Chapter 162: Hidden Assassination

In the living room.

Lin Qing released the False God's Domain to confirm no telepathic surveillance, then used his telepathy to carefully inspect once more, ensuring no monitoring devices existed, before finally projecting his consciousness into the Eternal Gate within his mind.

A wisp of light point flew out from his brow, transforming into a naked Black Flame clone.

"Saint Character 'Hidden World', truly wonderful."

Lin Qing's sensation at this moment was very peculiar.

Neither his telepathy nor his eyes could detect the Black Flame clone; only the False God's Domain involving space could sense it, confirming something occupied space within his domain.

Yet his consciousness on the Black Flame clone allowed him to see his own original body.

This Saint Character 'Hidden World's' concealment ability is indeed strong enough.

Lin Qing tried again, aiming a portable detector at the Black Flame clone, but the detector was like scanning air, finding nothing.

"Not bad." Lin Qing nodded slightly in satisfaction.

Immediately, the Black Flame clone entered the adjacent cultivation room; once the door closed, no one would know anyone remained inside.

Even if someone came to inspect, the Black Flame clone could simply burn itself to ash in an instant, vanishing completely.

For the Black Flame Clan, living is hard, but burning to nothing is simple.

"Blood Edge..."

Lin Qing reached out, retrieving the diamond-shaped transparent crystal given to him by Chairman Yan from his subspace storage.

The inheritance token of Saint Character 'Blood Edge'.

"Chairman Yan, through the information on the Azure Sky Archipelago provided by Zhao Jiayi, happened to have no Saint Character suitable for the Weapon Commander, yet he himself possessed one?"

Lin Qing, accustomed to vigilance and suspecting others, naturally harbored doubts in his heart at this moment.

However, the Order Level had not changed, indicating the other party held no malice toward him.

"Doing this, wanting me to be more grateful? To look after his son?" Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully.

After a long while, he shook his head slightly; his telepathy penetrated the diamond-shaped transparent crystal in his hand, and immediately a stream of light merged into his telepathy.

A complex message and illusory power instantly merged into his memory.

It was clearly the inheritance of Saint Character 'Blood Edge'.

Immediately, silently, the diamond-shaped transparent crystal had already turned to dust.

Inside the cultivation room, the Black Flame clone immediately began burning itself, contemplating the newly learned Saint Character.

With his realm of fully comprehending the essence of Primal Energy, forming a Saint Character from Primal Energy would require little time to master.

One night passed.

At dawn, Lin Qing already understood how to inscribe this set of Saint Characters, and simultaneously, the Antropy Reverser Panel displayed this advanceable item.

"Order."

He did not hesitate: "Advance, Fifth Tier Saint Character 'Blood Edge'."

Memories surged forth, energy flowed endlessly.

'Blood Edge' is an Order-type Saint Character, yet it also resembles some Life-type characteristics.

However, this is quite normal.

The universe undergoes entropy increase, eventually heading toward chaos and disorder, while life is an entropy-reversing existence, feeding on negative entropy, resisting this disorder by consuming energy and matter, thereby maintaining its own ordered state.

Naturally, the Order and Life factions are closely related factions.

"Done."

Moments later, Lin Qing opened his eyes, feeling the changes within himself after inscribing Saint Character 'Blood Edge'.

At this time, his blood contained special power, formed by the fusion of his life, energy, and telepathy; this power could be used to nurture weapons that inherently contain energy, making the weapons operate with energy more orderly as if alive, thus achieving a massive enhancement.

This set of Saint Characters fits the Weapon Commander perfectly.

"The more blood consumed during the nurturing of a divine weapon, the greater the enhancement? Nurturing a divine weapon by consuming one's entire blood supply could increase the weapon's power by nearly a tier..."

A hint of a smile appeared on Lin Qing's face.

Not to mention he feared death not at all, the recovery brought by Saint Character 'Fountain of Life' meant that even if he exhausted his entire blood supply, he could recover quickly.

Under normal circumstances, one would likely have to consume a portion of blood each time for nurturing, recover, and then proceed to the next.

But he need not worry about such things.

"Let's try." Lin Qing immediately began attempting.

Meanwhile, the Black Flame clone returned to the cultivation room to continue cultivating.

The Black Flame clone was not a Weapon Commander, so naturally could not cultivate the Whirling Star Divine Technique, but could substitute for him to familiarize himself with those nine powers in advance.

The Whirling Star Divine Technique requires the essence of nine Sixth Tier powers, meaning he must condense nine False Divinity Cores.

Before this, he must be sufficiently familiar with these nine powers, reaching a state of effortless fusion, to form a False Divinity Core within his mind.

After all, this is Sixth Tier power; even with Saint Character 'Life Affinity', even focusing solely on familiarizing with one type, it would take at least a year and a half to hope to achieve this, and the time required for nine types would be even longer.

This is merely familiarity, barely counting as the threshold.

And comprehending the essence is even more difficult.

Without a False Divinity Core, many primal beings of average aptitude would spend tens of thousands of years of their lives on this, yet still find it hard to comprehend one essence, let alone nine.

Otherwise, high-level primal beings would not be so rare.

"I must complete this within two years... must pass the trial for the Primal Divine Office before the next opening of the Azure Sky Archipelago..."

Lin Qing had no real confidence, but could only do his best.

If he could familiarize himself quickly, then with the aid of the False Divinity Core and advances, there was at least hope.

"Hmm... it would be best to first evolve into a high-level primal being; a Sixth Tier life form could also easily familiarize itself with Sixth Tier powers..."

Five days later.

Deep within the fortress where the Star Patrol Council resides, inside a conference hall brimming with a technological aesthetic.

At exactly 11 a. m., amidst shifting light, seven figures appeared before the conference table, while other figures surrounded them from behind.

Above the conference table, a water-blue planet was projected; over seventy percent of its surface was covered by water, with deserts, forests, mountains, and ice plains, rotating slowly like it had its own rotation, emitting an astonishing sense of oppression even while spinning.

"Seven Chairmen and twenty-two Councilors have all arrived."

A cold voice devoid of emotional fluctuation came from the rotating planet above the conference table; simultaneously, a crack slowly opened upon it, looking like an eyeball.

"Planet Overseer."

The seven figures seated behind the conference table, along with the twenty-two figures, spoke respectfully in unison.

Although the Planet Overseer was merely an intelligent life form, its status was unique; it held the final decision-making power and was also the sole controller of this space fortress.

Once this sixth-rank space fortress erupted, even the Chairmen could only flee; those below the Chairmen would surely die.

"This online meeting was initiated by Chairman Yan Que."

The Planet Overseer's voice rang out: "Chairman Yan Que submitted an application requesting that the newly joined Candidate Star Patrol Officer 'Lin Qing' be allowed to use the Level Six Energy Concentration Pool ahead of schedule. Under normal queuing, it would still require about one year and three months. Any thoughts from the Chairmen are welcome to be expressed freely."

After a brief silence, an elderly intelligent being with a vertical ice-blue eye in his forehead sneered and spoke:

"Ahead of schedule? Considering he is a rare Divine Functionary, we have already specially recruited and invited him into the Council; now he wants to cut in line? Can't even wait a little over a year?"

"Chairman Ke Luo."

Chairman Yan looked at him expressionlessly. "This newcomer, Lin Qing, is a genius. It has been less than two and a half years since he began cultivation; this year and more are crucial for him, so there is no need to delay."

"Genius?" Chairman Ke Luo said coldly. "If he became a Star Patrol Officer after cultivating for over two years, that might be understandable, but he has only just reached Primitive, right? At most, he is at the level of the second layer of the Yu Xingyuan; what is there to make an exception and cut in line for?"

Chairman Yan spoke indifferently. "In the cultivation environment of Earth civilization, if it were you, would you be confident in reaching his stage?"

Chairman Ke Luo snorted. "Who can say clearly about matters of cultivation?"

"If this person cuts in line, and that person cuts in line, what becomes of the rules?" a female intelligent being Chairman with a pitch-black vertical eye in her forehead also said coldly.

"There are only eight Level Six Energy Concentration Pools in total; there are plenty of Candidate Star Patrol Officers in line, but does some talent deserve special privileges?"

"Didn't Chairman Pu Luo enjoy this kind of treatment back then?"

"Chairman Pu Luo's Divine Function was even rarer; not only was he a Phantom Demon Summoner, a position with only two quotas for the entire Earth, but he also broke through the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan. What about this Earthling?"

One by one, the Chairmen spoke up, but apart from Chairman Yan, the others obviously disagreed.

"Then let us vote."

The planet above, resembling an eye, rotated slowly, and a voice devoid of fluctuation came forth: "If the approval does not reach a majority, the Chairmen will propose a trial."

"Agreed."

"Disagreed."

"Disagreed."

"Disagreed."

Quickly, all seven Chairmen voted; apart from Chairman Yan, who was also an Earthling, the other six Chairmen naturally would not agree.

Regarding the proposal for the trial, the six Chairmen also proposed trial methods of as high a difficulty as possible; even if the Planet Overseer would not agree, it could gradually probe the bottom line the Planet Overseer was willing to accept.

After a moment.

"... For the above three proposals, please, Chairmen and Councilors, cast your votes."

After the Planet Overseer projected the three trial proposals, the Chairmen and Councilors immediately began voting.

The three proposals given by the Planet Overseer represented three levels of trial difficulty; all three had a possibility of passing, but the difficulties were naturally different.

Finally—

"Proposal One: 23 votes."

The Planet Overseer rotated slowly and looked at Chairman Yan: "Chairman Yan, please inform Candidate Star Patrol Officer Lin Qing that as long as he passes the trial of Proposal One, he will be permitted to cut in line and use the Energy Concentration Pool."

"This trial..." Chairman Yan frowned tightly.

"What? Chairman Yan?"

Chairman Ke Luo said indifferently. "This is a proposal given by the Planet Overseer; do you have any problems with it?"

Another female intelligent being Chairman also glanced at Chairman Yan and said lightly. "Since he wants to cut in line, he naturally should be stronger than everyone currently using the Energy Concentration Pool and everyone ahead of him in line; is there anything wrong with that?"

Chairman Yan snorted, and the holographic projection vanished immediately.

"Proposal One?"

Inside the living room, Lin Qing stood before Chairman Yan and asked in confusion. "Is the difficulty of the trial for Proposal One very high?"

"Very high." Chairman Yan frowned tightly. "I originally thought that if you had inscribed the Holy Script Blood Edge, your overt strength would have a chance of passing the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan, and the hope of passing the trial was great, but now... there is likely no hope."

"No hope?"

Lin Qing asked. "What exactly is the trial?"

He had already ascended the Yu Xingyuan Rankings under the name '02'.

Chairman Yan and Yi Leina Duo and others certainly knew his codename on the Twilight Front was '02', so they naturally understood he already possessed the strength to pass the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

Before inscribing the Holy Script Blood Edge, with his ability as a Troop Commander, even if his domain was strong enough, his attack power was insufficient, so he could not have passed the third layer; yet he passed it, so these few naturally understood he still had hidden strength.

"The trial for Proposal One is in the 'Challenge Platform,' an auxiliary space of the Second Universe Network."

Chairman Yan said. "The trial requirement is that on the Challenge Platform, you must defeat face-to-face everyone currently using the Energy Concentration Pool and everyone ahead of you in line."

"Everyone?" Lin Qing raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Among these people, could there be High-level Primitive Beings?" he asked immediately.

Logically, High-level Primitive Beings are already sixth-level life forms; sensing power of the same level would be very easy, and even without the Energy Concentration Pool, they could adapt quickly.

And cultivating Divine Techniques hinges on comprehending the essence; what is needed is insight, and the Energy Concentration Pool cannot help with that.

But it is not entirely impossible.

"It is precisely because there is a High-Level Primordial Lifeform that I say you have no hope."

Chairman Yan shook his head and said, "Although that person holds only a Regular Divine Office, he is after all a High-Level Primordial Lifeform, and he possesses compatible Holy Words: 'Heart of Venom', 'Extinction', and 'Heart Mirror'."

"That person indeed cannot pass the fourth layer of the Yu Xingyuan, but he can hold out for a time, even exhausting one or two demons in the fourth layer. In the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan, he is a very strong existence. Your overt strength should be far inferior to his, right?" His eyes showed a hint of helplessness.

Lin Qing frowned slightly.

Now that he had inscribed the Holy Word 'Blood Edge', the power of the divine weapon he could wield with the Weapon Master ability had become extremely strong. Combined with his domain, even without using the False God Body, he could pass the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan. Yet even for passing the third layer, the gap in strength was huge; just like the Black Flame Clone, its explosive power was far greater than his.

Holy Words, class abilities, and one's own foundation all lead to differences in strength.

His overt strength was merely just enough to pass the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan, not much above the baseline, and compared to the baseline strength required to pass the fourth layer, the gap was immeasurable.

As for the other party, being a High-Level Primordial Lifeform and a sixth-tier lifeform, his foundation was far superior to his, and he also possessed Holy Words.

A difference of one tier meant a huge gap.

If he used the False God Body, he could perhaps fight.

But how could he possibly use it in front of so many people?

What difference would that make from directly admitting he was an Awakened Authority?

"Who is that person?" Lin Qing asked.

Chairman Yan said, "A high-ranking member of the Yan family, one of the Upper Three Families: Yan Tianquan. He is considered the third most important figure in the Yan family, ranked 197th in the Yu Xingyuan."

"The others are fine; as long as you have the strength to pass the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan, you can basically deal with them."

!.

He shook his head. "As for this Yan Tianquan, he once obtained a basic divine technique inheritance in the Cangqiong Archipelago. For so many years, he has not attempted the trial for a Primordial Divine Office, waiting until he mastered the divine technique, perhaps to elevate it into a rare Primordial Divine Office."

Lin Qing asked in confusion, "Can a Regular Divine Office become a Rare Divine Office?"

"Of course it can."

Chairman Yan said, "Between a Basic Divine Office and a Primordial Divine Office, there is originally no direct connection; it is just that having a Basic Divine Office makes assuming a Primordial Divine Office easier."

"Theoretically, as long as one's strength is sufficient, even without any Divine Office at all, one could directly assume a Star-Level Divine Office."

He said, "As long as the Divine Office requirements are met, one can even jump to a Divine Office in another series."

"I thought a Basic Divine Office was a prerequisite..." Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

"It is just easier." Chairman Yan glanced at him and said, "This time there is truly no other way. Why don't you wait a bit longer?"

"Alright." Lin Qing nodded. "I didn't expect my opponents to include a High-Level Primordial Lifeform."

He also understood that this trial, though seemingly unfair, was actually relatively fair.

Because he was cutting in line, which was inherently unfair to others, he naturally had to pay a sufficient price or demonstrate sufficient value.

"There's no way to argue about it." Chairman Yan shook his head. "In any case, you must endure."

"I understand." Lin Qing nodded and said, "At worst, I'll wait until I become a High-Level Primordial Lifeform."

That night.

Night enveloped everything; the metropolitan circle once again became a city that never slept, its dazzling, brilliant lights illuminating the night sky.

Inside a fortress of the Star Patrol Council, in a suite occupied by a quasi-Star Patroler.

"... Grandmother, rest assured, Tianquan understands."

In the living room, a middle-aged bald man with triangular eyes, eyebrows so faint they were nearly invisible, and an aura that was slightly cold and sinister, looked respectfully at the holographic projection opposite him.

That holographic projection was a young and beautiful woman, her skin dazzlingly white, dressed in pure white clothing, with long black hair cascading down. She looked gentle and harmless, pure as a maiden in her early teens.

"Yan Tianquan, I know your greed; you are easily tempted."

The girl in white spoke softly, "But remember, this is an order from the Wisdom Star Group. If that Lin Qing comes to you, no matter how high the price, do not agree, unless he agrees to pledge loyalty to the Wisdom Star Group. There is no other possibility. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Yan Tianquan replied respectfully.

"Additionally, you have occupied that energy gathering pool for too long; it has already caused dissatisfaction among some people in the Wisdom Star Group."

The girl in white spoke calmly, "Give up on the path of divine techniques. Although your comprehension is not bad, whether you can master a divine technique in this lifetime is uncertain. Moreover, the inheritance you obtained is merely an ordinary divine technique, not much stronger than Holy Words. The path of cognitive essence is too difficult, too difficult. Do you intend to spend your whole life on this?"

Yan Tianquan frowned slightly.

"Participate in the Primordial Divine Office trial sooner."

The girl in white glanced at him. "You should feel fortunate to be born on Earth. You can obtain Holy Words here. Even if the Primordial Divine Office trial requires competing with other Divine Office holders, your Holy Word advantage is already sufficient."

She sized up Yan Tianquan. "Once you become a Primordial Divine Office holder, you will be a new Star Patroler like me. At that time, the Wisdom Star Group will value our Yan family even more."

"Then I will prepare and go try it." Yan said.

The girl in white nodded slightly and said, "If you cannot compete with other contenders even with a Holy Word inheritance, then you might as well not live."

Yan Tianquan fell silent for a moment, then said, "Grandmother, I promise you I will become a Star Patroler as soon as possible, but I want to try the divine technique again. I can feel... I am almost touching the threshold of the first type of power essence."

"Fifteen years, isn't it?" The girl in white shook her head. "From the time you obtained the inheritance until now, it has taken fifteen years just to touch the threshold of one type of power essence. How long will it take to fully comprehend? What about three types?"

She paused. "However, you have only sensed the first."

"Yes." Yan Tianquan nodded.

"Do not forget about that Lin Qing."

The girl in white spoke calmly, "Stubborn bones like this will only affect the Wisdom Star Group's perception of us Earthlings. They consider themselves Earth heroes, but in reality, they are foolish and stubborn. Resolve this quickly."

Immediately, the call ended.

Yan Tianquan turned off the communicator, then in the darkness activated a holographic projection, which was none other than the three-dimensional image of the girl in white from just now.

He silently gazed at the girl in white for a long while, then suddenly reached out, his hand seeming to sink into the girl in white's chest, as if grasping her heart. The madness and desire in his eyes were completely unmasked.

"Someday..."

Yan Tianquan took a deep breath, turned off the holographic projection, and then walked out the door.

He prepared to begin his divine technique cultivation for today.

Although he had not yet seen any sign of a divine technique, it was still a thought to hold onto.

Just as he had just opened the door—

A black shadow that Lord Yantian had never noticed suddenly and silently slipped into the room.

"Hmm?"

Lord Yantian suddenly heard a faint sound coming from the living room behind him and turned his head to look.

Nothing seemed to have changed in the living room; there was nothing there.

A trace of wariness arose in his heart, and just as he was about to walk into the living room, he heard the door behind him suddenly close automatically.

"There is an existence I cannot see that has entered my private room!"

Lord Yantian realized it instantly.

And then—

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a terrifying aura erupting, a figure shrouded in darkness suddenly appeared before his eyes!

"It is the Holy Word 'Hidden World'!"

Lord Yantian immediately realized it.

He did not know many Holy Words, but Hidden World was one of them; this Holy Word could conceal itself from light, sensing, telekinesis, and so on, appearing almost completely vanished before its eruption.

It could be called the Holy Word most suitable for assassination!

"Someone wants to kill me!"

Lord Yantian released his telekinesis to sweep, and immediately discovered a figure in the darkness throwing a punch at his head!

After all, he was a high-level primordial lifeform; a sweep of his telekinesis immediately revealed much.

"You want to kill me?"

Lord Yantian's eyes were extremely cold, yet he stood in place with no intention of dodging, allowing the other party's fist to smash into his head.

"Bang!!"

Accompanied by violent deformation, Lord Yantian's head immediately collapsed completely inward!

But at this moment, his body was like melting; the entire person instantly turned into a viscous black fluid, and this fist merely caused the black fluid he had become to deform violently, instead neutralizing the force of the punch.

At the same time, streams of black aura continuously seeped into the attacker's body along the contact of the fist!

Lord Yantian also emitted a cold laugh via telekinetic voice transmission:

"Come on, let's see who dies faster!"

The Holy Word 'Heart of Extreme Poison' allows his entire body to turn into a special substance concealing extreme poison; it not only counters physical attacks and possesses extremely strong life-saving ability, but can also seep and rebound the poison while the enemy attacks!

Although he found it difficult to control after the transformation, it was enough!

At this moment, a large amount of energy-based poison spread out, instantly seeping into the body of that figure in the darkness.

"Haha... You have been poisoned by me; you are doomed!"

"Beg for mercy from me now, and I can spare your life; how about that?"

Lord Yantian had no intention of resisting; instead, he laughed slightly madly through telekinetic voice transmission.

In the darkness, the Black Flame Clone could also feel a massive amount of poison energy surging into his body; the poison rebounded instantly from that punch was too exaggerated.

It directly caused the poison concentration in his body to reach an extremely astonishing level.

Moreover, due to the Holy Word 'Extinction', this poison was continuously eroding his life force.

Before long, his life would be completely eroded by the poison.

But... so what?

"Boom boom boom boom——!!"

A trace of joy erupted in the Black Flame Clone's eyes; the black flames within his body burned even more crazily, bringing forth astonishing explosive power.

He threw punches continuously and crazily, every punch landing directly on the black fluid that Lord Yantian had become, recklessly pouring out the immense power gained through self-destruction!

This life-saving ability to turn into fluid; wanting to transform to deflect force, every transformation and resistance would inevitably consume energy.

He wanted to see how many punches the other party could withstand!

At this moment, fist shadows like a rainstorm completely shrouded Lord Yantian; there were no fancy tricks at all, only the crazed throwing of punches to the maximum extent to pour out power!

Violent shockwaves spread out, instantly destroying all the less sturdy items in the room!

"Bang bang bang bang bang——!!"

In just a few seconds, he had thrown who knew how many thousands or tens of thousands of punches!

Countless poisons also merged into his body, reaching an extremely horrifying level, crazily snatching his life force at a terrifying speed!

"No... Don't!!"

"Are you crazy?? Do you not want your life? Dare to attack me?"

"Mad... Madman! Get away!!"

"No! Spare me! Do not kill me!!"

"Haha... You are doomed too! One life for one life? Come, come!"

Lord Yantian's telekinetic voice transmission shifted from shock to terror, from terror to despair, gradually becoming more and more mad.

Finally—

"Bang!"

That black fluid completely exploded and collapsed; Lord Yantian's life also ran out, collapsing completely.

The life force within the Black Flame Clone also slid down at a terrifying speed under the effect of the poison; at this last moment, the Black Flame Clone swept the entire room with telekinesis to confirm no surveillance existed, only then feeling relieved to self-combust until exhausted.

In the blink of an eye, the room was completely empty.

"It is over."

Lin Qing revealed a smile. "The Black Flame Clone, combined with the Hidden State, is indeed adept at assassination. Even within the fortress of the Star Patrol Council's headquarters... I doubt anyone would expect someone to dare act here."

After the Black Flame Clone was inscribed with the Holy Word 'Infinite Divine Power', coupled with the power of a newborn demon, the burning Black Flame made it, in terms of pure explosive force within the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan, absolutely the most outstanding existence.

Even with all his techniques unleashed, relying on the armor forged from a False God Body and a Divine Weapon, he could only serve as a protective shell before the Black Flame Clone.

After the assassination, the Black Flame Clone could also directly self-combust to destroy the evidence.

"It just so happens to be a descendant of Councilor Yan Qingqing?"

Lin Qing nodded slightly in satisfaction, then closed his eyes and continued to cultivate in peace: "Now... there is no need to worry about the trial."

Although he could not pass the trial, he could eliminate the one who created it.

"The person who intended to test me is dead. They will surely suspect me and begin investigating me..."

Yet Lin Qing's heart remained very calm.

Without evidence, what more could an investigation achieve?

He had never left the room.

The Black Flame Clone maintained its Hidden State; the monitoring systems could not see it, and it did not depart from his room.

The final investigation results would at most suspect a mysterious powerful expert assisted him in secret, even daring to kill someone within the Star Patrol Council's headquarters.

Or rather... this was the situation he was more pleased to see.

Has the Wisdom Star Group not already begun to suspect... that the contract may have already lost its restriction on one of those three?

(End of this chapter)