Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent

Chapter 151: The Path of the Divine King: Fight with Strength

Luo Feng stood alone in the pavilion, overlooking Xiangjie City in the night. He lowered his head, looking at the token in his hand, contemplating every word the Deputy Palace Master of the Two Realms Palace, “The Wanderer,” had spoken.

“Once I join, they can send me to a treasure land left behind by Yuan?” Luo Feng was indeed tempted. He possessed a legacy related to Yuan, the Lieu Yuan Technique, and of course, he desired similar opportunities.

However, Luo Feng remained cautious.

The Two Realms Palace claimed that everyone was equal in status, working together and exchanging resources fairly. But were such claims really true?

“I’d better consult Master first,” Luo Feng thought.

…

Chu Capital, Emperor Chu Palace.

That night, Luo Feng went to meet his master.

“The Deputy Palace Master of the Two Realms Palace, ‘The Wanderer,’ invited you?” Emperor Chu sat there, nodding and sighing, “The Two Realms Palace moves fast. You are only a Chaos Realm Transcendent, and they’ve already invited you, even offering to let you enter a treasure land. That’s quite generous.”

Luo Feng listened attentively.

If even his master called it a significant offer, this opportunity was indeed substantial.

“What he said is not wrong.”

Emperor Chu nodded, “The resources of the two ancient kingdoms are mainly allocated to the royal families. Non-royal members must either earn merits to exchange or pay a certain price to trade for them.”

Luo Feng understood; the Deputy Palace Master hadn’t lied.

“This rule was set by the Ancestor.”

Emperor Chu explained, “The Ancestor decreed that the treasures he brought back would be meticulously selected and primarily used to nurture the family’s elite. Therefore, the elite within the family gain many benefits. First-Class Marquises of the royal family get quite a share, and the Divine Kings of the royal family get even more! This makes many other Divine Kings on the Origin Continent envious.”

“But the Ancestor made it clear that non-royal powerhouses… would have the opportunity to ‘exchange for inheritances and resources.’ However, they must exchange using merits or other prices fairly.”

“It’s impossible to gift anything for free; everything must be exchanged fairly.”

Emperor Chu smiled at Luo Feng, “Even if someone is accepted as a direct disciple, any benefits for the disciple must be borne by the master. For instance, the resources I’ve given you, and even when you later exchange for the Seventy-Two Slash Annihilation or the Eight Tribulations Life Form inheritances within the Divine King realm, those costs are my responsibility.”

Luo Feng understood.

The two Ancestors, even for those not in their families, upheld the principle of fair exchange. They wouldn’t give resources away for free.

“Thank you, Master,” Luo Feng said gratefully.

These two inheritances, especially the one at the ultimate Divine King realm, cost billions of merits to accumulate.

“So, what I can help you with is limited as well,” Emperor Chu said, “Besides, I still owe the family a huge amount of merits.”

“Owe merits to the family?” Luo Feng was puzzled.

“The resources left behind by the Ancestor are indeed distributed to some extent.”

Emperor Chu explained, “But if one wants to apply for extra resources beyond the family’s allocation, it means owing the family. I applied for a vast amount of resources to become an Emperor Lord.”

“The Ancestors are also willing to trade resources with others fairly for becoming an Emperor Lord or Sovereign. But the truth is, other Divine Kings on the Origin Continent simply can’t afford it,” Emperor Chu said. “That’s why only the two royal families have Emperor Lords and Sovereigns.”

“Debt means I must undertake many tasks, and I can’t avoid them.”

“The resources left by Yuan are incredibly valuable. If I take a share of those resources, I must contribute to the family until I’ve fully repaid the debt,” Emperor Chu explained. “The thirteen Emperor Lords of the royal family earned the most valuable resources on the Origin Continent through their strength. But they all gave those resources back to the family.”

“Except for Emperor Qing, the other twelve Emperor Lords owe the family,” Emperor Chu added. “Emperor Qing has the power to allocate some of the Yuan resources the family owns to his disciples. But we twelve Emperor Lords don’t have that authority.”

Luo Feng understood.

“You are my disciple and a guest official of the Ancient Flame Kingdom,” Emperor Chu said. “Unless the Ancestor personally invites you and makes sufficient promises, you don’t need to fully join the Ancient Flame Kingdom. Once you join, although there are some benefits, it also greatly restricts your freedom. A powerful Divine King is better off staying independent.”

“I understand,” Luo Feng nodded. “Master, do I need to join the Two Realms Palace?”

“Don’t join,” Emperor Chu replied.

Luo Feng was confused.

“Though the royal families of the two ancient kingdoms are powerful, non-royal Divine Kings outnumber them,” Emperor Chu explained. “They too have the right to compete for Yuan’s resources, so they’ve formed various large and small factions, some open, some secret.”

“There are three secret factions you must not join: the Two Realms Palace, the Myriad Law Tower, and the Time-Space Lonely Boat,” Emperor Chu said.

“Why can’t I join them?” Luo Feng asked.

“These three secret factions are most likely established by alien races,” Emperor Chu replied. “By alien races, I mean those outside the Caged World.”

Luo Feng was shocked. “Aliens?”

“No need to worry. The aliens are restricted by the Supreme Rules, and their powers are limited, unable to exceed a certain threshold within the Chaos Realm,” Emperor Chu explained. “Once their power is restricted, no matter how mysterious their methods, they’re at most a tricky Divine King of the first realm.”

Luo Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

“Their true strength likely surpasses the ultimate realm of Divine Kings,” Emperor Chu said. “So even if they cross the vast primordial space to arrive here, it’s only through a weak avatar. But a first-realm Divine King who is difficult to kill and has unpredictable methods still causes a lot of trouble for the two ancient kingdoms.”

“What do they want on the Origin Continent?” Luo Feng asked.

“Yuan’s leftover resources,” Emperor Chu replied. “You might not fully understand the value of Yuan’s resources. They’re coveted even by those beyond the ultimate Divine King realm.”

“Not joining those three alien factions is crucial. First, because the aliens are the most eager to seize Yuan’s resources, all your actions would be under their scrutiny, and they’ll be your direct competitors. Second, after prolonged contact with them, who knows what risks may arise.”

“For example, those so-called Two Realms Palace, Myriad Law Tower, and Time-Space Lonely Boat are all secret treasures beyond the ultimate Divine King realm. Long-term mental immersion in such places may pose unknown dangers,” Emperor Chu looked at Luo Feng. “As for other factions? You can join whichever you want.”

“I understand, Master,” Luo Feng said, now fully aware.

Knowing that these three factions were established by alien races, Luo Feng immediately dismissed the idea of joining them.

Perhaps some long-lived second-realm Divine Kings, confident in their own strength and eager to break through, chose to collaborate with these alien forces. But Luo Feng was still young and had no need to take such risks.

“Although there are some treasure lands left by Yuan, few are accessible to Chaos Realm individuals,” Emperor Chu said. “Perhaps only these three factions would have the audacity to offer you an opportunity to enter such a place.”

Luo Feng nodded.

Indeed, there were no such things as free lunches falling from the sky. The more enticing the opportunity seemed, the greater the hidden dangers. Who would have thought that the Two Realms Palace was backed by alien forces?

“Let me think.”

Emperor Chu sat there, quickly contemplating.

The opportunities left by Yuan on the Origin Continent had long been divided clearly. Apart from fighting for them with sheer strength, it was difficult to obtain any. As a first-rank Chaos Realm Transcendent, Luo Feng had no chance of competing with those ancient existences.

“If you want to obtain Yuan’s great opportunities in the Chaos Realm, other than cooperating with alien races, I can think of only one way!” Emperor Chu suddenly said.

“What way?” Luo Feng’s eyes lit up.

“You should be aware that at the borders of the two ancient kingdoms, there are some natural treasures that their Chaos Realm individuals often compete for,” Emperor Chu explained. “These competitions are usually restricted to the Chaos Realm.”

“And you are in the Chaos Realm! Moreover, you are the first-ranked Chaos Realm Transcendent, absolutely the first.” Emperor Chu looked at Luo Feng. “As a Chaos Realm individual, competing for the Thunder Ancient Kingdom’s resources on the border is in accordance with the rules of the two ancient kingdoms.”

Luo Feng nodded.

“The border between the two kingdoms is very long, and many natural treasures are born there,” Emperor Chu said. “I will send you all the intelligence on the maturation times of these treasures. You can go and compete for them, one by one.”

“Each competition may only yield treasures worth a few thousand merits. But over a period of one age, you could snatch them a hundred times, and that would amount to hundreds of thousands of merits.”

“Over a hundred ages, that’s tens of millions of merits.”

“And over a thousand ages, that’s billions of merits.”

Emperor Chu looked at Luo Feng, “Since each treasure is worth only a few thousand merits, no Divine King would personally intervene for such a small amount. It wouldn’t

escalate into a Divine King-level conflict.”

“As long as you keep competing, with your overwhelming strength, you’ll win every time.”

“After snatching dozens of times, the Thunder Ancient Kingdom will realize the severity of the situation, and they’ll come to negotiate with you,” Emperor Chu said. “At that time, you can demand a spot to enter Yuan’s treasure land.”

“As a guest official of the Ancient Flame Kingdom, you can’t target your own side. So, target them instead, make them feel the pain, and force them to offer you an opportunity,” Emperor Chu said with a smile. “This is the only solution I could come up with.”

“Thank you, Master.” Luo Feng’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

As a Chaos Realm Transcendent, with all realms below the Divine King, it was naturally difficult to increase his power. The top five Chaos Realm Transcendents of the current era were all close in strength, only differing in their methods.

But in this era, Luo Feng was a unique existence. He had turned the battlefields of the Chaos Realm, previously dominated by the two ancient kingdoms, into his personal hunting ground.

“Go now,” Emperor Chu said.

As he watched his disciple leave, Emperor Chu sighed inwardly.

He truly wanted to help his disciple, but he was poor himself, able only to share a portion of his own resources. As for the most valuable resources left by Yuan, he had no authority to allocate them.

In the end, he could only come up with a plan, allowing his disciple to rely on his own strength to fight for them.

…

“The border between the two ancient kingdoms is truly long.”

Luo Feng stood high in the sky. With his master’s plan in mind, he began to take action.

The two ancient kingdoms occupied the most fertile regions of the Origin Continent, and their border region was the very core of the continent. Numerous natural treasures were born there, though these treasures also had growth cycles.

Only during their maturity did strict guards become necessary.

“Strict guards? Even with the help of formations, how many can stop me?” Luo Feng thought, his body carrying a full ninety billion black rivers. “Let’s begin!”

Accustomed to the usual Chaos Realm competition along the border, from this day forward, the first-ranked Chaos Realm Transcendent, “Luo He,” would also join the fray.