Chapter 269 - Strengthening God’s Eye

Chapter 269: Chapter 26: Strengthening God’s Eye"Is this the Heartfire Stone?"

Lu Hong almost forgot about the competition and had just walked away when he returned, prying apart the scattered rocks to scavenge Heartfire Stones found by the trio from the Sacred Empire, earning himself a considerable sum of Gold Coins to boot. These Second Transition masters were all rolling in wealth.

Picking up a Heartfire Stone, Lu Hong inspected it carefully.

It doesn’t seem much different from a normal stone, does it?

Suddenly, Lu Hong’s right eye emitted a gentle purple glow, shining upon the Heartfire Stone. The originally blood-red Heartfire Stone gradually faded in color, turning into an ordinary rock, while the blood-red hue drained away and merged into Lu Hong’s divine eye.

I need it!

I need a large number of Heartfire Stones!

A thought burst into his mind, unshakable.

Could this actually work for the divine eye?

Although Xixi had warned him on the way here not to absorb the power of the Heartfire Stones recklessly, improving his own strength was more important than winning a slot in the competition for Pingyao Country, especially since this divine eye had shown little activity.

During his time in the Endless Forest, the elder blue dragon had mentioned the infinite mysteries of Lu Hong’s divine eye—if he could control this power, he would certainly have an ace up his sleeve.

Without further ado, absorbing the power of the fifty or so Heartfire Stones, the initial shackles on the divine eye were finally broken.

Divine eye skill—Invisible Sight: Dispelling all illusions, it enables analysis of origins.

After a thorough inspection, this skill turned out to be quite useful. Its most direct effect was the ability to detect the invisibility skills of assassins and the multiple illusory clones of mages, accurately identifying the original.

Just a dozen Heartfire Stones unlocked the divine eye’s first skill, so what about more? If there were thousands, tens of thousands, how many skills would the divine eye unlock? Unimaginable!

Find the stones!

Consequently, in the following three hours, the monarchs of the seven nations frequently saw Lu Hong appear on various projection screens.

"Tell me, King of Pingyao, this reinforcement you’ve found has quite the tenacity to survive the Burning Serpent’s breath, hasn’t he?"

"Yes, I invited him to the competition just for good luck, and look, this kid has already found the twenty-seventh Heartfire Stone for Pingyao Country..." Before King Pingyao could retort to King Liang Chen’s sarcasm, his mouth couldn’t help but twitch, "What on earth is he doing?!"

At this moment, the projection screen showed Lu Hong absorbing a Heartfire Stone, which caused laughter among the other kings, and King Liang Chen taunted, "Didn’t you tell him that the Heartfire Stones shouldn’t be absorbed directly?"

King Pingyao looked at Xixi—hadn’t all this been explained on the way here?

Looking aggrieved, Xixi said, "I... I think I mentioned it."

"Maybe he has his own method of refining the Bloodline Power within." At this point, that was the only reassurance King Pingyao could offer himself.

"Tsk tsk." King Liang Chen didn’t continue mocking. The Heartfire Stones being absorbed meant their points were cleared, so what threat could they pose to the rankings, really? At this point, poor King Liang Chen was still oblivious to the fact that his warriors had all perished.

By contrast, his gaze was more focused on Xixi.

Feeling his scrutiny, Xixi instinctively stepped back, hoping to hide behind King Pingyao.

Unfortunately, King Pingyao’s large hand pushed her forward again, "One day, you will surely become the Empress of Pingyao Country, you need to learn to face this."

Taking a deep breath, Xixi, as the only legitimate descendant of the Pingyao people, knew she was destined to carry this banner.

Adjusting her emotions, Xixi faced King Liang Chen directly, her gaze fearless.

King Liang Chen paused, then burst into laughter, "Good! Very good! It seems the King of Pingyao has a rare gem of a daughter!"

"Of course." King Pingyao was filled with pride; the hardships Xixi experienced from a young age forged her exceptional strength of character.

"Xixi’s courage today owes much to King Liang Chen." Gently stroking Xixi’s hair, King Pingyao said softly, "Come, thank King Liang Chen."

"Xixi thanks the King for his nurturing!" Xixi shouted loudly, her voice releasing years of pent-up resentment, akin to declaring war with King Liang Chen.

King Liang Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, "No need to thank me, it was nothing."

"Hehe, trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice." Other kings might not be aware of the situation, but the sovereign of the Black Country seemed to have a grasp on everything, "Does the Crown Prince of the Liang Chen have her courage?"

King Liang Chen glanced towards the Black Country and said indifferently, "You needn’t worry, King Jaci."

At this moment, King Shate interrupted to inquire, "Hey, tell me, King of Pingyao, didn’t you make a move against the Disaster Church a few days ago?"

"Indeed." King Pingyao nodded, "I felt that the Disaster Church’s development in Umbra was too rapid. Shouldn’t you all consider some repression too?"

"You’ve already done it, what’s there to discuss with us?" King Pei said, "Facing foreign enemies, shouldn’t the seven nations be united in enmity?" Looking curiously in King Liang Chen’s direction, he added, "I’ve heard that you, Liang Chen, have been getting quite close to this church recently, haven’t you?"

"Mutual use, nothing more." King Liang Chen spoke, "I have no objections to suppressing the Disaster Church. However, after several years of contact, I’ve found their foundation to be exceedingly deep, their real power seemingly beyond this Star Sea."

"What does this mean?" King of the Black Kingdom demanded gravely.

"I didn’t mean to target you," King Liang Chen explained. "I’ve had my people investigate the Disaster Church’s doctrine and structure, and I’ve discovered that their presence is absent in major powers such as the Beastman Empire, the Sacred Empire, the Snowy Region, and the Eagle Alliance. As I delved deeper, I chanced upon a bishop who revealed that their headquarters is located in the Lofakor Pollution Star Domain. The followers of the Disaster Church who came to Ambra are merely minor players, not taken seriously within the greater church."

"Are you certain?" the face of the Black Kingdom’s King darkened. "I’ve seen the Lofakor Pollution Star Domain on the maps in the Unbounded Emperor’s study."

The King of the Black Kingdom’s sudden pause tremendously displeased the King of Hengdao. "Keep speaking!"

King Ji国主 shot the other a glare. "Haven’t I made myself clear enough? They’ve got a divine being backing them, a force countless times more formidable than any empire under this Star Sea!"

"Then let them come! Fuck it!" The King of Hengdao slammed his hand down. "To hell with it, why should we be afraid? We’re within the borders of the Sacred Empire. If they seek vengeance, the Sacred Empire will bear the brunt first."

"Calm down, you’re not a kid anymore," King of Shate Kingdom said sharply. "King Ji国主, how does the main force of the Disaster Church compare to the Evernight Star Domain?"

The Black Kingdom’s King shook his head. "I only visited the Evernight Star Domain once in my youth, to receive the Unbounded Emperor’s divine enthronement. I couldn’t possibly have access to such information. However, I suspect that it is somewhat weaker than the Evernight Star Domain since the Unbounded Emperor was poised to attack Lofakor Pollution then."

"I really want to know..." The King of Pingyao Country, who had been silent all along, voiced his doubts. "As we are now discussing forces beyond the Star Sea, I wonder if King Ji国主 could enlighten me?"

"Go ahead," the Black Kingdom’s King did not refuse, preferring to listen before discussing.

"Why haven’t these godlike forces beyond the Star Sea ever invaded us?"

The question from the King of Pingyao Country piqued everyone’s interest, and they all turned their attention to the Black Kingdom’s King.

Do you all really want to know?" the Black Kingdom’s King chuckled.

"Naturally," the crowd nodded in agreement.

"It’s simple. I’ve asked the Unbounded Emperor the very same question," the Black Kingdom’s King began. "The Unbounded Emperor replied with—disgust, an innate repulsion that sprang from within, mixed with a tinge of fear."

"A truce?" King Cang inquired.

The Black Kingdom’s King cast a glance at him. "I don’t know."

"It’s like saying nothing at all," the King of Hengdao waved dismissively. "Just unreliable information."

"Are you looking for death?!" the Black Kingdom’s King snapped, the word ’unreliable’ holding potentially much deeper meaning for him.

"Uh..." The King of Hengdao realized his slip of the tongue and instantly felt awkward.

"He didn’t mean anything by it," the other Kings hastily stepped in to mediate.

The Black Kingdom’s King knew the King of Hengdao to be a brusque man; otherwise, he would have rolled up his sleeves and come to blows already. "Let’s just watch the martial meet for now. It’s been a long time since the appearance of warriors from Pei and Liang countries."

Indeed, the crowd shifted their gazes back to the big screen. The issue with the Disaster Church wasn’t ignored; rather, each King had their own plans in mind.

On the projection, they saw the moment when the main force from the Cang Country encountered Lu Hong.

Mo Feng and his companions each looked exhausted, only three of the original six survived—Mo Feng, Leng Yue, and Nila.

Talk about timing, Lu Hong asked curiously, "Where are the others?"

Nila, in the worst state, couldn’t even speak due to an injured mouth.

Naturally, Mo Feng ignored Lu Hong and turned away.

"They were ambushed by the Black Kingdom’s warriors, only the three of us escaped," Leng Yue answered.

After hearing this, Lu Hong nodded and asked, "Do you have any Heart Stones?"

Leng Yue took out over twenty Heart Stones, saying, "This is all that’s left. The majority were taken by the Black Kingdom during the ambush. How about you? How many have you found after all this time?"

"Um... if a Heart Stone has been used, does it still count for points?"

"Of course not," Mo Feng suddenly spoke up. "Did you absorb the Bloodline Power inside the Heart Stone?!"

"Yes," Lu Hong nodded. "It seems the power contained within the Heart Stones is somewhat beneficial to me."

"Idiot," Mo Feng sneered. "It looks like I won’t even need to kill you. In a few days, you’ll go mad and kill yourself."

Leng Yue shot a glare at Mo Feng before explaining to Lu Hong, "The power of the Heart Stones is not to be absorbed recklessly. While they do contain potent Bloodline Power, they are also infused with demonic intent, and the slightest mishap can drive one to madness, leading to death."

"It’s fine. It shouldn’t affect me." And true enough, Lu Hong didn’t feel any different.

At that very moment, Lu Hong sensed something amiss and shouted urgently, "Look out!"

In a flash, Lu Hong swung his holy sword down viciously, and a muffled grunt was heard as a figure retreated rapidly.

Both Nila and Mo Feng quickly reacted and began to pursue.