeared, instantly extinguishing the intention of most people who had wanted to bid.

However, it was not as if no one else was bidding for it. Tynon stared intensely at the Divine level spinal bone and bidded, "1.1 million gold." After winning the items from the auction earlier, he was still left with 1.8 million gold. His plan was to get his hands on the Divine level spinal bone even if he had to spend all of the 1.8 million gold he had.

Hoult stood up as well, clenching his fists as he looked at the Divine level spinal bone. As a student under the teachings of a Divine level expert, he was a person who had actual contact with a true Divine level expert. So, out of everyone present, he probably knew best how great the prowess of a Divine Remains Equipment made from the spinal bone of a Divine level expert would be.

Hearing Tynon's bid, he immediately said, "1.2 million gold!"

However, Hoult had only just said this and before his attendant had even called out the bid, a cold voice rang out from private room number one, "Three million gold." It was the voice of the attendant from private room number one.

Three million gold... This was a sum which was even greater than the combined price off all the earlier auction items. Such a terrifying sum of money was like a great and heavy mountain, smashing down on Hoult and making him unable to gather up a will to resist.

Hoult let out a breath and said, "To be able to spend so much money at once... It would have to be either Xiao Tianxia or Odysseus."

Miley said, "Don't forget, there's still Fang Xingjian."

Hoult frowned. "His money shouldn't be in that quickly, right?"

"That's hard to say." Miley shook her head. "I heard from my father that the archbishop has agreed to all of Fang Xingjian's requests, so it isn't impossible for the money to be remitted to his account quickly.

"Do you think it's true that Fang Xingjian has some relations with the Church of Universal Truth? First it was Lord Holy Orison, then it's the archbishop... To think that everyone's standing on his side."

Hoult shook his head and casted a yearning look toward the Divine level spinal bone while saying, "Who knows."

In another private room, Tynon clenched his teeth and stared viciously with wide-open eyes in the direction of private room number one. 'You! It's you again! Who on earth is in private room number one?! Don't let me find out...'

However, in the auction hall, it was impossible for Tynon to take action.

Therefore, he could only look upon this scene with a crestfallen expression. The moment the auction was over, he headed in the direction of private room number one but was told that the other party had already left.

He punched the wall angrily, smashing a small hole into it. Just then, he saw Hildebrand walk over.

"Tynon, are you trying to tear down my place?"

Tynon drew back his hand and said, "I'm sorry. I was too agitated."

Hildebrand smiled and said while shaking his head, "I think you're trying to stir up trouble with the person in private room number one, right? I'd advise you to give up on this idea."

"Why?" Tynon could not accept this and asked Hildebrand, "Who is he?"

Hildebrand shook his head. "According to the auction hall's regulations, I can't reveal his identity. However, I must tell you that the money he spent today was all earned by him.

"Although he is young, he has amazing talent and has forged relations with the Church of Universal Truth. I'd advise you to not get involved with him."

Tynon's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded at Hildebrand before taking his leave.

Peter, who was just next to Hildebrand, asked, "Will he take action?"

"Tynon is easily infuriated and has a bad temper. If not for his lack of confidence, he would probably dare to fight me now that he has gotten stronger. So, why would he not dare to fight Fang Xingjian?" Hildebrand said, "It'd be good if he takes action. He can help me test out Fang Xingjian. But it's fine if he doesn't either. After all, I've earned quite a lot from the high bids in this auction."

Tynon only had to ask around a little to know who Hildebrand was referring to. Therefore, he followed after Fang Xingjian's horse carriage.

The people on the horse carriage were Fang Xingjian and Lilia. If Fang Xingjian were alone, he would have returned by flying back. However, Lilia was not even a Knight, and her attributes were too weak. As such, he was unable to fly back while carrying her.

Right now, there were three boxes in the horse carriage, placed in order of their sizes. They were the geomagnetic essence, Golden Pellet, and the Divine level spinal bone respectively. Since they were in the horse carriage, Fang Xingjian did not plan on wasting his time.

He opened up the box containing the geomagnetic essence, held onto it, and started to absorb the heavenly thunders and terrestrial magnetism forces within it.

Streams of white electric currents started to flicker on his palm. Then violent heavenly thunders and terrestrial magnetism forces channelled continuously into Fang Xingjian's body, increasing his body's toughness.

A short half an hour later, the geomagnetic essence turned into ash. When Fang Xingjian opened his eyes, there seemed to be electricity sparkling in them.

To begin with, he had already received the nourishment from the Divine blood's essence, and his body's toughness had improved to become that of a level 28 Superior Divine Weapon. However, after absorbing this geomagnetic essence, his body's toughness increased once again. His body became more compact, and the connection between physical particles became more stable as well.

Despite this, his body was still a far cry from a level 29 Superior Divine Weapon.

'It's a pity that geomagnetic essence is rare to begin with, and such high quality ones are even rarer.'

At that moment, a short and lean old man with a shrunken face chased up to them and said, "Wait a moment, wait a moment! There's something which you've forgotten."

The horse carriage came to a stop, and the old man rested on hand against the carriage. While panting, he said, "Wait a moment, wait a moment..."

However, at the next moment, the horse carriage and all the items in it seemed to have been sucked into a great whirlpool. They had instantly disappeared into the palm of his hand which had been resting on the carriage.

The old man let out a maniacal bellow, and his body shot out like a bolt of lightning. Information currents gushed forth, "Fang Xingjian, all of the world's amazing things reside with the ones who have virtue. It seems that you aren't virtuous enough."

However, the old man had just run a distance of 200 meters when a pair of eyes filled with killing intent stopped before him. Simultaneously, endless violent intent descended from the skies.

"Oh? Is that so?"

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Chapter 424: Smashed Easily

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Somewhere about one kilometer away, Peter stood at the top of a building by himself. He used his Heaven's Perception to read light waves and looked at the scene one kilometer away. His gaze was fixed on Fang Xingjian's horse carriage.

'Big Brother said that there's an 80% chance that Tynon will come. He hasn't done so yet. Could it be that he has given up?

'However, although Fang Xingjian's talent is exceptional, he isn't considered to be top notch in abilities. With Tynon's hot temper, it's likely that he will appear.'

Just as he was thinking about these, the horse carriage disappeared, and a human figure retreated at great speed. In that instant, there were tremendous changes. Watching the two people who were looking at each other, Peter's thoughts changed at the speed of lightning.

'Tynon was already a level 28 great expert back then. On his return, not only has he reached level 29, but he has also gained a number of powerful means. This will probably be a tough fight for Fang Xingjian.

'However, this is the Great Western City after all. Tynon would not dare to drag this battle out. He will probably try to suppress his opponent a little and then take his leave...'

Then at the next moment, both his eyes and mouth opened wide like he had just seen something unbelievable, as he stared at where Fang Xingjian was standing.

Shock!

Looking at Fang Xingjian who had just suddenly appeared, Tynon was taken aback. This time around, Tynon had changed his appearance and used the unique trait of the Gates of the Netherworld in attempt to catch Fang Xingjian unaware.

He had never imagined that Fang Xingjian would be able to catch up with him in an instant.

However, so what if Fang Xingjian could catch up with him? He had already heard that although Fang Xingjian's talent was unrivalled, the time Fang Xingjian had spent as a Conferred Knight was far too short. Fang Xingjian's best battle achievement was just that he had killed two level 27 Sand Country assassins.

Although this was already an exceptional achievement for someone at Fang Xingjian's age, Tynon was confident, at least for this moment, that Fang Xingjian was definitely not his match.

Moreover, Tynon had the Gates of the Netherworld. In terms of potential, it was impossible for even a genius like Fang Xingjian to compare with him.

Therefore, when he was confronted with Fang Xingjian, Tynon did not give it a second thought. As power swelled up in his body, he slapped out his palm, activating the Gates of the Netherworld. A violent crimson flame gushed out. This was the ultimate technique he had used to seriously injure Achilles, the Great Red Lotus!

The crimson meteor disappeared with a flash, ramming toward Fang Xingjian. The violent force caused the surrounding streets to flip over, while the high temperature melted the tiles on the ground.

Faced with such a terrifying technique, Fang Xingjian merely punched out at it head-on, sending violent sword force surging forth and colliding against the Great Red Lotus.

At the next moment, the sword Qi ran amok, and the entire Great Red Lotus exploded and scattered out in the air like a firework. It turned into countless sparks and then gradually disappeared.

Fang Xingjian had split apart the entire Great Red Lotus with a punch, disintegrating it.

While glaring at Fang Xingjian, Tynon once again activated his Gates of the Netherworld. A green dragon, a phoenix, a white tiger, and a black tortoise [1] came charging out. Howling, they turned into four gushes of power and pounced toward Fang Xingjian.

This was the Killing technique of the Four Phases Sect, the Four Phases Killing Formation. Each of the four divine beasts materialized from ether energy contained an extremely concentrated power. Not only were they extremely strong, but they could also work together and form a cycle of energy. As long as there was at least one still alive, the others would be revived even if they had been killed.

Tynon wanted to use this Four Phases Killing Formation to hold back Fang Xingjian and then use a powerful technique on him.

However, what Tynon did not know was that, with his current abilities, he had no rights to use the words 'hold back' before Fang Xingjian.

Tynon had merely taken a step back when over 1,000 waves of Ether Sword Ripples swept out. The green dragon was dismembered, the phoenix was slashed into minced meat, the black tortoise was stirred into meat paste, and the white tiger's head was crushed by Fang Xingjian's foot when he took a step forward. Then amidst flashing light, the white tiger was then cut up into pieces.

At this moment, Tynon looked at Fang Xingjian with an extremely grim gaze. The Gates of the Netherworld on his palm was trembling, as if a power which could destroy the entire world was going to burst at anytime.

However, Fang Xingjian merely stood there while looking at him coldly. Then he said, "Hand over the stuff, and I'll let you have an easy death."

Although the Golden Pellet was extremely valuable, it was the Divine level spinal bone that Fang Xingjian was bent on getting his hands on. How could he possibly have expected that it would be taken away by the other party? If it were not because Tynon's thieving methods were extremely skillful yet far too unbelievable, Fang Xingjian would have chopped off Tynon's head with a single slash of his sword.

However, Tynon let out a long breath, and his body swelled up like air had been pumped into him. In the blink of an eye, he reverted to his original stature with a height of 2.5 meters. However, his face continued to have the appearance of someone else.

"Well, well, Fang Xingjian. To think that you have been keeping your abilities concealed all this while, catching people unaware." Tynon looked at Fang Xingjian and said, smiling coldly, "However, do you think that you're the only one who has kept his abilities hidden?"

The Gates of the Netherworld on Tynon's palm expanded to become something like a black hole. The light rays, air, and other things in the surroundings were all engulfed by it.

"Try out this move of mine..."

Before Tynon even finished speaking, everything before him suddenly turned black, like the sky was shrouded by darkness.

No, it was not that the sky was shrouded by darkness, but that Fang Xingjian's big hand had descended from the sky, bringing along crackling strong gales and extremely violent power. Everything within a ten-meter radius seemed to have become a vacuum. The air sent out kacha kacha crushing sounds, and it was as if the entire sky had collapsed.

At the next moment, Fang Xingjian's palm pressed down on Tynon's face, and endless violent forces came down on Tynon's forehead, as if trying to crush his entire consciousness.

"To hell with your 'try'!"

Tynon unconsciously grabbed onto Fang Xingjian's arm which was gripping onto his head. However, the moment he exerted force, he felt as if Fang Xingjian's strength was great like a mountain and vast like an ocean. It was like holding onto a heavenly pillar, as Fang Xingjian's arm did not budge in the least.

'How is this possible?!' Tynon bellowed inwardly, sensing the over 200 streams of specialty seeds coming from the opponent's body, as well as the eruption of forces from those extremely weak physical particles. He was completely suppressed in terms of strength.

'How did this happen? I have more specialty seeds than he does, and the eruption of forces from my physical particles are much more violent. How is it possible for me to be suppressed by him?!

'This monster... My strength attribute is over 220 points. How many points is his for him to be able to ignore the difference between our specialties and physical particles?'

Tynon grabbed onto Fang Xingjian's arm tightly with his two hands. However, the Gates of the Netherworld was unable to absorb living things. Thus, it was useless against pure physical attacks.

At the next moment, their bodies flickered, and the friction in the air left behind two long streams of smoke. The high temperature and strong gales turned all the ordinary clothes Tynon was wearing into ash. Then, amidst a thunderous rumble, Fang Xingjian's palm pressed Tynon into the mountain peak which was over 20 kilometers away.

It was remarkably astonishing! The entire mountain peak exploded in that instant, turning into countless fiery meteors which shot out in all directions.

Ahh! Still having his head held down, Tynon let out a bellow. In that instant, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning appeared from the Gates of the Netherworld as over 12 Killing techniques were unleashed.

The endless explosions, high temperature, and fire currents turned the surroundings within a 1,000 meter range into fine powder.

However, Tynon felt the force on his head tighten. The over 12 types of Killing techniques did not even have the qualifications to let Fang Xingjian pause for a moment. Fang Xingjian grabbed onto Tynon's head and charged out once again, colliding against the ground like a descending meteor.

Rumble! The sound of the mountain collapsing and ground cracking rang out, and the entire mountainous region seemed to turn into a sea of great fluctuating waves. The layers of the ground tremored as shock waves were sent out in all directions.

The space 100 meters below Tynon was crushed into powder. Then as he felt as if all the bones throughout his body were shattered and fractured, he spurted out a large mouthful of blood.

However, his gaze turned increasingly savage as he sent martial will sweeping out, "Fang Xingjian, die!"

A terrifying wave of power emerged from the Gates of the Netherworld, and many light pillars soared into the air. With the blink of an eye, the area within a 100-meter distance was encompassed by the light.

Tynon bellowed furiously, unleashing over 100 Killing techniques at once from the Gates of the Netherworld.

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Chapter 425: Crush

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Tynon's attack felt as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was shattering.

Endless light burst forth from the Gates of the Netherworld, and over 100 types of Killing techniques were unleashed. It was as if over 100 Conferred Knights were attacking concurrently!

Layers of power came pressing down, as if to shatter and crush everything in the air.

However, under Tynon's astonished gaze, a faint black glow encompassed Fang Xingjian's body. The Universal Truth Longsword was activated and it crazily ejected everything that came near to it.

Waves of violent forces smashed into Fang Xingjian's body, but having the Universal Truth Longsword, the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor, and his physical body with its defense comparable to a level 28 Superior Divine Weapon, Fang Xingjian did not even suffer a scratch.

"Is it over?"

Fang Xingjian's martial will swept out, ringing out in Tynon's mind directly.

Tynon looked at Fang Xingjian in a daze and said, "You..."

Bang! With one hand Fang Xingjian grabbed onto Tynon's head, while with the other he punched Tynon's cheek. The explosive force of over 300 points in the strength attribute had far surpassed the toughness of Tynon's body. This caused Tynon's cheeks to become deformed, fractured and then sunken in.

His eyes rolled back as he suffered a head concussion and he started to continually spurt blood foam.

Fang Xingjian's voice rang out coldly, "Where are the things?"

Tynon was trembling all over. The serious concussion had rendered him unable to react properly.

Fang Xingjian laughed coldly and tapped with a single finger. His finger seemed to instantly turn into the sharpest blade in the world. A High Frequency Effulgence Weapon encompassed his finger, trembling at a rate of 20,000 times per second, and instantly slashed off Tynon's limbs.

They dropped onto the ground just like that while their owner continued struggling crazily, with his head immobilized. Blood was spurting from all over his body.

With a slight hook of Fang Xingjian's finger and with a stirr of strong gales, a section of Tynon's arm was brought before him. Fang Xingjian spoke with indifference, "You used this arm to absorb my items, right? What would happen if I were to destroy this arm?"

"It's useless!" In agonizing pain as his body was convulsing, Tynon struggled to lift his head. He looked at Fang Xingjian and said, "The things are with me. If I don't give them to you, it'd be useless even if you killed me."

As he spoke, his limbs once again flew back to his body and at the speed of light, all his flesh and bones were reassembled. His face also turned back to its original appearance. His serious injuries were healed in an instant, revealing the powerful vitality of a level 29 practitioner. As long as he had sufficient energy, his vitality would be close to inextinguishable.

This was also because, from the very start, he had been using the techniques which he had absorbed with the Gates of the Netherworld in the past. Therefore, he had not depleted his energy at all.

Tynon grabbed onto Fang Xingjian's arm with both hands and then kicked him. With a wonderful trajectory, his leg shone with streams of light as he kicked at Fang Xingjian's upper thigh, lower body, and crotch.

The kicks had the speed of light. Tynon was performing his own Killing technique for the very first time since the start of the battle.

Killing technique—Electrifying Kick!

Each kick had a terrifying impact that could pierce the skies. In that instant, Tynon performed a total of over 1,000 kicks, creating great tremors which caused the earth to crack as dust and sand flew about.

Concurrently, his fist brought along torrential flames, fiercely punching down on Fang Xingjian's chest. Scorching white flames encompassed Fang Xingjian, and Tynon continued to punch and kick Fang Xingjian with a furious bellow.

Among flames and light, as countless punches and kicks were unleashed, the mountainous region seemed to have been attacked by several hundred bomber aircrafts.

When Tynon came to a stop, huffing and panting, the mountain below his feet had already been turned into a stretch of basin from the backlash of his attacks. However, that strong arm had continued to hold on to his head from the very beginning until now, not loosening its grip in the slightest.

Under Tynon's desperate gaze, Fang Xingjian once again appeared before him, without a single scratch. Fang Xingjian then punched out, destroying Tynon's lungs.

The toughness of their bodies were as different as diamond and coal. With a ping, Fang Xingjian burst Tynon's lungs and then nonchalantly said, "There are two pieces of news that I have to tell you.

"With your reassembly skills of a level 29, even if I were to kill you, it would take a lot of effort if I didn't hit you in the head.

"But from another perspective, it also means that I can have a good time with you before you die."

Boom! Another punch rang out, and Tynon's crotch was smashed. As he let out a horrified cry that shook the entire world, one of his legs was torn off once again.

"Stop! Stop it!"

Fang Xingjian ignored Tynon's resistance and furious howls. He just stomped the latter's other leg into meat paste as if he was raping a young girl.

Five minutes later, Peter finally managed to rush over. He had only managed to guess that they were around here when he saw explosions and sparks from afar.

Arriving above the basin, his ears twitched a little hearing sounds of boom boom boom boom boom ringing out from the central of the basin, like a pile driver.

Boom boom boom!

With each tremendous sound, the earth tremored and the rocks on the ground leaped, then landed back on the ground due to gravity.

Peter felt as if each colliding sound was knocking again his heart. He gulped, rose up high into the air, and looked in the direction of the basin's center.

The next moment, he felt a shiver running down his spine.

Fang Xingjian was punching again and again into the ground, each fist pounding down on a pile that looked like pieces of meat.

After each punch, the pieces of meat would curl up and attempt to reassemble, as if wanting to return to their original form. However, they would once again be distorted beyond recognition with Fang Xingjian's next punch.

Only the topmost portion of the flesh where Tynon's head was at continued to remain intact. Tynon looked at Fang Xingjian in horror, saying, "Stop! Stop it!

"If you keep going, I'll be dead soon!

"Stop! I'm soon going to run out of power to regenerate!"

Fang Xingjian finally came to a stop. However, it was not because of Tynon's bellows. Fang Xingjian merely turned to look in the direction where Peter was at.

In that instant, as their gazes met, Peter's body trembled as he felt endless fury and killing intent gushing toward him. It felt as if ice-cold sword light was brushing past him through the air and he felt as if his body had been sliced into pieces.

Fang Xingjian asked coldly, "Is something the matter?"

Peter gulped and said, "He seems to be a Conferred Knight..." Tynon had yet to reveal his true face and Peter wanted to advise Fang Xingjian to let Tynon go and not to kill an Empire's Conferred Knight.

However, he had yet to finish his sentence when Fang Xingjian glared and let out a soft bellow, "Scram."

With a swoosh , Peter flew off, as if he was unwilling to stay even for one more second. He even thought of how rude he had previously been to Fang Xingjian and felt a chill on his spine, as if he had just escaped death.

Peter turned back to see that Tynon's head already seemed as if he no longer had any more energy. On his deathbed, Tynon looked at Fang Xingjian, his eyes filled with desperation and mania. "Kill me. Even if I died, I still won't return your things to you. Hahahahahaha!"

Expressionless, Fang Xingjian slightly shook his wrist and asked the little snake which had disguised itself as a bangle, "Didn't you want to eat something? Once you've eaten him, you should be able to steal his ability, right?"

The bangle abruptly opened an eye and it stared greedily at Tynon, who had already turned into a pile of mushy flesh.

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Chapter 426: Engulf

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

With a hiss, the little snake, which had kept himself hidden on Fang Xingjian's wrist, regained its vitality. The bangle turned into a little dark green snake, coiling up as he looked at the level 29 Conferred Knight with greed.

If he could engulf this level 29 Conferred Knight, then he could at least regain 30% of his battle prowess. This was particularly because the other party also had a Killing technique which was like a dimensional storage, making the little snake even more interested.

'If I can eat up this guy... If I can eat up this guy...'

However, the little snake once again recalled Fang Xingjian's tremendous improvement during this period of time he had been by Fang Xingjian's side. Then the little snake felt discouraged once again.

'Putting aside the fact that eating this guy won't allow me to recover all my power... Even if it did, I'm still no match for Fang Xingjian right now.'

The little snake threw a careful glance toward Fang Xingjian while flicking his tongue in and out. Then he thought to himself, 'This guy's talent is far too terrifying. It's just like he is god's illegitimate son.

'And to think that he can be immune to black magic... It's really... It's really...'

As the thoughts went through his mind, the little snake had already slithered up to the pile of mushed flesh next to Fang Xingjian's feet. With its tongue flicking in and out, he asked, "You're really letting me eat him?"

"You guys can engulf and infect a target at the cellular level, right? After engulfing him, you can also receive his memories, right?" Fang Xingjian said calmly, "I want you to eat him up and then return me my things."

The little snake gave it some thought before breaking into a grin. "Then I'll be digging in!"

At the next moment, he pounced toward Tynon. Right now, Tynon was extremely weak and could not even send out a hint of willpower impact, let alone try to resist. Tynon could only watch as the little snake ate up his body without stopping. The little snake was like a piece of modeling clay, incessantly merging the flesh into his own and growing increasingly bigger. Then the little snake slowly headed for Tynon's head.

"What is this?!" Tynon cried out in shock. "Stop! Fang Xingjian! I'll give you whatever you want! Stop it quickly!"

As a level 29 Conferred Knight, Tynon's willpower was amazingly strong. However, when he saw his own body being engulfed slowly, it was still an extremely great shock to him.

Even so, no matter how much he cried out agonizingly, Fang Xingjian paid Tynon no heed and just watched as he was engulfed bit by bit.

"Fang Xingjian! You shall die a horrible death!"

As Tynon let out his final cry, his face was already encompassed by a layer of grey flesh. Then his vision went blank and only regained clarity after a few minutes.

Tynon lifted his head to look toward Fang Xingjian.

He saw that Fang Xingjian was just standing there, with his hands crossed before his chest. His back was even facing Tynon, seemingly utterly unafraid that he would escape or launch a sneak attack.

However, he then thought of how Conferred Knights had Heaven's Perception, and at level 22, a Conferred Knight would already able to read light waves and sound waves with a 360-degree viewpoint. There was no difference between their front and back.

Just after Tynon regained his senses, Fang Xingjian spoke, "How is it? Where's the stuff?"

"Oh, this thing is called the Gates of the Netherworld. It's an extremely large space that can be brought along with you. But I don't know what the principles behind it are or who invented it." Tynon lifted up his palm, and the Gates of the Netherworld were opened once again. It was as if a whirlpool had suddenly appeared, and in a few seconds, the entire horse carriage, including the Golden Pellet and the Divine level spinal bone inside it, once again appeared before Fang Xingjian.

It was not only these. As crashing sounds rang out, things were being poured out. There were various cultivating resources, secret manuals, as well as a few Inferior Divine Weapons. Additionally, there were also the items Tynon had won at the auction. Everything was just thrown out.

Looking at Fang Xingjian's gaze, Tynon grinned. "Hehe, this is the thing that tall guy, Tynon, got from the auction earlier.

"His Gates of the Netherworld is a great skill and only requires physical contact to absorb. Anything substance is fine as long as it doesn't exceed the size of his space.

"Even light, air currents, and so on will work. It's really convenient.

"Do you want to learn it?"

"Not interested. It's enough for me to have my sword." Fang Xingjian spoke nonchalantly, "Then why did he come over?"

"Hildebrand," Tynon shrugged and said, "He hinted of your identity." Tynon then broke into a vicious smile. "How about it, do you want to kill him? I can help you to eat him and then swallow up all his assets."

Fang Xingjian shook his head. "He's not part of the plan for today, and I've already wasted a lot of time. I'll look for him in a few more days." With that, he threw a look at Tynon. "I still don't know your name. What are you called?"

"You can call me Tyrant."

"Alright, Tyrant. Now, change back."

"What?!" Tyrant stared at Fang Xingjian and said, "You still want me to be a bangle? If this goes on, even I will go crazy. Moreover, I have gotten Tynon's identity and am fully capable of passing off as him. Don't you want to have another level 29 subordinate?"

"Not interested." Fang Xingjian raised his right hand, shook his wrist a little and said, "Come up here by yourself."

Seeing the increasing killing intent in Fang Xingjian's eyes, Tyrant pouted helplessly, "Wanting a man like me twining around your hand all day long... You're really such a pervert."

"Quickly. Stop wasting time."

Tyrant let out a sigh and eventually shrunk gradually, turning into a dark green bangle on Fang Xingjian's wrist.

Fang Xingjian felt the additional weight on his body. It seemed that after Tyrant had engulfed Tynon, his weight had also increased by a lot. Fang Xingjian continued to say, "Then you'll be my dimensional bangle from now. Put everything back."

The bangle revealed a narrow eye and said with dissatisfaction, "I'm not your tool."

Fang Xingjian slapped down on the bangle, and even the ground seemed to tremble a little. Slightly deformed, the bangle let out a terrified cry and said, "I got it, I got it. Why did you have to hit me? I feel that I've gotten a little deformed."

"Hurry up."

Feeling helpless, Tyrant could only store back all the items one by one. Fang Xingjian then started to communicate with him through information currents.

"Alright, on the way back, tell me about Tynon's background.

"Just what kind of encounter did he have for him to get his hands on something like the Gates of the Netherworld."

Tyrant said with a seemingly constipated expression, "What other encounter could there be? He merely chanced upon a tomb which was said to belong to a member of the Southern Sacrosanct Sect. The corpse was no longer there. He moved the coffin aside and discovered that the cultivation method for the Gates of the Netherworld was engraved under the coffin."

"Southern Sacrosanct Sect?" Fang Xingjian stroked his chin and said, "It mustn't be an ordinary faction for them to be able to create a technique like the Gates of the Netherworld. However, why is it that I haven't heard of their name before? Have you heard of them?"

"I've never heard of them before. God knows where they came from. But judging from the style of their name, they might have come over from the Western Land."

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Chapter 427: Try

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

In the Sacred Land's training room, Lilia looked at her hands with some astonishment until the prints on her hands gradually grew faint and disappeared from the surface of her body.

Lilia did not have Heaven's Perception and thus was unafraid of the information flow from the 100 times density of the ether particles in the Sacred Land.

As for how she was able to enter the place to cultivate… that was of course due to Fang Xingjian's special privileges.

Right now, Fang Xingjian's Rebirth Sword Technique was spreading through the world with a bang, and he was also collaborating with the Church in the Martial Techniques Grading Plan. In the entire Regional Academy, the special privileges he was being granted were like nothing before.

Putting aside his wish to bring Lilia together with him, even if he were to allocate Lilia a place in the Sacred Land, it would not be impossible.

However, that would alert too many people, and Fang Xingjian did not plan to do it like this.

Lilia looked at Fang Xingjian curiously and asked, "Teacher, what is this?"

"Good stuff," Fang Xingjian asked, "How do you feel?"

Lilia closed her eyes to try take in the feeling. She felt that her thoughts had become extremely clear, especially in terms of martial arts. Many inspirations flowed into her head, giving her urges. It felt like if she were to cultivate immediately, her abilities would grow stronger.

Lilia opened her eyes and said, "It feels... very special. I have an urge to cultivate and feel that my mind is much clearer than before. It's as if a layer of veil has been removed."

"That's good," Fang Xingjian instructed, "From now onward, stay here and work hard in your cultivation. Although you don't have Heaven's Perception, from today onward, martial arts inspiration would unconsciously enter your body even without it."

Mystical Prints could allow one to directly exchange energy and information with ether particles. Right now, although Lilia was only at level 1 of the mystical prints, she was unconsciously going through a Conferred Knight's cultivation. Furthermore, this was unlike the Heaven's Perception where she would need to exert control by herself. The mystical prints had its own filtering abilities and the user's cultivation would not be plagued with danger.

As long as she continued to stay in the Sacred Land, even if she did not do anything, her physical body would get increasingly stronger, and her martial arts cultivation would get increasingly deeper.

Fang Xingjian then said, "You don't have to take the test to be a Knight. Stay here and cultivate. I'll look for some first transition materials for you. Just stay here and level up. I'll be here to watch over you."

The first thing which came to Lilia's mind was, 'If I stay here and cultivate, won't I be together with Master all the time?' Thinking of this, her little face suddenly flushed red. She then nodded strongly, "I'll definitely work hard in my cultivation."

Thereafter, Lilia picked up a training longsword and started to cultivate the Rebirth Sword Technique.

The moment she did, she realized that the Rebirth Sword Technique, which had seemed complicated initially, was now a breeze to cultivate. She could cultivate however she wanted, without any barriers at all. Her sword arts mastery was also escalating rapidly.

With such strong effects, she got more interested and excited as she became more and more focused.

From beside her, Fang Xingjian nodded and then headed to the other side of the training room. He gave out instructions to the little snake through information currents. Then with a shake of his hand, the Golden Pellet, which had been in the horse carriage, was released.

'First, it's this...'

Looking at the little spinning sphere, Fang Xingjian swallowed it down in one gulp. The Golden Pellet instantly turned into a stream of light, exploding in his stomach. Endless warm currents flowed through his entire body immediately and turned into surges of tremendous power, increasing his potential.

Simultaneously, heat started to accumulate on a total of three spots on his back, hips, and upper thigh respectively. The auras from three specialty seeds rose up, and Fang Xingjian immediately started to sense them with his Heaven's Perception. Then he began controlling his cells and condensing these three specialty seeds.

An hour later, the three streams of aura on Fang Xingjian's body stabilized, and he gained another three specialty seeds. He also gained two million potential points.

However, he did not use up all of his potential points for now. Right now, his attributes were extremely high, so using the two million potential points would not bring too much of an impact. He might as well store it in his body and use it to activate the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent in the future.

After taking the Golden Pellet, Fang Xingjian shook his wrist, and a square metal box appeared before him. The item stored in the center of the box was the Divine level spinal bone.

Fang Xingjian broke into a satisfied smile as he opened up the metal box, revealing a cream-colored spinal bone which seemed to be exuding a faint glow.

Just then, Tyrant looked greedily at the Divine level spinal bone on the ground and said, "How could a bone from a set of Divine level remains be put up for sale so easily? There must be a problem with this bone."

Fang Xingjian nodded. Of course, he was aware of this. The spinal bone of a Divine level expert was something which there was no supply for even though there was a great demand. How could it possibly be brought out for sale so easily?

Simultaneously, Fang Xingjian also knew that the reason Tyrant had said this was because he wanted to test the bone remain out on Fang Xingjian's behalf. Tyrant wanted to beat Fang Xingjian to the Divine level spinal bone. He wanted to see if he could merge together with it, get a great surge in his abilities, and then make his escape.

It could be said that this Terrene Shrine's genius was no longer constantly trying to turn the tables against Fang Xingjian.

However, Fang Xingjian still said, "Then you can go and try to see if there are any problems."

Tyrant suppressed the excitement in his eyes and nodded furiously. "Alright, I'll help you test out this Divine level spinal bone."

With that, Tyrant turned into a little dark green snake and dashed over in great anticipation. He pounced on the Divine bone, and all the cells throughout his body exuded an immensely greedy desire of wanting to swallow the Divine bone whole.

He wanted to use his own cells to infect the cells on the Divine bone, completely engulfing this Divine level spinal bone.

However, he had only just started engulfing it when he felt an extremely violent, terrifying, and evil aura emerge from within the bone.

That was an extremely evil and horrifying will which viewed everything in the entire world as food and prey, wanting to engulf and destroy everything.

Tyrant's entire body instantly stiffened. Before his eyes, there was a monster which seemed to be encompassed by a white layer of stratum corneum. The monster also had a pair of horns and a long tail which swished out as it walked up to him. The monster opened up its mouth, dripping saliva as it bit out toward Tyrant.

"Eat... you... up..."

There seemed to be an evil demon growling out next to him. When Tyrant could once again move his body, he realized that he had unconsciously retreated over ten meters away, and he no longer dared to get close to the Divine level spinal bone.

'This... This thing is extremely evil.' Tyrant recalled the feeling from earlier, and he could not help but tremble.

Not only was the Terrene Shrine's assembly of Gray Robed Mages powerful, but the offering of their live sacrifices and research had always been known to be evil and brutal.

It could be said that before today, Tyrant had always thought of himself as one of the most evil and brutal creatures in the world.

However, today, having sensed that extremely malevolent aura which he could almost smell... He felt as if their differences were on innately different levels, like a mouse that had encountered a monster from space.

'We simply aren't from the same world. To have such an aura... What on earth is this creature?'

Seeing how badly shaken Tyrant was, Fang Xingjian asked, "What's wrong?"

Tyrant said, "There's some unknown evil. It's extremely... extremely... evil. It's definitely not a Divine level expert. No... It should be said that it's definitely not an aura left behind by a human. It's something even more malevolent and terrifying."

Fang Xingjian frowned. He had expected that. If someone was selling a Divine level spinal bone, there definitely had to be a problem with it. However, what he had not expected was that Tyrant would be so badly shaken just by sensing the aura.

Fang Xingjian said, "It's not the consciousness remnants of a Divine level expert? Then does this mean that the aura of the thing which killed the Divine level was left behind, or rather, has contaminated this Divine level spinal bone?"

"That is probably the case." Tyrant looked at the Divine level spinal bone before him, still feeling extremely wary and fearful.

"I'll give it a try." With that, Fang Xingjian reached out his hand toward the Divine level spinal bone.

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Chapter 428: Success

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

Hildebrand held onto a glass of alcohol and said with a solemn expression, "Completely suppressed? And he was without a scratch?

"You're saying that Fang Xingjian was hitting Tynon with his bare hands, and all the way till the end, Fang Xingjian remained without a single scratch?"

Recalling the final gaze Fang Xingjian had thrown at him, Peter's heart still throbbed with lingering fear. When Peter heard what Hildebrand said, he replied, "That's right. Should we report this to the association? He might have killed Tynon. Let's get the association to apprehend him."

"Association... The association is just a powerful wielder of authority. When did you start to naively think that things like laws and regulations can really be applied to Conferred Knights?" Hildebrand said, "It's just that I never expected that Fang Xingjian has been keeping his skills hidden so well. Seems like the matter with the volcano could really have been done by him."

Being shot by Hildebrand's insult, his face turned slightly red from embarrassment as he said, "I was too astonished. You didn't see the scene earlier. It was too brutal, violent, and bloody."

Hildebrand shook his head, not thinking much of it. His mind was still thinking about Fang Xingjian. Then suddenly, he stood up, "Let's go. We'll leave the Great Western City for a period of time."

"Huh?" Peter lifted his head in a daze and asked puzzledly, "Why?"

"It's said that there have been results in the south. I was just about to take a trip down to take a look." As Hildebrand spoke, what filled his thoughts was actually worry that Fang Xingjian would look for him directly.

After Fang Xingjian taught Tynon such a good lesson, it was likely that he would come to realize Hildebrand had intentionally revealed news about him. Judging by the way Fang Xingjian had always handled things, he might just come knocking on Hildebrand's door.

Hildebrand was unwilling to make an enemy of Fang Xingjian. However, there was no way for him to say something like this before his follower. So, Hildebrand merely said, "If the results in the south turn out to be really effective, then it'll be extremely helpful for me in the upcoming National Selection. I can afford failure. This thing is much more important than Fang Xingjian.

"And it's just nice that I can use the money I received from the auction on this."

Peter said once more, "However, Fang Xingjian got his hands on Divine level spinal bone again. Could his abilities soar tremendously once more? With how amazing his sword art is, if he gets his hands on a Divine Remains Equipment, it would be far too terrifying."

"Divine level spinal bone?" Hildebrand let out a cold laugh and said, "If it can really be used, how could I have sold it?"

He recalled the multiple attempts he had made in testing out the Divine level spinal bone. Hildebrand had utilized numerous means, and over 100 condemned prisoners had died after being forced to approach the bone.

There had also been over ten Knights who lost their lives.

The implementation of metal layers, long-distance processing, and many other methods had caused the masters who had tried to process it to suffer from serious injuries or even death.

When multiple Conferred Knights attacked together with their wills, it had ended up with one of them turning into a lunatic.

After the bone was placed in the den of ferocious beasts, all of the ferocious beasts in the den had ended up dead.

Hildebrand had begged the Church of Universal Truth's bishop in the Great Western Region to help suppress it, but the bishop was helpless with it too.

Burning with fire, freezing, attacking with thunder, using strong acid and alkaline... After attempting various methods, there had been no other effects aside from bringing about accident after accident, causing the number of injuries and deaths to increase.

Even Hildebrand could not hold back in the end and had attempted it himself. It had taken him a total of 12 days before he could calm down the terror and chaos in his heart.

"This thing can't be used by anyone else aside from Divine level experts.

"However, Divine level experts have no use for this spinal bone.

"Therefore, this thing is just crap. Thankfully, it could be used to exchange for Fang Xingjian's three million gold.

"It's definitely impossible for him to use this spinal bone. He might even suffer from great losses after multiple attempts."

Thinking of how someone was going to experience all the unfortunate events he had gone through personally, Hildebrand could not hold back his laughter. "Alright, let's go."

Elsewhere, under Tyrant's astonished and nervous gaze, Fang Xingjian pressed his hand down onto the Divine level spinal bone.

At the next moment, an aura which was filled with brutality, treachery, evilness, and horror gushed into Fang Xingjian's body.

Fang Xingjian could sense that his entire body seemed to freeze up in that instant. Each and every hair, cell, and particle of his body was scared frozen. He was instantly rendered immobile.

"This is..."

Then at the next moment, he could sense that a monster had entered slowly into his consciousness.

It was encompassed in a layer of stratum corneum and had two horns on its head which looked like a demon's horns. With each step the monster took, its thick tail lashed out at the air, releasing explosive sounds.

This monster did not look terrifying, but the aura it exuded was really hair-raising.

Fang Xingjian had experienced the consciousness remnants of the Sand Country's level 29 national hero, as well as the Divine level expert, the Holy Orison's consciousness' information.

However, when compared with these two human experts, the aura of this expert was over ten times stronger.

It was a brazen desire, one which came from a living creature's instinctive pressure.

Fang Xingjian could sense that the monster wanted to devour him, tear his chest apart, break his limbs, and eat him up alive.

However, when faced with this overwhelming aura, Fang Xingjian was unlike Tyrant, who had given up on resisting. Instead, Fang Xingjian just clenched his teeth. He gathered his willpower and focus like never before. His will impact turned into many sword waves, lunging toward the evil aura on the Divine level spinal bone with an aura as if they would tear the world apart.

However, this aura seemed like a natural enemy for Fang Xingjian. No matter how much he attacked with his will, and no matter how much martial will he gathered, he was still unable to defeat it.

He felt that his body getting increasingly stiff, and a voice rang out incessantly. It asked him to give up and told him to get away from the Divine bone.

However, once he gave up, he would be like Tyrant. He would stay far away from the Divine level spinal bone, and a trauma would remain in his heart. It would be even harder for him to go up against the evil aura the next time around.

If it were to carry on like this, he would get increasingly suppressed by that aura, until he reached a state in which he would ultimately be unable to get close to the Divine level spinal bone at all.

Fang Xingjian gritted his teeth, and green veins popped up on his forehead. However, that instinctive terror which had been inherited from the ancient times continued to burden him.

Then with a cold snort, Fang Xingjian activated the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent.

This was his last trump, and it was also the reason he would dare to come into contact with the Divine level spinal bone.

In the center of his consciousness, the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent, which had shrunk into a corner, was now trembling furiously. Then at the next moment, it surged out toward that malevolent aura with a myriad of sword light.

When the two came into contact, the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent abruptly exploded, and Fang Xingjian seemed to hear an extremely excited cry in his consciousness.

Wherever the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent passed by, countless malevolent aura scattered, turning into waves of nutrition and entering the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent's body.

Finally, that Heaven's Volition Sword Intent even went after the dispersed malevolent aura and dashed into the Divine level spinal bone.

In that instant, the entire Divine level spinal bone trembled furiously, and surges of black smoke arose from the Divine bone. It was as if countless souls were shaking and screaming out, before they scattered off into the air together with the black smoke.

Translator's Thoughts

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Chapter 429: Wait

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

After a short moment, the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent once again returned to Fang Xingjian's body with a feeling of satisfaction. It seemed like it had not undergone any change from before, yet something felt different from before.

Fang Xingjian sensed the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent in the center of his consciousness, and he thought, 'To think that the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent has such an amazing effect on this kind of aura?

'What on earth is that monster? How is the Heaven's Volition Sword Intent related to it?'

Troubled by many questions, Fang Xingjian let out a breath. However, he still calmed himself down and looked at his Stats Window. The Heaven's Volition Sword Intent had emerged for a total of two seconds, depleting 200,000 of his potential points. He was still left with 1.8 million potential points.

Fang Xingjian turned to the Divine level spinal bone before him and grabbed it gently with his hand.

His hand came into contact with a cold feeling, but it was not a piercing cold. Rather, it had a unique warmth to it.

How much power did a Divine level expert have? How terrifying was his abilities? Fang Xingjian still did not understand how to define power and weakness.

This was because there were no Divine level experts around him. Moreover, it was impossible for the Divine level experts of this world to release their information to public, letting those who were inferior find ways to deal with them.

However, he could still sense how sturdy the Divine level spinal bone in his hand was. It far surpassed that of a level 29 Divine Weapon, and the bone still contained a strong power.

Fang Xingjian's lips curled up as he broke into a satisfied smile.

'There are no more problems with the Divine level spinal bone. Next, I'll need to find someone to help me forge a Divine Remains Equipment.

'I need to find a master to come over and help me forge a longsword which is a Divine Weapon.'

One day later, Zhou Xingwen came to the Sacred Land where Fang Xingjian was located. He said, "Sir, Hildebrand has gone missing."

While sitting cross-legged in midair, Fang Xingjian, who was condensing his specialty seeds, opened his eyes slowly. Sword light seemed to be flashing in his eyes. "Missing?"

"Yes. He had already left the city the day before you instructed for us to look for him. We've asked around about it but none of his servants know where he has gone."

Fang Xingjian sneered inwardly, 'He sure was quick with his escape.'

Tyrant, in the form of a bangle, smiled evilly and said through information currents, "That guy has escaped. What are you going to do? Are you going to give chase?"

"What's there to chase? My time is precious. The time used to chase after him is enough to increase the gap between our abilities. In the future, I'll just have to casually throw out a sword attack in his direction. However, I can't just leave it be as it is." Thinking of this, Fang Xingjian looked toward Zhou Xingwen and said, "Send people out to look for him. When he's found, don't alert them. I'll personally go and have a chat with him.

"Has there been any news of the master blacksmiths?"

Zhou Xingwen said, "Based on Governor's recommendations, the Eastern Sand Region's great blacksmith clan, Wang Clan, is the best blacksmith clan in the world."

"The Eastern Sand Region? Get me their information, then send someone over. Bring over their entire team of blacksmith. Tell them that I'll agree to whatever conditions they have."

Fang Xingjian had a tremendous sum of money and thus could afford to say something like that. Furthermore, considering that he was going to have them forge a Divine level spinal bone into a Divine Remains Equipment, he naturally had to keep watch over them himself.

Unlike other ordinary weapons, it was hard to say if someone would be daring enough to want to steal the Divine level spinal bone.

Therefore, Fang Xingjian continued to cultivate in his Sacred Land, waiting for the team of blacksmiths to arrive while also waiting for for news of Hildebrand. Concurrently, he was also waiting for Robert who was helping him gather the materials for three levels of the mystical prints.

However, there were too many materials required for the level eight, nine, and ten of the mystical prints, and they were far too rare. Till date, Robert had yet to manage gathering them all.

Therefore, during this time, Fang Xingjian decided to just go ahead and apply the second level of the mystical prints on Lilia. Then he applied the first level of the mystical prints onto Ferdinand and Zhou Xingwen.

With that, his subordinates would become stronger, and it would be more convenient for his matters to be handled.

Therefore, time passed by amidst his waiting and cultivation.

Five days later, in the middle of January.

Lilia wore short sleeves and pants, revealing her tender arms and lower thighs. She was light on her feet as she walked in the school grounds.

"Lili!" The young man, Kite, came over to her. He said anxiously, "Lili, why did you leave just like that, and you haven't been coming to class either? You've been skipping classes for so long... Do you know that Teacher Ford is extremely angry? They want to expel you!"

Kite had wooed Lilia for a very long time, and although she had not accepted him, he had always seen himself as Lilia's boyfriend. This time around, with Lilia being absent and skipping classes for so long for no reason at all, he had been even more worried.

"Right," Lilia answered him with indifference, seeming as if she did not care as she headed for the academy's office.

Seeing how indifferent she appeared to be, Kite was even more anxious now. "There are only five more months to the Prefectural Selection. Once you're expelled, you won't be able to take part in the Prefectural Selection. You won't be able to become a Knight! Do you understand?"

"I don't plan on participating in the Prefectural Selection anymore."

"What?!" Kite stopped before her and said, "Are you crazy?! After working hard for so long... After cultivating for so long... You're no longer planning to become a Knight?"

"I have my own plans. The reason I'm here today is to tender my application to drop out. You don't have to care about the other things." With a flash, Lilia bypassed Kite in the blink of an eye and continued to head for the office.

Although Kite was slightly surprised by Lilia's speed, his mind was currently filled with thoughts of how Lilia was dropping out. He went after her and continued to persuade her.

"Lili, what on earth has happened?

"Where have you been the past few days?

"Why are you saying that you're going to drop out the moment you come back?

"Think about it thoroughly. Right now, you're only a Knight apprentice. Once you drop out from the academy, there's no other way out for you!"

However, throughout the way there, Lilia could not be bothered with Kite. She just headed straight for the academy's office and right up to her teacher, Teacher Ford.

Ford was a tanned man. When he lifted his head and looked toward Lilia, his face was filled with fury. His eyes crinkled up, and he spoke with great pressure, "Lilia, where on earth have you been for the past few days? Why didn't you inform the school? Do you know that you'll be expelled for skipping classes without reason?"

Lilia bowed seriously and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Teacher. I had some things to do, and I had to leave. The reason I'm here today is to apply to drop out of the academy."

"What? Drop out?" Ford stood up abruptly, "Do you know what you're saying? Do you know how much trouble your father has been through to get you in? You want to drop out? What on earth has happened? You must give me a clear reason."

Lilia said seriously, "These are my Master's arrangements. I'll follow him and continue my cultivation after I've dropped out."

"What Master? What are you talking about? You're going to give up on becoming the Empire's Knight and cultivate while following your Master? Have you been bewitched by some wild Knight from some other faction? Who is he? Which faction is he from? I'll go have a talk with him.

"Don't join other factions. There's no way that they'll be able to compare with the treatment the Empire's Knights receive."

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Chapter 430: Dark Secrets Behind the Scene

Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations

I'm sorry, I'm unable to tell you the details. However, I must drop out from the academy." Lilia looked at Ford seriously and said, "My father has also agreed to it."

Since Fang Xingjian was going to nurture Lilia, there would be many top secrets involved. This was also why he did not want to let others know.

"Even your father has agreed...?" Ford was no fool after all. Seeing how serious Lilia looked, and after knowing that even Kirst's City Lord had agreed to this arrangement, he knew that he was unable to stop her. He pat Lilia on the shoulder and said, "I still think that nothing is as important as becoming a Knight. However, since you guys are decided, I won't stop you either."

Ford shook his head and let out a sigh, then he said, "You may leave."

Lilia nodded and left. At that moment, Kite, who had been hoping that Ford would be able to convince Lilia, grabbed onto Lilia's shoulder and said, "Wait, Lilia... You mustn't leave just like this..."

However, he had just completed this action when a gleam of cold light flashed in Lilia's eyes. Pa pa! Two sounds rang out, and Kite could only see black shadows darting about before his eyes as he flew out and landed face down on the ground.

At the next moment, he felt a tremendous pain in his stomach and chest.

He lifted his head and stared at Lilia while saying, "Lili, you've completed your job transition?"

For Lilia to have closed off the gap between the two of them within just a short period of time... Kite could think of no other possibility except that Lilia had already completed her job transition.

"I haven't completed my job transition. I've only gotten a little stronger. Kite, it's impossible between us. So, don't bother me anymore. Goodbye."

Looking at Lilia's departing back view, Kite struggled to stand up. However, the pain in his chest and stomach was so bad that he was unable to stand up even after a long while.

Kite bellowed inwardly, "This won't do... I can't let Lilia leave just like this. For her to give up a future of becoming the Empire's Knight and join some other faction... What kind of joke is this?"

As Teacher Ford watched Kite walk out slowly with a shaky gait, he shook his head. "Lilia has made up her mind. You should know her temper and that she won't change her mind easily."

However, Kite clenched his fist and walked out, little by little. He had made up his mind that he was going to get Lilia back.

Ford shook his head again and sat down, feeling increasingly curious about which faction it was which could be so amazing that both Lilia and her father, Kirst's City Lord, agreed to her dropping out from the academy.

'But what kind of faction could be compared to being an Empire's Knight? Lilia's talent isn't bad, and she would have no problems with the Prefectural Selection this year. It's really such a pity for her to give up just like this.'

Half an hour later, a group of men dressed in black entered Ford's office. Ford stood up and said, "Who are you guys? Who gave you permission to enter?!"

However, just as Ford finished speaking, the several black-clothed figures flashed over consecutively and grabbed onto his limbs, pressing him down onto the table.

Being suppressed by this absolute power, Ford had no means of resisting.

'These few guys are all Knights? And each of their strength is in no way weaker than mine...' Ford immediately came to a realization.

The leader of the men dressed in black said calmly, "Miss Lilia is more polite. We're different. I'm only going to ask once. Where are her records?"

Within a mere ten minutes, all information Lilia had left behind in this academy was wiped out. Aside from the students who had truly gotten to know her, there was no other information in the academy which was related to her.

Ford recalled the killing intent on those couple of Knights, as well as the way they had worked together with such great teamwork to suppress him... He thought to himself, 'This is definitely something that only experienced soldiers can do.

'And to think that you're able to mobilize such people who are at the pinnacle amongst Knights... Lilia, what faction have you joined?' Thinking of this, Ford stood up and headed for the direction of the Headmaster's location. "We can't leave this be. The organization which Lilia has joined is far too dangerous..."

After they left the academy, one of the black-clothed men removed the black veil from his face, revealing an appearance of black hair and eyes. He said, "Just this will do?"

"What else is there? One of the board members in this academy is Young Master Li. We'll let him handle the rest.

"As for the other matters, there's Zhou Xingwen who'll be in charge."

Teacher Ford entered the Headmaster's office. Without bothering about the formalities, he said anxiously, "Headmaster, some people barged into my office earlier. I brought them to Lilia's file, and they took it away."

"Haha, Ford, since when did you start liking to joke around?" The Headmaster was an amiable-looking middle-aged man. He looked at Teacher Ford and said with a smile. "No security alarms were set off, and the guards didn't make any discoveries either. No one barged into the school."

Ford was stunned and said, "It's because these people are all experts, each of them being a pinnacle Knight who is no weaker than me. They are all experienced in battle and thus were able to get past the academy's security system."

"Headmaster, if you don't believe it, you can head down to the Archives. The person in charge has been knocked out, and Lilia's records are no longer there."

"Lilia?" The Headmaster smiled and said with a soft expression, "I don't remember having a student by that name in our academy."

"It's Lilia, the one I was instructing..." As Ford spoke, he gradually came to a stop and looked at the smiling Headmaster, saying, "Headmaster, you no longer remember Lilia?"

"I remember each and every Knight apprentice in our Knight Academy, but Lilia... We don't have such a student, right?" The Headmaster's eyes were fixed on Ford as he asked, "Right?"

A powerful pressure gushed forth, and the warning gaze in the Headmaster's eyes seemed to turn into something substantial. Behind that warm and gentle smile was a blatant coldness.

A hint of understanding immediately flashed in Ford's eyes as he smiled bitterly and said, "Oh, look at me. I've gotten myself confused. That's right, our academy doesn't have a student by the name of Lilia. No one came to threaten me earlier either. It's just me dozing off and spouting rubbish."

The Headmaster stood up, pat Ford on the shoulder, and said, "Ford, you're too tired. Go back and have a good rest. I'll approve of you taking paid leave for a month."

Half an hour later, Ford walked out slowly from the Headmaster's office, and a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes. The entire incident was shrouded in mystery, but one thing was for sure. There was someone with great power behind this, and their influence was far beyond his imagination.

Just then, Kite walked over anxiously. "Teacher, are you able to contact Lilia's family?"

"What's wrong?"

Kite said, "We went to Lilia's residence earlier, but it's already being occupied by someone else. Even the furniture and interior decorations have all been changed. The landlord is no longer the same person as before either. All the neighbors are saying that they don't know someone by the name of Lilia."

Ford frowned. "Kite, Lilia probably hasn't gone missing. It's probably that her Master's great power is beyond your imagination. It's best for you all to forget about her."

To be capable of mobilizing such a great effort, almost completely removing the traces Lilia had left behind in the Great Western City... Ford understood this meant that the influence of Lilia's master was beyond his imagination.

With that, Ford turned to go, leaving behind Kite, who was still in a daze and had eyes filled with obstinance.

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