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*****
"King, I am willing!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Mumu dropped to one knee and became the newest Guardian of Nassen.
Whether as the King of Nassen or a Guardian of Nassen, it made little difference to her. Her goal remained the same: to protect Nassen Island and safeguard the Divine Tree.
Although the current situation had deviated somewhat from her expectations, the outcome was ultimately a favorable one, and that was all that mattered.
"Good. Someone has broken into the royal city—we should go take a look."
At that moment, George sensed through the Divine Tree that a group of intruders was forcibly storming the palace.
Thanks to the Divine Tree's power, the King of Nassen could passively sense whenever someone set foot on Nassen Island. He could also actively probe into specific locations across the island.
However, he could only focus on one place at a time—he could not perceive the entire island simultaneously.
Thus, when powerful individuals arrived, they usually could not escape the king's perception. But if such experts excelled in concealment and immediately hid their presence upon entry, they could slip past his awareness.
George, however, was different. His spiritual power was already vast, and with the Divine Tree's assistance, he could sense everything happening on the island, even passively.
Unless he deliberately suppressed his perception, he could even detect earthworms wriggling a hundred meters beneath the island's soil with perfect clarity.
"There are actually more experts."
The intruders storming the palace numbered in the dozens. Most were highly capable, likely well-known and respected figures outside the island. Among them, one individual's strength was especially formidable.
Compared to others, his power was not inferior to that of Tabor, the headmaster of Flamel Academy.
Within the country, he would rank just below the Old Celestial Master.
"How dare you break into the royal palace!"
Teleporting to the palace's outer perimeter, George saw the intruders had already subdued the ordinary Nassen guards on patrol. Several hot-tempered Guardians immediately charged forward.
But the Guardians who could not withstand even a single strike from George fared no better against these intruders. They were cut down as easily as melons and vegetables. Within mere minutes, most of them had been defeated.
That was until they encountered the old mage cloaked in black robes, wielding a wand.
"Fiendfire!"
Blazing flames burst forth from the wand, overwhelming in power, forcing back several Guardians who had been pressing forward with unstoppable momentum.
Ordinary fire could not harm these Guardians, but the old mage wielded Fiendfire—its destructive force far surpassed that of common flames.
"Everyone, together!"
Realizing how dangerous the old mage was, the other Guardians who had been observing quickly surrounded him.
"Fiendfire, wielded with such skill, and power on this level… could it be—"
George did not move. Though the old mage was formidable, he posed no threat to George.
And the Guardians were no weaklings. Alone, the mage was no match for them working in unison.
Still, judging by his mastery of magic, George already had an idea about his identity.
In this world, only three people could wield magic at such a level.
The first was this world's Dumbledore, Isaac Tabor, headmaster of Flamel Academy. But George had met Tabor before, and this man was not him.
The second was this world's Voldemort, who George had already slain when he first gained a clone in this world.
The third was Gellert Grindelwald, known in this world as Stephen White—the most powerful dark wizard.
After being defeated by ordinary humans wielding modern weapons, his beliefs collapsed, and he was imprisoned by the Emerald Society.
Thus, this old mage was very likely none other than Stephen White.
"So, the Emerald Society wants to meddle too."
With just a thought, George caused iron sand to surge from beneath the ground, binding one of the intruders and dragging him forward.
"Are you here to destroy the Divine Tree?"
Placing his hand on the intruder's forehead, George directly rifled through his memories.
As it turned out, all of them had been hired by the Emerald Society. Their mission was to assist Stephen White in infiltrating the palace and destroying the Divine Tree.
The reason was simple: to prevent Behemoth from obtaining it.
If Behemoth secured the Divine Tree, they could study it to mass-produce large numbers of superhumans, causing their strength to grow explosively.
Such a development would disrupt the balance between ordinary humans and superhumans worldwide, and for the Emerald Society, it would be disastrous.
Yet they could not openly confront Behemoth. On one hand, they lacked the resources to match the corporation's overwhelming power. On the other, even if they managed to win, it would be a pyrrhic victory—too costly to bear.
Thus, the simplest solution was to destroy the Divine Tree. That way, Behemoth could only acquire a few islanders, nothing significant.
Of course, the Emerald Society was not the only faction with such thoughts.
Expanding his senses across the island, George discovered other infiltrators who had slipped in using submersibles: temporary agents like Zhang Chulan, Feng Baobao, Xiao Zizai, Black Tube, Wang Zhenqiu, and Old Meng.
There were also swordsmen from the Fish-Dragon Society, men from the Debtor's Guild, and other superhumans.
Clearly, their goals aligned—they too wished to prevent Behemoth from seizing the Divine Tree.
"What a fine spectacle this is turning into."
After some thought, George decided to wait until all factions had gathered before delivering a single overwhelming display of power.
That way, none of them would dare harbor designs on the Divine Tree or Nassen Island again, leaving him free to enter seclusion in peace.
"You bastards, daring to trouble my granddaughter? Let me teach you a lesson!"
While the Guardians battled Stephen White, an old man with white hair burst into the palace from outside. Every intruder he encountered along the way was slain with nothing more than a flick of his finger.
"Li Muxuan."
Seeing the man, George's lips curled into a smile.
His earlier deal with Lu Jin had been to help locate Li Muxuan.
On this island, Li Muxuan's identity was that of Li Mumu's maternal grandfather. Before arriving here, however, he had belonged to Quansheng, a peer of Wugensheng, known by the moniker "Evil Child."
Once the youngest son of the wealthy Li family, patrons of San Yi Sect, he admired the sect so much that he renamed himself Li Muxuan.
He had intended to join San Yi Sect, and during the entrance trials he was given special attention and tested repeatedly. Believing he was being mocked by sect master Zuo Ruotong, he stormed away in anger and instead apprenticed himself to Quansheng's Wang Yaozu.
But this choice left him with a psychological scar.
To heal it, he asked Quansheng's master Wugensheng for help. The two disguised themselves and infiltrated San Yi Sect. Through a twist of fate, they disrupted Zuo Ruotong's cultivation of the Threefold Reversal.
Soon after, Zuo Ruotong died. San Yi Sect sought to force Wugensheng to demonstrate the Threefold Reversal again, but through another chain of coincidences, the sect became mortal enemies with all of Quansheng. This ultimately led to San Yi Sect's annihilation.
As the root cause of it all, Li Muxuan was consumed with guilt. Unable to face the truth, he fled to Nassen Island to live in seclusion.
Lu Jin, meanwhile, was Zuo Ruotong's youngest disciple and the sole survivor of San Yi Sect.
The Daoist art Li Muxuan had mastered was called "Reversing the Eight Directions," a technique for manipulating surrounding force fields, also known as "Human Magnetism."
It had originally been created by street performers as a parlor trick, but Wang Yaozu later developed it into a formidable combat art.
Li Muxuan refined it even further, transforming the humble trick into a spell no weaker than the great techniques of the major sects.
With just a flick of his fingers, he could turn enemies into helpless playthings, their bodies twisting until they died.
(End of Chapter)