The Secret of the Third Prince

Chapter 167 The Second Prince's Secret (5k)

"Star Princess, it seems you've been targeted by Yan Baobao. As for the operation, there's no need to stop. Just keep his sister occupied. I'll send Moon Princess to secretly probe his strength."

Jiang Mingyue's phone call made Xing Qingling, who had been exhausted all day, let out a soft sigh of relief: "Understood."

Although it's regrettable, everything must be done properly. Looking back now, she realized she underestimated the situation, and she doesn't want to repeat the same mistake and become a second Veronica.

Fine, I'll go and meet Yan Baobao then.

Xing Qingling quickly gave the orders.

After informing her, the middleman Linda bid her farewell and prepared to reunite with Tsukihime.

After a while, another white hovercar drove out from the Jiang residence, with Yue Ji sitting alone inside.

Compared to the powerful fourth-tier Star Maiden, she is stronger and possesses fourth-tier awakening.

This time, she accepted Hoshigi's information and went straight to Sunset District, staying at a hotel near Galaxy University.

She then dispatched all four bionic robotic dogs to roam outside the school.

Thanks to the anti-location program that Jiang Feng had previously implanted in Qiao Yuan, they were unable to obtain her location. However, from Xing Qingling's friend, she already knew that Yan Baobao lived in the Jiangnan Building.

Now we just have to wait.

In the virtual world, the gloomy, blood-red sky grew even darker, casting eerie red light upon the dilapidated and ruined royal city of Yosemite in the distance, sending chills down one's spine.

At that time, Kevin and Finn both spotted some other classmates while observing.

They were all waving and shouting.

"here!"

"Come here, all of you."

"Something doesn't feel right here."

"Ouch, it's so cold."

Qiao Yuan glanced at the headless statue of the Virgin Mary again. Just now, it seemed to have moved slightly? He couldn't help but take a few more looks.

Not far away, two core groups centered around Charlie and Kim Yoon-hee were quickly established.

Some students, because they lived too far apart, did not rush to take action and instead formed groups that were closer to them.

At the same time, people like Hu Tu, Ye Yutang, and Tu Shanlin also approached him.

Gradually, a third core branch formed.

However, he had very few classmates, only eight in total. The other two were Ye Yutang's best friend Xu Youwei and the usually quiet Jiang Fan.

They were all fairly familiar with each other.

There are also some people, such as Luca Silvio and Pei Yuze, who seem to have never been seen.

At this moment, Hutu, panicked and panting, asked, "Our objective is to go to the city ahead, but it looks like a ghost town. Do we really have to go in?"

"What else?" Kevin shook his head slightly. "Just treat it as a game. What are you afraid of?"

"Cough cough? Who's scared?" Hu Tu's face immediately turned red, and he coughed, "After all, there are rankings, you know. I don't want to be eliminated early."

The little fox came to Qiao Yuan's side and its gaze fell on the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Qiao Yuan then spoke softly, "I suspect the movement of this statue might be related to the weather."

Tu Shanlin nodded slightly, but remained silent due to the chattering classmates around him.

"What's the sky?" Ye Yutang has now become a complete fan of Qiao Yuan, and somehow she ended up squeezing next to him and Tu Shanlin as a third wheel.

"Oh, you mean the blood-red sky that's about to be swallowed by the purplish-black night?" Ye Yutang pouted and pondered for a moment, "I think it's exciting, hehe. Teacher Daisy only said it was a test of willpower, she didn't say we couldn't participate, right? There are so many of us."

Qiao Yuan didn't care. His current idea was to simply give up on the ranking and the rewards, pretend to make frequent mistakes and waste Tianze potions, or even choose to quit. It was that simple.

Simply drain the water as needed.

Anyway, his memories can't be detected by any device or magic, so it's okay for him to lie.

It's a pity, this was his only chance to easily take first place in the entire grade.

The only ones who can be compared to him are Baby and Little Fox; the former is unaffected by the forbidden magic of the night, while the latter is a child of a god.

It's a required course at school, and it will become part of his lifelong record, so it's best to keep a low profile.

However, since the ranking is for the entire grade, we can still try to get into the top ten.

Galaxy University always gives out amazing rewards, things that are priceless and hard to find, like the Heavenly Elixir given to the top ten last week.

Although Ms. Daisy didn't say anything, he still wanted to try.

Every gain will become one of his future strategies. Although he has many trump cards now, he can never have too many of these kinds of good things.

Even the clothes he wears now have many inner and outer pockets, so that he can properly carry all kinds of small items such as his belongings and medicines.

As they were discussing, the blood-red sky that had been there just moments before had become almost invisible, and the purplish-black night was filled with an aura of evil and chaos. The commotion coming from the statue of the Virgin Mary in the church grew louder, as if something was about to be revived.

At the same time, Ye Yutang, unable to contain her impatience, grabbed Finn's hand and said, "Quick, use your lightning to blow it up and nip it in the bud."

Finn was already annoyed when he saw Ye Yutang arrive, and now he found it even more absurd. He scoffed, "Why don't you make a move yourself?"

Ye Yutang immediately became displeased, feeling that Finn was deliberately mocking her: "You know perfectly well what I'm asking! I'm a Judge, you know... wait, no, I can too!"

She flung Finn's hand away, took a few steps forward, and began examining the damage to the statue, conducting her judgment.

Finn said speechlessly, "Idiot."

"Pah! Shut up, you defeated wimp!" Ye Yutang grumbled. "You still owe me the title of 'Mom'!"

Finn's face darkened as he listened. Seeing Ye Yutang bring up the old issue again, he couldn't help but walk towards the royal city alone. He couldn't stand it for even a second longer.

Soon, wisps of white lines converged, providing Ye Yutang with some clues and causing his expression to change drastically. He exclaimed, "There really is something inside! It looks like some kind of mutated substance that has come back to life! Hey, someone take care of it!"

Qiao Yuan frowned slightly, signaling everyone to step outside the church first, then looked at Tu Shanlin: "Want to give it a try? I'll go with you."

Of the people present, those he knew were Hu Tu (Hacker Sequence), Kevin (Mist Sequence), Ye Yutang (Judge Sequence), and Finn (Thunder Sequence), who had left first.

As for Xu Youwei and Jiang Fan's abilities, he still doesn't know them.

Tu Shanlin bit her lip and nodded with a smile, as if she was not afraid of anything as long as she was by Qiao Yuan's side.

She wagged her tail and stepped forward, gently touching the statue ten meters away with her left hand. The statue lit up and transformed into a spring, continuously absorbing the surrounding light.

Qiao Yuan had never been particularly interested in light sequences until he discovered the little fox and indirectly researched them. Now, he immediately recognized that this was a unique instantaneous brilliance of a third-order light sequence.

The effect is also very powerful; it can instantly ignite a target from a distance, creating lethality.

The closer to the light source, the faster the speed.

In addition, he also understands the first-order "Condensed Light" and the second-order "Burning Silence", which are respectively the process of condensing light sources and continuously increasing high temperature.

Similar to most sequential pathways, the initial first and second-order abilities are relatively average. Only as the sublimation level increases, do they experience geometric superposition and explosive growth, constantly producing qualitative changes and rapid progress.

As a popular technology, light sequences already possess strong first-order light condensation capabilities.

It is a rare initial advantage that can be multiplied by the number of nearby light sources, and like the Azure Nether Technique, it can continuously expand the diameter range of its own light source absorption based on its talent.

Especially for nobles like Tu Shanlin, they have an absolute advantage in terms of comprehension from birth.

The progress is going very smoothly. After being baked by Tu Shanlin's high temperature, the statue with the cracks repaired began to melt and there was no further movement.

However, Qiao Yuan keenly realized that the incinerated substance was actually flesh and blood!

Moreover, these flesh and blood possess powerful resentment and have already locked onto him and Tu Shanlin.

The little fox suddenly spoke up: "Although this place is virtual, the school must have been simulated based on the power of some evil gods. If I remember correctly, the one who still harbors resentment after being petrified should be one of the ninety-nine lower-level beings, the eternal king of ashes, Nidhur.

Qiao Yuan listened quietly. As expected of the daughter of a god, Tu Shanlin knew far more than him. With just a light scan, she could perceive the specific divine essence.

"He has nearly a hundred subordinates?"

"Yes, there are thirty-three upper-level gods and ninety-nine lower-level gods, also known as pillar gods or source gods. Below them are true gods, secondary gods, demigods, and so on."

Qiao Yuan was completely clueless about these things; he had never encountered them before.

He suddenly remembered the old Divine Emperor that Commander Gao had mentioned earlier regarding the Legalist heavy industry, and couldn't help but ask Tu Shanlin, "Where is that Divine Emperor?"

"God Emperor? God Emperor is actually more of a title, meaning that one controls the will of the gods, but it also involves the realm of Source Gods, and even Pillar Gods."

Qiao Yuan suddenly realized, "So you mean the normal level of godhood we attain is only True Godhood?"

"Yes," Tu Shanlin laughed, "Above the True Gods are the Supreme Gods, followed by the Source Gods, Pillar Gods, and then the Great Luo, and the Multi-Dimensional Great Luo."

"Great Luo?" This was the first time Qiao Yuan had heard of a realm similar to his own.

Seeing that Qiao Yuan was interested, Tu Shanlin went on to explain in more detail: "Among the thirty-three superior beings, the lowest level is the Great Luo level, while the ninety-nine inferior beings are at least Origin Gods, and then there are Pillar Gods who are even further up."

"Even though the area of ​​a single universe is already infinite and cannot be measured by the speed of light, the vastness of the multiverse is even more limitless, but I still like it very much. What about you, Qiao Yuan?" Tu Shanlin murmured, revealing a hint of longing for the future.

Qiao Yuan coughed and said, "Ah, I like it too. What's that old saying again? The world is so big, I want to see it all and experience it."

At that time, he finally had a very clear understanding of his own status for the first time.

The Mother of Night he encountered was Da Luo.

The old god-emperor of Legalist Heavy Industry is either a source god or a pillar god.

It is uncertain whether Caesar and the Mother of Desire are both just among the ninety-nine lower-level deities.

The two seniors I met yesterday, Tian Gui and Dugu Hai, are probably at most Supreme Gods.

As for Kunlun Immortal, I don't know.

Under the rules of the multiverse, multi-level continents are the highest level.

But clearly, there should be another extreme realm above it called Eternal Great Luo.

He had always naively believed that after ascending to godhood, there would be at most one or two realms.

Unexpectedly, there were five more after the ascension to godhood.

Thus, his mere second-stage ascension is truly just the tip of the iceberg on the path to godhood.

Qiao Yuan suddenly understood the profound meaning of the little fox's earlier mention of the infinite universe.

However, since we're already here...

We should at least go and meet this Eternal King of Ashes, shouldn't we? His name is quite impressive, but he hasn't reached the level of the Great Luo, nor has he ever stepped into His realm.

In the words of an ancient Eastern saying, if the weight of this name cannot be borne, it will backfire.

However, well, he tried the same method as yesterday, but the anchor point didn't work.

As Qiao Yuan was thinking, he, Tu Shanlin, and Hu Tu heard a series of ear-piercing cracking sounds of bones grinding together coming from outside the church.

There are even some inside churches!

He then realized that the two nuns who had died of terror were showing signs of petrification, their bodies gradually cracking open with fragmented fissures, from which blood seeped out, turning them into puppets.

"Let's go! Quickly, into the city!"

Qiao Yuan shouted, grabbed Hu Tu's hand, and together with the more agile little fox, they instantly sprinted 20 meters away, heading straight for Yosemite City.

Kevin, Ye Yutang, Xu Youwei, and Jiang Fan all started running without hesitation.

There may be more monsters in the city, but the goal is to obtain the Ancient Dragon Blood Crystal, so we must enter the city.

These monsters, filled with intense resentment, moved on all fours, moving with the speed of cheetahs.

In particular, the cracking and creaking sounds from the countless joints rubbing together quickly made Kevin and Jiang Fan cover their ears, suffering from mental pollution!

"Medicine, take your medicine!"

Hu Tu shouted along the way, and without hesitation raised his hand to pat the holographic helmet on his forehead to replenish the corresponding potions.

Startled, Kevin then realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "Thanks!"

Qiao Yuan felt the same way, but it was simply jarring and didn't affect his rationality.

Instead of setting up anchor points, he frequently released water, either drinking more or less potions, using them arbitrarily.

They swiftly traversed hundreds of meters of wasteland, arriving at the graveyard ahead, where even more monsters roamed.

As the number of monsters increased, the piercing friction sound even produced echoes and auditory hallucinations.

At that time, they all relied on their own methods and barely managed to get through by joining forces one after another, but Jiang Fan still suffered great mental pollution as a result and had no choice but to withdraw.

After arriving at the royal city, which was 1 kilometer away, they met up with Charlie's team. However, when they looked back, they found that many students had dropped out and re-entered, ending up far away in the cemetery.

It seems the progress won't change; I'll reappear where I left off.

At this point, Qiao Yuan finally succeeded.

[Anchoring: The source of the Will of Ashes.]

[Time: Ten days ago.]

Qiao Yuan instantly strolled through the river of time, and this time, he finally arrived in a place that was no longer the universe.

Beneath his feet was a small, saucer-shaped starship traveling at the speed of light, gradually approaching a gray-white galaxy ahead.

It's called a galaxy, but it's more like trillions of quicksand, spiraling in the magnificent deep space, as if you've arrived at the graveyard of Ragnarok, where everything in the universe returns to this place and turns to ashes.

At the same time, the ashes themselves are constantly nourishing the vast starry sea, endlessly regenerating.

Nidhurst, the eternal Lord of Ashes!

Qiao Yuan blinked subconsciously, feeling that the scene before him was indeed extremely spectacular.

In front of him stood a blond man dressed in some kind of white papal uniform, with a white-haired boy standing beside him.

The two men concealed their auras and stood in extremely proper postures. When he went around to the front, he noticed that both the man and the boy had infinite piety on their faces.

Like pilgrims on a pilgrimage, they long for the great Creator before them, willing to die for Him at any moment.

Even approaching the vast, ashen galaxy before us at the speed of light, it seems there is still a distance to be covered.

Qiao Yuan wandered around aimlessly for a bit.

This starship is not large, roughly the size of a floating bus from Galaxy University, and its interior has a relatively traditional gray and white, rugged feel.

This place may be small, but it has all the essential parts.

The facility had a medical room, a private bathtub, a bedroom, and an armory, but the kitchen was nowhere to be seen.

Through the various pale golden holographic interfaces floating around him, Qiao Yuan gradually learned that the starship had departed from Crimson Sky Star and was heading along a route that the Federation no longer ventured into.

[Eastern region of the Flint sector.]

Crimson Sky Star, also known as Prometheus Star, is one of the twelve main stars of the Apocalypse Federation and the closest to their Yao Guang Star. In the past, it could be seen at any time from outside the city, with three artificial star rings wrapped around its surface.

He couldn't help but think of the unique life form, the Crimson Cloud Clan, in the Crimson Cloud Laboratory yesterday. Deputy Director Wang hadn't mentioned Crimson Cloud Star at the time, presumably because the name was similar and there was no real connection between them.

Qiao Yuan continued looking, but unfortunately, he could only access a limited amount of information, as most of it required specific permissions, which was a bit of a shame.

He eventually sat down on the sofa next to the man, staring blankly at the curved glass in front of him.

There were only these two people on the starship, along with a golden lizard crawling all over the ground.

This time we came to the right place, but it seems we didn't gain much. Qiao Yuan shook his head slightly, somewhat helplessly.

Yesterday at the Wugen Library, although I kept falling into the vacuum of space and suffocating to death, at least I got to witness a thrilling battle between gods, so I still gained quite a bit.

He waited for nearly forty minutes before he felt the starship slow down.

Qiao Yuan was quite relieved; thankfully, he had waited for it all, otherwise he would have wasted his timeline attempts.

At the same time, the devout blond man finally spoke: "Your Excellency, the Second Prince of the Legalist Heavy Industry expresses his gratitude for your participation and has arranged to meet next Monday. He also stated that no outsiders will know about this before the Bloodline Era begins."

"Furthermore, it's time for our Ash Church, which has been lying low in Silvermoon for decades, to make its debut. However, the first step is to devour the Church of Hell for our master."

"Having learned of the Second Prince's itinerary and gained absolute initiative, I accelerated the digestion of the Pioneer Elixir, just nine more attempts away from advancing to the second-tier Heavenly Destiny Pioneer [Awakening]."

"Having learned of the Ash Cult's plan and seized absolute initiative, I accelerated the digestion of the Pioneer Potion, and am eight steps away from advancing to the second-tier Celestial Pioneer [Awakening]."

[Having learned of the variables within the Church of Hell, and seizing absolute initiative, the Pioneer Potion is being digested more rapidly; seven more attempts are needed to advance to the second-tier Heavenly Destiny Pioneer [Awakening].]

[Spiritual Awakening Level 1 Progress +12.2%, Total Progress 63.8%]

"Huh?" Qiao Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He did indeed remember that Commander Gao had said before that the radical faction's madness at Legalist Heavy Industry was also related to a certain lower-level being.

It turned out to be Nidhra!

It sounds like this was an extremely private meeting, a secret of the Second Prince.

They even gave him three breakthroughs in one go, and even involved the Church of Hell. Wow, amazing! It was worth the trip.

Qiao Yuan glanced at the time and found that there were still 16 minutes left. Fortunately, it was still early.