The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 654 - 386: Wisdom and Beauty (Third Update)

Chapter 654: Chapter 386: Wisdom and Beauty (Third Update)

Everyone cast doubtful glances.

Spirit Realm monsters wander in the Spirit Realm, even the White Tower can’t find them, do you have a way?

Even if you found a way to locate it, do you have a way to enter the Spirit Realm and hunt it down?

Rod paid no mind to their skepticism and closed his eyes.

In the dream, the Book of Knowledge spoke discontentedly, "Are you sure? We’ve only earned a little."

"Certain."

With a thought, in the dream, a Flower of Humanity and a portion of Star Marrow flew onto the Stone Platform.

Dozens of seconds later, a brand new Star Mark appeared in his hand.

It was a complex inverted triangle, faintly emitting a blue light in the palm of his hand.

Holding the Star Mark, Rod stood up, his gaze focused on the charred traces left by the Sin Spirit—those were actually part of its soul, deeply linked to its essence.

And the activation requirement of the Star Mark was to see its soul.

Even if only a part of it.

This point had already been confirmed by the Book of Knowledge.

Well then, let’s begin!

An invisible blue light flashed by, and the Star Mark in his hand had already vanished; a phantom-like presence suddenly appeared in Rod’s consciousness, roaming the boundless Void, appearing like a torn cloth floating on the sea.

It really worked!

A thrill ran through Rod’s heart as he once more entered the dream and arrived in front of the Light Platform at the House of God, grasping the Star Core.

In an instant, his spirit soared infinitely high, his perspective stretching endlessly, with the Star Core guiding his gaze like a spear swung in the starry sky.

The spear’s tip drew a long trajectory, crossing countless shimmering points, pointing straight at that almost invisible piece of black cloth.

The pale blue Star Mark flickered in his mind, signifying his target—the Sin Spirit.

Rod touched the tendrils of his will, and a Light Grain shot from beneath the dream, crossing numerous white-glowing fragments, passing over the Light Country, breaking through spatial barriers, and struck it.

In his sight, a very fine shock wave spread out, barely visible.

The Star Mark flashed for two seconds, then went out.

Seconds later, a long black vapor submerged into the dream from below.

[Sin Spirit]

[A truly Great Soul]

[The projections of all human sins in the negative space wander in the Spirit Realm, never dissipating, showing their darkest side; black fog corrodes them, giving rise to black Evil Spirits that despise all human creations, destruction is their instinct, and avoiding powers that might sanction them as well.]

Good!

It worked!

The Star Mark indeed also has the ability to guide a Spirit Realm Strike.

Rod exited the Star Core and looked towards the Book of Knowledge.

The Book of Knowledge, not too pleased, wrote, "15 points of Divinity obtained, but with 10 points spent, we’ve only gained 5 points."

"No!"

The smile on Rod’s face did not fade.

"I’ve discovered a quicker shortcut to acquire Divinity."

The Book of Knowledge paused, writing hesitantly, "You mean... "

"Exactly! Using Spirit Realm Strikes! As long as the gain is above 10 points of Divinity, use Spirit Realm Strikes! One shot, soul captured! It hardly takes any time."

"That way, I can complete more missions, handle more crises, and acquire more souls! During these days when the stars shine, it’s a guaranteed profitable deal!"

The Book of Knowledge suddenly snapped back to reality, "Right, right! Exactly! I was just about to tell you that, but I momentarily forgot... "

The puppet said indifferently, "Its soul is still incomplete, outside of its knowledge scope, it thinks very slowly."

"You’re talking nonsense!"

The Book of Knowledge leaped up.

"My wisdom is unparalleled, unmatched by anyone! I’m far smarter than you! You’re just jealous! You, you dim-witted puppet!"

Rod interrupted them, "Stop bickering, I need to hurry back to the Fire Hall now, Book, you must record all tasks at the fastest speed."

The Book of Knowledge suddenly slapped itself, "Rest assured, Master!"

Rod said no more, his consciousness sank, and he returned to his body.

Opening his eyes, the brand of the Sin Spirit was evaporating, tiny black dust dispersing into the air.

Everyone watched Rod in disbelief.

The dissolution of the soul’s brand fundamentally equated to one possibility.

That is, the monster had died!

Anna cheered loudly and threw her arms around Rod, "You did it!"

But apart from Anna, everyone else appeared as if petrified.

It wasn’t that they had never seen stronger high-rank combatants; Mushroom City, as one of Trolian’s most important settlements, received considerable attention, and they had seen strong individuals and extraordinary methods before.

But Rod’s method still exceeded the limits of their imagination.

What could allow him to track down and obliterate something just using a fragment of a soul?

Frank could only think of one possibility, "Is it a curse targeting the soul?"

Rod just smiled, "More of a strike against the soul."

Casually patting Anna’s back, with a thump, a nimble centaur mare appeared before his eyes.

Anna stamped her hoof, "Come on up."

Rod flipped onto the horse’s back and said to those who were still petrified, "The threat has been lifted, I’m leaving, may the fire protect you."

Turning his head, he then said to Frank, "Your idea is interesting, but you might consider shifting your focus to ’how to increase crop yield’ or go to the Mechanical Research Institute to create more powerful weapons. Changing the material properties is the most troublesome thing in manufacturing and is something many researchers dream of."

Having finished speaking, he clamped his legs together, and Anna, by some unspoken agreement, stomped her hooves and shot out like lightning, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Only the stunned crowd remained.

It was not until that moment that they finally believed that all of Rod’s miracles were real, not just stories fabricated by the Holy Church to boost morale, nor rumors that distorted the truth.

One person couldn’t help but ask, "Is it true that he eats that thing that makes him stronger?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with furious glares from numerous people.

"Impossible, those must be rumors spread by the Doomsday believers to slander him!"

"Exactly, how could such a good-looking young man possibly eat that stuff?"

"If anyone spreads this rumor again, I’ll break his legs!"

But behind the surge of public sentiment, one individual showed a thoughtful look.

"Indeed," he muttered in an almost inaudible voice, "it’s true, we weren’t wrong."

On the other hand, Frank fell into deep thought. His combat sequence was still in hibernation for ten more days; he still had a chance to complete the next experiment.

I must save the world.

Frank clenched his fist, a conviction that remained eternally unchangeable at the core of his heart. He had always believed in this and had resolutely worked toward this goal.

I must see this azure sky and clean world.

——

On the way back, Anna went at full speed and took only half a clock hour to bring Rod back to the Royal City, even picking up five Starlight Fragments along the way.

"You really are my best partner,"

Rod said joyfully.

These words made Anna very happy.

Being able to fight alongside her sisters and not to be useless were the two biggest dreams in her life.

Now, one of them had been realized.

When the other would be realized was what she looked forward to the most.

Rod confidently told her that it wouldn’t be long before he could meet her sisters as he continued to grow.

——

Instead of returning to the training grounds, Anna stayed on standby in the Royal City.

In the following days, Rod needed her constantly.

With Anna being faster than the fastest conveyance in the Royal City, riding her was his preferred method of transportation.

After all, time is Divinity.

Fire Hall.

As expected, while Dalin struggled to understand Rod’s thoughts, he still agreed to his request.

Ever since the miracle at Star City, Dalin had never again questioned him.

Nor did anyone else.

The Book of Knowledge quickly recorded all the current crises, and as Rod was about to leave, suddenly a puppet said, "Master, leave a Phantom behind."

Rod looked at it, surprised.

The puppet explained, "I can use your Phantom, and this way, you will have an immediate connection with the command center of the highest combat strength of humanity. You can instantly know about new crises, maximizing our Divinity while making it easier for humans to deploy combat forces, and you won’t have to keep traveling back and forth."

Rod immediately realized the wisdom in this and said joyfully, "Yes, let’s do that."

With a thought, the Eighth Star’s "Wind’s Phantom" was activated, and a Phantom exactly like him appeared in the command room.

Then, the Phantom opened its eyes on its own, turned, and knelt halfway to Rod, "Master, Aphro has crossed the border, and her condition is good."

This spectacle drew the attention of everyone in the command room, and all the Defense Chiefs leaned forward.

"Sir Rod, is this Phantom your creation?"

"Does it have self-awareness?"

"Wow! It feels just like a real person!"

Rod coughed and hurriedly had Aphro stand up in his mind, chuckling awkwardly, "Everyone, I was just testing what it feels like to manipulate a Phantom, it certainly doesn’t have self-awareness."

One Defense Chief asked, "Then what use is it?"

"It will stay here in my place. You can communicate with me in real-time, and I can also receive the latest updates through it."

The Defense Chiefs murmured in agreement, and Dalin drew on his cigarette and nodded, "Sometimes, it can also help us make the right deployment."

Rod said happily, "Exactly, that’s the idea."

The puppet said in his mind, "Master, my spirit has recovered a bit, and aside from making absolutely correct deployments due to my characteristics, I can also participate in their normal discussions."

"Very well, let’s proceed like that," Rod agreed.

If the Phantom isn’t fighting, there’s only a basic consumption of Spiritual Energy.

And with the "Frost Blue" quantification, Rod’s Spiritual Energy recovery rate had greatly increased, completely offsetting this consumption, and even leaving some to spare.

Rod was overjoyed; he hadn’t expected such a fortuitous turn of events. The puppet truly was the intelligence holder of the Dream Realm.

Everyone was happy, except for the Book of Knowledge.

It was angry, feeling that it had been completely overshadowed by the puppet.

The Book of Knowledge resolved to quickly retrieve the Soul Fragments to show its master who indeed was the embodiment of wisdom and beauty in the Dream Realm.