Chapter 242 - Belonging

Chapter 242: Chapter 1: BelongingBu Sheng suffered a major defeat and withdrew back to Hanguguan Pass, not daring to take another step into the Sacred Empire.

To this day, two years have passed since the war in the North, and the wounds inflicted on the Holy Divine Empire are slowly healing. Moreover, the final decisive battle has come to the Endless Forest, bringing an end to years of conflict.

However, the outcome of the battle for Divine Blood caught everyone by surprise. The Divine Blood was eventually taken away by Su Yu, the Palace Master of the Ice Snow Shrine. To cover Su Yu’s escape, Red Beard was ambushed by eighteen supreme powerhouses, seriously injured, and almost lost his life.

Because Su Yu took the Divine Blood, Konstantin was furious and ordered a purge of the Ice Snow Shrine. The largest power structure in the North vanished from the stage, as Su Yu had presumably prepared for this eventuality, preventing Konstantin from having his revenge.

Not only the Sacred Empire, but the Beastman Empire and the Eagle Alliance were also secretly hunting Su Yu. This Blue Tower Master, following Lu Hong’s fame, made the headlines in the Continent of God’s Grace.

Yet, all of this had nothing to do with Lu Hong. After burying Nono, he returned to Parson’s realm and resumed his work on the patches of farmland.

Lu Hong had been living comfortably over these two years, with Lando and Danni occasionally visiting. The two women seemed to have made a pact—Lando would come on days one, three, and five, while Danni on two, four, and six. As for the weekends, those were the days Lu Hong and Barton had agreed to spar.

Barton, whom Lu Hong had Danni find for him, proved himself worthy of his reputation as warrior profession’s little War God—someone who earned Lu Hong’s respect, especially after he had meditated into his Second Transition, fervently focusing on learning the Great War Master profession.

"Quicker, faster! Focus!" Barton easily parried Lu Hong’s attack and took the opportunity to give him some pointers.

Half an hour later, Lu Hong leaned against the field’s edge, looked at the panting Barton, and laughed, "Your physical condition isn’t that great, is it?"

Barton rolled his eyes helplessly and retorted, "Easy for you to say while standing."

Lu Hong offered him a flask, "Drink?"

"Sure." Barton, unceremonious, guzzled down the entire flask of fine wine in a few gulps.

"Hey, you could have left some for me!" Lu Hong complained, "That’s fine wine offered to the Emperor Clan."

"That’s all it is," Barton smacked his lips, "To tell you the truth, I’m sick of it."

"Sick of it?" Lu Hong was surprised, then asked, "You’re from the Emperor Clan?"

Barton did not deny it, "Yes. Otherwise, my title of War God would probably have been taken by someone else long ago. The warrior community may be depressed, but there’s no shortage of people vying for fame and profit."

"I actually know about you," Barton continued, "Xius once wrote to me about you."

"Xius..." Mentioning Lu Hong’s first disciple brought a wave of sadness.

"Yes, Xius," Barton said, taking out a jar of fine wine from his Space Ring, "This was a gift from Xius back in the day, I never had the heart to drink it. Today, I’ll share it with you."

As Lu Hong took the wine, its strong fragrance wafted into his nose, bringing a slight sting. He had not ruled out avenging the old man in the elves’ territory, but as soon as he proposed it, Lando, Danni, Barton objected, and even Caesar, who communicated through the token, advised Lu Hong to wait patiently.

The elves’ territory on the Continent of God’s Grace was very small, nestled between the three great powers. By all accounts, they should have been destroyed long ago, but they’ve managed to survive to this day.

According to the Ancestor Dragon, the elves were the original inhabitants of the Continent of God’s Grace, with humans and beastmen being outsiders. As for why they managed to steal the world’s favor, that’s probably something only people from the Ancient Era would know.

Returning to the subject of the elven royal court, there have been many who wanted to conquer it since ancient times, but invariably, they were all turned away at the gate, and those who stepped into the royal land never spoke of what transpired within. Neither did they ever leave a trace in histories.

The object of Lu Hong’s revenge was the princess of the royal court, and no matter how strong he was, to enter the royal court and kill a member of the Emperor Clan was absurd. This was not part of the continent’s wars, not protected by the ancient pacts. Elves, with their long lives and numerous Third Transition warriors as common as hairs, might crush Lu Hong before he could even reach the royal court.

"Here’s to it!" He clinked cups with Barton, sighing in the end.

"Don’t be in such a hurry," Barton said, seeing through Lu Hong’s intentions, "For someone your age to have such extraordinary strength, seeking revenge is not hard. A gentleman’s revenge is not too late, even after ten years."

"Thank you." Lu Hong accepted the advice and then changed the subject, "Why do I feel that the Second Transition skill I’m learning doesn’t feel very smooth?"

Barton pondered for a moment, "It might be a matter of feeling."

...Feeling, what’s that supposed to mean?

"The passive skill of an Angry Blood Warrior might be affecting your muscle memory," Barton explained, "Using Heavy Swords in both hands has become a habit for you; now that you’ve switched to holding a Heavy Sword with both hands, your body’s habits might not adjust right away."

Lu Hong accepted the explanation without further concern. Through meditation, in three years he had smoothly broken through from First Transition to the Early Stage of the Second Transition, and under the guidance of the War Holy Sword, he precisely changed his profession to become a glorious Great War Master.

For the past three months, he’d been closely following Barton’s plan, constantly honing his skills and learning the secrets of being a Great War Master.

There’s no denying that a Great War Master is much stronger in terms of offensive power and agility than an Angry Blood Warrior. The warrior profession has three major paths to transition, each with its own strengths: Angry Blood Warriors are known for endurance, Steel Guardians for their incredible defense, and Great War Masters are the true killing machines, with every skill designed for slaughter.

With just the skill of Fatal Strike, explained by Barton, Lu Hong truly grasped its power. Its armor-piercing effect is just one of the skill’s marvels—the deeper power of Fatal Strike lies in its ability to devastate, destroying the enemy’s body by infusing it with Pure Steel Battle Energy, a more potent effect than the First Transition divine skill of Slaying.

"Do you really not want to inherit the War Holy Sword?" Lu Hong summoned the War Holy Sword and once again made the request to Barton.

Barton laughed and shook his head, "I’m too old, and even if I could inherit the might of the sacred sword you speak of, my own lack of talent would only allow it to gather dust."

Indeed, Barton’s talent was too poor, and the battle energy within him had reached the limit his body could endure. Being a member of the Proluo family, they must have tried many methods, but there was no saving him.

"Alright then." Lu Hong withdrew the sacred sword. To tell the truth, from the first glance at Barton, an old man, the thought of passing down the sacred sword never left his mind, attempting several times to have the other party take over the sacred sword, but Barton never agreed.

"Let’s not talk about that anymore, my little Tuantuan at home is waiting for me, I’ll be leaving first." Barton patted his backside and left with an air of nonchalance.

Lu Hong then carefully recalled the details of his fight with Barton, slowly learning and grasping the essence of the skill.

Far under the empire’s remote realm, Red Beard was coughing up large gulps of blood.

The little disciple beside him was so scared that she could only cry, utterly helpless.

"Master, what should we do?" The little girl’s tear-filled eyes made it look like she was preparing for Red Beard’s last rites.

"Stop talking nonsense, let me have some peace!" Red Beard barked, immediately followed by a fierce bout of coughing.

"Oh..." The little disciple closed her mouth, feeling aggrieved. She hadn’t been with Red Beard for long and hadn’t learned much. Calling her Red Beard’s eyes in the Continent of God’s Grace wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Red Beard glared at his incompetent disciple, about to say something when Xue Mei came in from outside the house, "Tower Master, I’ve brought you some healing magic potions."

"Mhm, just put them down," Red Beard nodded. He had been grievously wounded in the Endless Forest, fled all the way, and was finally rescued by the people of the Ice Snow Shrine. However, because the Shrine’s ice and water magic inherently clashed with fire magic, many precious magic potions were unusable for Red Beard. Xue Mei had no choice but to sneak out of the safe house and scoured around outside, barely managing to piece together two grade-ten magic potions that were slightly beneficial to Red Beard.

After taking the potion, Red Beard’s coughing noticeably improved. After taking a moment to recover, Red Beard spoke, "Have you established contact with your Palace Master?"

Xue Mei shook her head, "My second sister has been trying, but she hasn’t received any response."

"Damn it!" Red Beard cursed, "Is Su Yu that stupid bitch crazy? What does she want with Divine Blood?!"

"But if it’s not for Divine Blood, what else would the Palace Master enter the Endless Forest for?" Xue Mei was quite dissatisfied with Red Beard calling her a stupid bitch, but since he was the Tower Master, she could only retort indirectly.

"I...,"

"She...,"

Red Beard opened his mouth twice but couldn’t say anything; indeed, Xue Mei was right.

"Haha, Master, you’re so silly!" The little disciple laughed loudly on the side.

Enraged, Red Beard slapped her, "You’ll be the death of me one day!"

Having vented his anger on his disciple, Red Beard changed the subject, "If Su Yu really wanted to peacefully comprehend Divine Blood, she wouldn’t pull such a foolish stunt. She has made so many contributions to the empire, and there’s plenty of Divine Blood, enough for three people. Once successful, couldn’t she just ask the empire for it? Would Konstantin really refuse her?"

"Maybe the Palace Master thought one share wasn’t enough," Xue Mei could only guess as such.

"Enough of this crap!" Red Beard cursed again, "That woman must have made some deal with someone else."

Red Beard’s guess was spot on. At that moment, Su Yu, the Blue Tower Master, was dragging her heavily wounded body into a dilapidated temple.

"You’re here?" A hoarse voice echoed within the temple.

"I’ve brought the Divine Blood. Where’s the thing I wanted?" Su Yu spoke in a deep voice, "You promised you wouldn’t deceive me!"

"Of course, my word is my bond."

"Good." Su Yu took out the magic crystal vial containing Divine Blood and threw it into the temple.

Moments later, a blue orb of light slowly floated out.

Su Yu quickly embraced the orb, her expression revealing a touch of tenderness.

"Time for reunion is always fleeting, enjoy it while you can." The mocking chant of the temple grew fainter and disappeared.

Su Yu secured the orb and looked at the constantly flashing crystal token at her waist, filled with guilt.