Chapter 518: The Kingdom

“The ability to instantly master martial techniques—and he’s a dual-class holder?”

Upon hearing of Shengzai’s innate ability, even the level-99 transmigrator, Old Bone, couldn’t help but cough in surprise.

Beside him, Nabe quietly reminded the Bone King: “My Lord Anz, this kingdom’s third prince is even more dangerous than that Enfurea just now.”

In truth, even without Nabe’s reminder, the Bone King knew full well: the ability to instantly master others’ skills, especially as a dual practitioner of magic and martial arts, was universally recognized by players as godlike.

“Isn’t it insane? For ordinary people, mastering even a single martial technique requires immense effort and training.”

“But for Prince Shengzai, with this innate ability, he only needs to glance once—and he’s mastered it.”

No sooner had Captain Peter finished speaking than Luke Lord, the archer of the Black Sword, chimed in: “It’s not just that. Our kingdom’s third prince isn’t just enviously gifted with innate abilities—he’s also a warrior of talent and power beyond ordinary reach.”

At just fifteen, he crossed the human hero threshold and is hailed as the kingdom’s most talented swordsman in history.”

“He’s a prince, reportedly handsome too—and every time I compare myself to him, I feel like I’m not even from the same world.”

Hearing the Black Sword members’ high praise of Shengzai, the Bone King recalled the kingdom’s warrior chief and the “Shy Lao Wang” he’d met in Karn Village.

“I wonder how this kingdom’s third prince compares to the kingdom’s warrior chief and the adventurer ‘Shy Lao Wang’?”

The Black Sword members found it strange that the Bone King knew of the kingdom’s warrior chief and the equally ranked “Shy Lao Wang,” yet didn’t recognize Shengzai.

Still, considering he was an outsider, they answered his question.

“Shy Lao Wang is mysterious as an adventurer; since we don’t know him well, we can’t judge his true strength.”

“But comparing the kingdom’s warrior chief to Prince Shengzai, I’d say they’re currently evenly matched.”

“Still, with Shengzai’s talent, the warrior chief will likely be surpassed soon.”

The Bone King, who had been wary of the kingdom’s third prince, now relaxed considerably upon learning his current strength was merely on par with the warrior chief, Gejief.

(Gejief: (*｀へ*) Are you serious right now?)

The Bone King wasn’t surprised the Black Sword members ignored “Shy Lao Wang”—after all, the man had been hiding his strength.

Still, from a human perspective, this third prince was indeed exceptionally outstanding, especially with such a powerful dual innate ability.

【Nabe, contact Sebastian in the capital and have them gather intelligence on the kingdom’s third prince.】

【Understood, My Lord Anz.】

The Bone King believed that if they intended to establish influence in the kingdom, they would inevitably encounter this overly gifted prince.

If he could be brought to serve Nazarick, fine—but if he, like others in this world, viewed undead as enemies, Old Bone felt he’d need to take action.

While the Bone King’s group was gathering intelligence at the Adventurer’s Guild, Shengzai, deep in the southern desert, had no idea his main account had already caught the Bone King’s attention.

Just as with the Bone King’s group, when the other members of the Azure Rose heard of Shengzai’s innate ability from Lachesis, they gaped in shock.

To be honest, Shengzai’s innate ability wasn’t a secret in the capital.

But the Azure Rose had been operating outside the capital for so long, they simply hadn’t heard.

When they saw Shengzai single-handedly slay three desert giant scorpions—two sliced effortlessly into pieces, one consumed by fire—the Azure Rose members now had a rough sense of his strength.

“My Lord Shengzai, these scorpions look delicious… could we…?”

Before Jinlong could finish, Shengzai cut him off coldly: “No. We don’t have time, and the monster corpses must be preserved as proof for the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Of the five desert giant scorpions, three were slain by Shengzai, the other two by Jinlong.

Notably, since Jinlong was his spirit servant, the experience points from killing the scorpions went to Shengzai.

Unlike Shengzai’s theatrical, hard-fought battles, the little girl Jinlong showed no acting skills at all—when two scorpions charged her, she unleashed a golden lightning bolt rivaling a sixth-tier spell and instantly vaporized them both.

Lachesis and the others had stared, utterly stunned.

They knew dragons were strong—but they hadn’t imagined Jinlong could be this powerful.

They now placed Jinlong on the same level as Iblis, suspecting she might be a true dragon king’s descendant.

“Shengzai, your strength must already surpass Warrior Chief Gejief.”

“You can’t fool me. When you killed those scorpions, you only used basic martial techniques.”

“And despite the apparent intensity of the fight, not a single scorpion touched you—your breathing never wavered.”

Before Shengzai could respond, Lachesis’s words made the Azure Rose and Gegrann gasp: “Fought three desert giant scorpions at once—and killed them all—and you didn’t even use your full strength?”

“Knowing him, he didn’t even use three percent of his power.”

“Years ago, he could defeat me easily—and no matter how hard I train, every time I see him, he’s farther away than before.”

“I have no idea how strong he is now.”

Born with an innate ability, blessed with unmatched talent, yet still working harder than any other warrior—Lachesis had always felt Shengzai was the world’s favorite child.

“Lachesis, I won’t hide it from you anymore: two years ago, Gejief was already no match for me.”

“Yet even with this strength now, it’s still not enough.”

Shengzai, who had already bested the kingdom’s strongest warrior at age seventeen, possessed dual innate abilities, and was still so young—his future could shatter human limits and surpass even so-called demon gods.

But what puzzled Lachesis was: why, with such power, was Shengzai still so desperate to grow stronger?

(End of Chapter)