Chapter 457 - Fierce Battle

Chapter 457: Chapter 211 Fierce BattleAfter an unknown length of time, Lu Hong’s consciousness gradually returned, and his mind flashed with the lethal flying kick that the clone had delivered, startling him awake.

"Damn, kid, are you trying to scare me to death?!"

The Priest’s scolding brought Lu Hong back to reality.

"Where am I?" Looking around the unfamiliar and dilapidated surroundings and at the short, stout old man in front of him, Lu Hong asked, "Was it you who saved me?"

"Nonsense, I’m the only Priest in this town. Who else could it be?" The Priest scoffed, "To save you, I used up all my treasured reserves, now pay up the consultation fee."

"Sure, sure, how much?" Feeling no internal injuries, Lu Hong was quite impressed with the old man’s skills, knowing well the severity of his own injuries.

"Um... three Gold Coins," the little old man pondered, "You don’t look like a rich man’s son, so I’ll give you the lowest friendly price."

"I’ll give you thirty Gold Coins." Lu Hong took out a bag of Gold Coins from his Space Ring and tossed it onto a small wooden table not far away.

Unfortunately, the table couldn’t bear the weight of thirty Gold Coins, and collapsed with a bang.

The Priest’s face darkened, "This will be added to your bill."

"Whatever you say." Lu Hong stood up, flexing his previously pulverized left arm, determined to get his revenge!

The Priest sat on the only recliner in the house, took out a bottle of cheap barley wine, gulped down half of it, then squinting at Lu Hong, he asked, "Did you encounter a special clone in the second phase?"

"Have you experienced it too?"

The Priest didn’t answer his question but advised Lu Hong instead, "You better go back where you came from; a mixed-blood like you cannot pass the second phase."

Staring intently at the Priest, Lu Hong could tell from his words that the Priest surely knew some secrets of the second phase.

"Go fetch me another jug of barley wine." The Priest knew that since he had spoken, he had to provide something useful, or this young man wouldn’t let him off.

Lu Hong hurriedly ran out and dragged back a whole barrel of barley wine.

The Priest joyfully hugged the barrel, "A teachable child, indeed!"

"So, can you tell me what exactly is the secret of the second phase?"

"Actually, it’s nothing much." The Priest began, "The divine trials are handed down from the Era of the Gods, and every challenge is immensely difficult. During the Era of the Gods, those who could surpass the first and second were top talents from all major realms. As for the divine trial methods, they have been mostly lost over time. Furthermore, with the diminishing production of divine source crystals, to save resources, the temple has reduced the costs in the trials, leading to today’s unorthodox Thirteen Turbulent Paths."

He pried open the barley wine barrel and dunked his head into the wine, savoring it, before continuing, "The second phase you challenged, known as Dual Overcoming in the Era of the Gods, replicated an exact copy of you with all your abilities and superior combat skills and understanding. The goal was to surpass oneself and break limits. Sadly, by cutting costs, the temple has altered thearray haphazardly, allowing mediocre individuals to pass, while those with inactive, exotic bloodlines get stuck."

Seeing that the Priest was well-versed in ancient temple legends, Lu Hong respectfully asked, "Then, sir, do you have any advice for me on breaking through?"

The Priest eyed Lu Hong, "First, tell me, what kind of exotic blood do you possess?"

"I, um..." Lu Hong hesitated to reveal.

"How can I help you if you don’t tell me?" The Priest, seeing Lu Hong’s reluctance, said, "If you won’t tell, then go back where you came from!"

"I’ll tell, I’ll tell. Can you keep it a secret for me?"

"Do you think you have a supreme bloodline like that of Lionheart? What you may find precious, I consider mere inferior rubbish, I wouldn’t even bother mentioning—" Seeing Lu Hong nod, the Priest paused, "Why are you nodding?"

"I have the Lionheart bloodline."

Pfft!

The Priest spewed the barley wine all over Lu Hong.

"Ha ha ha, ah ha ha ha!" The Priest laughed, his eyes nearly shut, "Are you joking with me?!"

"I’m serious, sir, I really have the Lionheart bloodline."

The Priest’s eyes flashed with keen interest; he moved so fast that Lu Hong’s brain couldn’t even react before his wrist was seized.

A milky-white Magic Power turned into a sharp spike that pierced into Lu Hong’s vein, and the Priest extracted a drop of blood.

After finishing this, the Priest retreated back to the recliner, and only then did Lu Hong feel a slight sting.

Blood suspended above the fingertips of the old Priest, Lu Hong was completely overwhelmed, "What did you just do?!"

"It’s just a drop of your blood, what’s the big deal?" The old Priest glanced at the frustrated Lu Hong, then stared intently at the floating blood on his fingertip, his expression gradually turning to surprise, "Incredible, incredible, your blood actually contains a strand of divinity? If it weren’t for the faint scent of the Lion King’s lineage mixed in, I might have thought you were the illegitimate child of some Heavenly God."

"You can even see that?" Lu Hong couldn’t believe that in the desolate second checkpoint town of War God’s path, there was actually a deity-level character. Based on the speed just now, without using any magic power, the old Priest could defeat many warriors at the Third Transition Early Stage with ease. His strength was not only terrifying, but his knowledge was also exceedingly profound. Lu Hong had bled many times, but no one had ever discovered the Heavenly God lineage within his blood.

After examining the blood, the Priest curled his tongue and swallowed it.

"Mmm..." Closing his eyes, the old Priest seemed to be savoring it, then after a moment, he spoke, "The scent of the Lion King’s lineage is faint, almost negligible. It must have been extracted from your body, right? As for the Heavenly God lineage..."

The old Priest shook his head, "It seems connected to your own blood, but it’s not fully integrated yet, difficult to utilize effectively. You must have acquired it later in life, right?"

As he spoke, the Priest opened his eyes and reevaluated Lu Hong, "You’ve got guts, daring to directly absorb Divine Blood and still living. It’s a miracle. This blood wouldn’t happen to be from the recently chaotic events in the Endless Forest, from the Divine Blood River, would it?"

"No, I acquired it by chance in an Ancient Ruin."

"No wonder," the old Priest nodded and added, "Looking at it this way, you were lucky to survive getting kicked out of the second checkpoint. You should go thank the Heavenly Gods by burning some incense."

At this point, Lu Hong finally understood that not only did his clone perfectly replicate the strong Lion Heart lineage, but it also copied the War God lineage, which explained why every strike was as powerful as a full-force blow in the early stage of Third Transition.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I advise you to retreat from this godly path. If your Lion Heart lineage hadn’t been drained, you might have had some chance, but now, it’s impossible."

"Is there really no chance?"

"That’s right."

"What if I get thrown out again, will you still save me?" Lu Hong gradually had an idea.

The old Priest raised his eyebrows, "What? You don’t believe it?"

"Just tell me if you’ll save me or not."

"No problem, just a release of a skill. Three Gold Coins each time, no bargaining." The old Priest had nothing much to say, it was just a flick of the finger for him.

"With your word, it’s settled." Lu Hong clapped his hands, and a large bag of gold coins was tossed out of the ring. Lu Hong didn’t care much for money, but for convenience, he always had some on hand, after all, he collected them effortlessly while killing. Although the Space Ring had limited storage, pulling out tens of thousands of Gold Coins was not a problem.

"Yo ho ho, which family’s young master are you? Quite wealthy, aren’t you!"

"Just a wanderer from the Star Sea, struck it rich while exploring the ruins only."

The old Priest saw through Lu Hong’s lie at a glance, but he did not care.

After the agreement, Lu Hong began pondering ways to deal with his clone. For Lu Hong, the clone was an unmatched way to hone his skills; there was no better method.

Consequently, every other day, a human missile drama would unfold at the town’s gate. The old Priest would promptly rush out of his cabin, perform the skill, heal Lu Hong, and then drag him inside.

This routine lasted almost a month. Just as everyone got used to waiting for the human missile, Lu Hong unexpectedly was not kicked out.

The old Priest pushed open the door, a smile hinting at his lips, "This kid, getting a bit enlightened..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud crash sounded, and Lu Hong heavily smashed into the dirt, creating a huge crater.

The old Priest slapped his forehead, "Well, spoke too soon."

After another emergency treatment, Lu Hong was once again pulled back from the brink of death.

From that moment, the intervals at which Lu Hong was thrown out began to increase gradually, and the near-death injuries he suffered diminished as well.

Another three months passed, and the bored residents of the town started betting on how long Lu Hong could last.

"Come on, he’s going in, we can start betting now!" The old Priest acted as the banker, shouting loudly, "Last time Lu Hong lasted an hour, this time let’s bet if he can last longer."

"One minute will pay out at 1.2 to 1, two minutes will pay out at 2.3 to 1, four minutes will pay out at 8, five minutes will pay out at 10! Final bets, final bets!"

Auli carefully peered through the window, huffing, "Uncle Kato, how can they be so mean, betting on big brother like that?!"

"Little master, get down, don’t let anyone spot you," the tavern owner quickly pressed Auli back down, "It’s wrong for them to bet, I’ll go give them a talking-to later."

"No need, just place my bet for me, Uncle. I bet big brother can last five minutes." Saying this, Auli pulled out the "large fortune" she had saved over the years.

Kato: "..."