Under the cover of night, the Imperial Capital of Aurelian shed the bustling clamor of the day, revealing a different face.
Lin Hong moved quickly through the darkness.
To his surprise, the mysterious panel manifested in his mind at this moment without him even needing to summon it.
[New Mission Issued: Slay the split soul of the Evil Priest hiding in the Imperial Capital. Reward: +200 Destiny Value. Danger Assessment: Medium.]
Then, a simple route map appeared.
A clear green path wound and extended forward, guiding him.
At the end of the path, a crimson dot of light was exceptionally eye-catching.
That was his target for this trip — the location of the Evil Priest’s other split soul that possessed a physical body.
It was being displayed in real-time by the mysterious panel.
‘Functional and complete,’ Lin Hong praised in his heart.
This saved him a lot of trouble, as he didn’t need to expend mental energy to perform a reverse-sensing trace through the spiritual body in his mind.
The journey was a bit dull.
Since the mysterious panel had manifested of its own accord, Lin Hong simply took the initiative to strike up a conversation with it in his head.
The mysterious panel was not silent.
Rows of text appeared to answer various questions, allowing Lin Hong to learn much more about this world.
For example, this world had races such as Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins.
These were all races he had never heard of before, and he found it quite interesting.
It was a world where many races stood together.
Intelligent beings of various forms and different cultures coexisted, clashed, and merged on this continent.
One could feel a vigorous and diverse vitality.
It was unlike his home universe.
Under the scorching flames of long years of war, the starry sky had withered into silence.
The surviving races could be said to be few and far between.
Humans were the main group, and the other alien races were mostly incredibly fierce.
“For such a lively world to be invaded by the Evil Race… it’s like a piece of rat droppings spoiling the soup.”
Lin Hong spoke to himself.
Killing intent rose in his heart.
He harbored an intense hatred for that race which had once turned his homeland into a place of death.
At this moment, the route changed.
Lin Hong turned into a network of intricate alleys.
The chat continued, and the topic inevitably shifted to the most core issue.
The Evil Race.
Lin Hong had doubts in his heart.
He had learned from the mysterious panel that the Evil Race had descended upon this continent tens of thousands of years ago to start a war.
But if that were the case, why was it that now, the Evil Race — who were foreign invaders — were actually worshipped as gods?
They were recognized by this world and had a wide following of believers.
One had to know that this race was naturally warlike and bloodthirsty.
Like locusts, they were dedicated to transforming everywhere they went into a residence suitable for their survival.
Furthermore, the Evil Race was extremely exclusionary.
The native beings of the invaded world would either be exterminated or assimilated.
Would such a race be willing to become gods in this world, be bound by the rules of the world, and coexist with other races?
Thinking this way, ruins of many eroded and destroyed star systems from his home universe involuntarily surfaced in Lin Hong’s mind.
It was incredibly desolate.
In an instant, his fists tightened again, and hatred boiled in his heart.
“So, I want to know, did some sort of anomaly occur during the war between this world and the Evil Race a long time ago?”
Lin Hong asked.
However, this time, the mysterious panel was silent for a long while.
The answer it gave next made Lin Hong pause his steps in surprise.
[Relevant records are too ancient and involve the Old Covenant. Authority insufficient; unable to provide information.]
“Even you don’t know?”
Lin Hong was surprised.
During the casual talk just now, the mysterious panel could be said to be omniscient.
To call it a walking encyclopedia would not be an exaggeration.
Now, had it actually touched upon a blind spot in its knowledge?
[Correct. It involves the Old Covenant, which exceeds the scope of information that can be provided. My apologies, Host.]
The Old Covenant again.
Lin Hong caught this term and immediately followed up: “What is the Old Covenant?”
As expected, he received the answer “Authority insufficient; unable to inform” once again.
“Alright then.”
Lin Hong shrugged and continued on his way, no longer pressing the matter.
Through his probes over the last few days, he had already roughly grasped the temperament of this thing.
If it could be said, it would definitely inform him of every detail.
If it could not be said, then it simply could not.
Using force was useless, as he had tried it before.
Regardless, it was an encyclopedia that was useful in most situations.
Lin Hong was too lazy to argue.
Anyway, his days in this world would not be short, and there was plenty of time ahead.
There were some things he could go see, ask about, and understand on his own when he became strong enough — in his own way.
Following the mysterious panel’s guidance and his own perception, Lin Hong turned into a dead end and stopped before a crumbling wall.
The way ahead was clearly a dead end, but on the route map in his mind, the mysterious panel showed that there was still a distance to go.
Lin Hong had a strange look on his face.
He had felt a sense of familiarity when he first approached this area.
Standing before the wall now, that feeling reached its peak.
There really was a path ahead, connected to an underground world.
The original youth, Evan, had actually been a regular there.
“The young master was more than meets the eye,” Lin Hong grumbled.
According to the operation method in the youth Evan’s memories, he pressed several bricks in a rhythmic pattern and finally pressed his palm down.
With a soft sound, a part of the wall actually slid inward, revealing a dark hole just large enough for one person to pass through.
Bursts of cold and damp air rushed out from it.
Lin Hong stepped inside.
In the next moment, the entrance closed.
The tunnel was complex and narrow.
It was not a straight shot down, but had countless twists and turns.
There were many forks, like a maze.
It was very narrow at first, only allowing a person to pass.
After following a specific route for several hundred steps, the view suddenly opened up.
A vast underground world presented itself before his eyes.
This was the other side of the Imperial Capital of Aurelian’s glamour — the underground black market.
It was a chaotic place where the law found it difficult to reach.
Many items, services, and transactions that were forbidden or hard to obtain openly circulated here in secret.
In his memories, the youth Evan often came here to buy various raw materials needed for alchemy, as well as various poisonous herbs, mineral extracts, and even finished potions.
Lin Hong lowered his hood and walked along the main road, looking around at the same time.
Everything felt very novel.
This place seemed like a naturally formed, massive underground space that had been manually modified and reinforced.
The structure was intricate.
Above his head was a jagged rock layer hung with various glowing crystals, casting a bizarre and colorful light over this underground space.
The road was paved with uneven stone slabs.
On both sides were dense stalls and shops.
They were all very crude.
The air was thick with an indescribable smell of spices and medicinal herbs.
People of all kinds shuttled through here.
Most of them covered their faces.
They talked to each other, haggled, and even argued and cursed loudly, with all sorts of unpleasant words breaking out.
However, the interesting thing was that no matter how much these people argued — until they were red in the face and spit was flying — Lin Hong didn’t see a single person actually start a fight from beginning to end, even though many of them clearly carried weapons and blades.
Clearly, this land of chaos had its own set of invisible and strict rules that restrained everyone.
Violators would be met with violent suppression.
The memory fragments of the youth Evan also confirmed this.
Lin Hong lowered his hood and passed through quickly, thinking to himself that this meant he would have to be careful to cover up his movements during the upcoming hunt so as not to attract needless trouble for himself.
He continued forward.
In fact, having reached this point, he didn’t really need the mysterious panel’s guidance much anymore.
He had a sense of it himself, coming from the sealed split soul of the Evil Priest in his mind.
Finally, Lin Hong stopped at the end of a secluded side path.
Only a single small shop was open here, standing lonely.
The target he wanted to hunt was inside.
Both the route map on the mysterious panel and the sensation in his mind led to the same conclusion.
But his expression became strange again.
The original youth, Evan, had actually been a regular at this small shop.
This was because it had a complete inventory.
Although the prices were not cheap, it had everything, and was deeply favored by the young master Evan.
It could only be said to be quite a coincidence.
But the main point wasn’t this.
The main point was the shop itself.
There was a layer of an energy field — likely magic — enveloping the entire small shop, isolating all auras and movements from the inside.
However, the intensity of the magic wasn’t high, but its concealment was excellent.
If one wasn’t careful, it would be easy to overlook.
So, for this reason, Lin Hong could sense the general situation inside: it seemed they were fighting?
One side was the target of his hunt, and the other was the shopkeeper.
The enemy of an enemy is a temporary friend.
Adhering to this principle, Lin Hong circulated his mental energy, which coiled around his fingers, and then he swiped forward.
With a soft tearing sound, the invisible energy field was sliced open, and Lin Hong stepped into the shop.
The shop was a mess.
Shelves were overturned, and two figures stood facing each other.
On one side was the shopkeeper, dressed in a black robe that covered his face.
He was currently bound by several dark red magic chains extending from the void, pinning him in place.
On the other side was Lin Hong’s target, another split soul of the Evil Priest.
It was clearly more powerful.
Dressed in a dark red long robe, it looked triumphant and seemed to be saying something.
“Who?!”
In the next instant, this situation was broken.
The two of them turned their heads at the same time, their gazes pinning onto the uninvited guest who had suddenly intruded.
“And you are…?”
After a short silence, the person in the dark red robe spoke.
His voice was low.
In the shadows under his hood, two points of crimson, fierce light lit up.
This was because this person had openly sliced through the magic barrier he had set up and walked in just like that.
Clearly, he did not come with good intentions.
“I’m here to return something.”
In this standoff, Lin Hong spoke.
His voice came through the hood with a hint of a smile, but it sounded sinister.
He stretched out his right hand.
A speck of dim light lit up from his palm, quickly outlining a shadowy soul figure.
Wrapped in mental sealing runes, it emitted the same soul fluctuations as the person in the dark red robe.
“!!! That’s —”
In an instant, the person in the dark red robe shook all over.
Waves of shock crashed through his mind.
How could he not recognize it?
That was his other split soul.
It was originally supposed to perform another task, but contact had been lost.
Now, it was actually being held in the palm of this person who sounded like a youth!
“Could it be that you are…”
Crack!
Lin Hong didn’t wait for this person to finish.
He acted directly, crushing the soul in his palm.
It instantly exploded into dark red mental specks of light and was completely annihilated!
“!!!”
In an instant, the person in the dark red robe was like he had been struck by lightning.
He let out a muffled groan, his body staggered, and the dark red energy around him fluctuated violently.
In the next moment, a ghostly light flickered in Lin Hong’s eyes as he used his Mental Domain.
Boom!
With him as the center, an invisible and intangible domain slammed down.
In an instant, the person in the dark red robe felt as if he were under ten thousand pounds of pressure.
His arm had just been raised, attempting to cast a spell, but it was pinned down and could no longer move!
“I have to thank you for setting up an isolation barrier in advance. It saved me the trouble.”
At this moment, Lin Hong stepped forward, radiating killing intent.
After several days of cultivation, this physical body had been strengthened and could nourish his spirit, allowing him to not have to be too frugal with his mental energy.
“Die!”
With a whoosh, Lin Hong took a quick step.
His palm and fingers were like a knife, coiling with the secret power of the Soul Slaying Art.
He pointed directly at the brow of the person in the dark red robe.
That was the dwelling place of the spirit, and he intended to slice its spirit apart.
However, with a boom — this was a real explosion — the person in the dark red robe was incredibly decisive.
He actually exploded his own body directly, and a foul-smelling mist of blood instantly submerged Lin Hong within it!