The Kakin Empire.
Deep within the magnificent royal palace.
Nasubi Hui Guo Rou sat quietly upon a gilded throne. His right elbow rested lightly on a specially raised armrest, while his left hand held a small porcelain wine cup.
As the King of Kakin, Nasubi was corpulent and his face shone with grease, giving him the initial appearance of an ordinary wealthy merchant.
However, anyone who stood near him could viscerally feel the heavy, imposing aura that surrounded him, an air of authority that commanded respect without a word.
When looking at his stern, unsmiling face, one could even glimpse a fleeting vision of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The throne of Kakin was, after all, built upon countless lives and rivers of blood.
Whoever occupied this seat was inevitably steeped in it.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Beside the throne, a short, formally dressed middle-aged man with a bulbous nose and neat hair held a golden wine pot. He leaned forward slightly, pouring wine for Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
The fragrant liquor flowed like a thin, steady white line into the small porcelain cup.
Within the spreading ripples, Nasubi's blurred face was faintly reflected.
This wine-pourer was none other than Nasubi's right-hand man, Nugui.
His hand was steady. When he retracted the pot, his timing was perfect, not allowing a single drop of wine to spill over the rim.
"Your Majesty."
After pouring the wine, Nugui bowed his head and reported respectfully, "The Seed Urn ceremony has been successfully completed. All the princes have obtained their qualifications for the Succession Contest. Furthermore... the departure ceremony is also prepared. We await Your Majesty's decision on the specific time."
"Noon."
Nasubi glanced sideways at the wine cup in his hand.
The ripples in the cup gradually stilled, and the once-blurry reflection grew clear.
He stared at his own face in the liquor, as if he could see a wisp of heavy, lingering death aura.
It signified that his remaining days were few.
But before his "death day" arrived, he intended to leave his mark on history, to become the unprecedented pioneer of a new world.
At the same time, aboard a ship carrying two hundred thousand sacrifices, he would select the next king for the future of the Kakin Empire.
Who would ultimately earn this qualification...
And who would become the sacrifices, the very foundation of the Kakin Empire.
It could be him, or it could be the princes.
Nugui looked at the king, who was gazing at the wine cup. A hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes, but he finally spoke in a low voice, "Your Majesty, regarding the Sword of Good Omens..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
The king, whose hands were adorned with numerous jeweled rings, gently waved his right hand, silencing him.
"Do you believe... that there is anything in this world capable of 'destroying' the Sword of Good Omens?"
Nasubi's gaze shifted from the wine cup to the trusted aide who had served him since childhood.
Nugui shook his head.
"The regalia are indestructible. Even the world's strongest Exorcist could never hope to shake the power they carry."
"Then what are you worried about?" Nasubi asked faintly.
The three sacred treasures were, in essence, Postmortem Nen artifacts passed down since the ancient Age of Contention.
They were what had given Kakin its foundation to endure to this day.
However, as long as they were Postmortem Nen, the possibility of them being transferred and purified by an Exorcist existed.
Especially Post-Mortem Nen that had persisted through the long river of time; no matter how strong, it would gradually weaken over the ages until it dissipated completely.
But the three sacred treasures were different.
They carried Kakin's past, present, and future prosperity.
And the duty of every ruler of Kakin was to set up a Sacrificial Altar during each Succession Contest and then offer a ceaseless stream of sacrifices to the three sacred treasures...
Through this cyclical ritual of sacrifice, the intensity of the Post-Mortem Nen carried by the three sacred treasures had long surpassed the threshold of what could be removed.
Even the world's strongest Exorcist, when faced with them, would likely be unable to even perform the basic "transfer," let alone the crucial subsequent purification.
Even if an Exorcist could, through some special means, forcibly transfer the Post-Mortem Nen that had condensed from tens of thousands of sacrifices, it would be absolutely impossible to purify this power accumulated over a millennium.
The inability to purify meant the three sacred treasures were indestructible.
It was for this very reason that Nasubi had dared to lend the Sword of Good Omens, a matter concerning the nation's fate, to Beyond.
On the other hand, the Sword of Good Omens was already fused with Kakin's national Luck, so there was no need to worry about Beyond coveting it.
From the moment Beyond picked up the Sword of Good Omens, a part of his future life was destined to be paid for Kakin's Luck.
This point was the very essence of the cooperative relationship between Kakin and Beyond.
Hearing Nasubi's question, Nugui lowered his head and said softly, "I was overthinking things."
Nasubi said no more and raised the cup to drink.
But at that exact moment, a crisp cracking sound came from nowhere.
Several fine lines had abruptly bloomed on the porcelain wine cup.
Nasubi and Nugui both heard the sound and looked at the cracks on the cup's body.
The next moment, the wine cup shattered completely without any warning.
Porcelain shards mixed with wine slipped from Nasubi's palm.
"Hm?"
Nasubi's eyes narrowed. As if sensing something, he suddenly looked up behind him.
His Guardian Spirit Beast, a Nen Beast covered in female mammalian features and possessing multiple spider-like arms, was waving its limbs restlessly.
The Guardian Spirit Beast was an ability bestowed upon members of the royal family by one of Kakin's three sacred treasures, the Seed Urn. It was also a passive power the princes could rely on in the Succession Contest.
However, only the one who truly inherited the throne could see their own Guardian Spirit Beast and actively command its power.
At this moment, this Guardian Spirit Beast, which belonged exclusively to Nasubi, was displaying such obvious agitation in front of him for the first time.
From its uneasy trembling, Nasubi even caught a trace of...
Fear?
Could a Guardian Spirit Beast feel fear?
Nasubi's expression suddenly darkened, and a sense of foreboding rose from the bottom of his heart.
Could something have happened to the Sword of Good Omens?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
—--
Hunter Association Headquarters.
Beyond's corpse lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes wide open, a trace of unwillingness seemingly frozen in his fixed gaze.
And the Kakin regalia, the Sword of Good Omens, which had accompanied him, also seemed to exude a hint of unwillingness in its violent struggle, but ultimately, it could only be absorbed by the Tree Rings power without any resistance.
The amount was utterly astonishing!
The Post-Mortem Nen contained within the Sword of Good Omens exceeded Morrow's expectations.
Even though Beyond had been lying on the ground for over ten seconds, the dark energy converted from the Sword of Good Omens still swirled around the back of Morrow's hand. Then, as if drawn by an invisible vortex, it entered the Tree Rings at a visible speed.
At the same time.
The Tree Rings energy continued to climb, finally filling the seventh circle, which was also the final ring of the Tree Rings.
However, even though the Tree Rings were completely full, there was still some dark energy converted from the Sword of Good Omens remaining.
Such an absurd amount?
Morrow looked down at the dark energy swirling like a vortex on the back of his hand.
This was the first time he had encountered a Postmortem Nen of such ridiculous intensity, and also the first time the Tree Rings had been completely filled.
Just as he was worrying that the Tree Rings might not be able to absorb any more Post-Mortem Nen, and the thought of first transferring a portion of it to the Entropy Bird crossed his mind... the Tree Rings continued to absorb the Post-Mortem Nen from the Sword of Good Omens.
"Hm?"
As the absorption continued, Morrow suddenly felt the scale of his aura output increasing.
His gaze involuntarily fixed on the level number in the center of the Tree Rings.
The number jumped, quickly breaking past Lv. 150 and continuing to climb towards Lv. 151.
I leveled up... So it directly converted the Post-Mortem Nen into experience points?
Feeling the changes brought by the soaring level, a peculiar look flashed in Morrow's eyes.
At his current level, even a Nen user like Beyond, who had used external forces to raise his aura output to the human limit, couldn't provide any experience points.
So after killing Beyond, his level, as expected, hadn't changed at all.
But now...
The astonishingly vast reserve of Post-Mortem Nen in the Sword of Good Omens not only instantly filled the seventh circle of the Tree Rings but could also convert the overflowing energy into pure experience points.
This unexpected gain made Morrow once again marvel at the incredibility of the Tree Rings.
He had already been prepared to transfer some of the Post-Mortem Nen to the Entropy Bird first.
After all, in the battle with Beyond just now, he had relied on a stroke of good luck granted by the Entropy Bird to counteract the Luck interference from the Sword of Good Omens.
But upon seeing that the overflowing Post-Mortem Nen could be directly converted into experience points, Morrow couldn't be bothered with the Entropy Bird's gains or losses.
As a massive amount of experience continued to pour in, his level soared all the way to Lv. 153 before finally stopping.
An increase of nearly ten levels...
A glint flashed in Morrow's eyes.
The Kakin regalia has such a profound foundation. In that case, the other two...
The astonishing returns from the Sword of Good Omens made him inevitably think of Kakin's other two sacred treasures, the Seed Urn and the Lotus Anchorite.
He had previously considered that the Nen exorcism ability of his Tree Rings might attract the attention of a behemoth like Kakin, leading to unnecessary trouble. He might even be forced into a confrontation with a superpower.
That being the case, his original plan was to avoid trouble if he could.
But things were different now.
Knowing that the Kakin regalia could bring such astounding benefits, why would he fear any trouble?
Only one thought remained in his mind: he had to get his hands on the other two sacred treasures.
If the Tree Rings energy was already full, perhaps those two regalia could allow him to break through Lv. 200 directly.
Beside him, the Entropy Bird quietly watched Morrow's profile. Beneath the mosaic-like sheen were a pair of eyes full of anticipation.
It had helped Morrow again in the battle just now.
Therefore, it would receive a reward greater than its contribution.
This made it both excited and full of expectation.
Moreover, it believed that the more energy Morrow obtained, the greater the possibility of it benefiting.
But how could the expectant Entropy Bird have known...
After confirming that the overflowing Post-Mortem Nen could be converted into level experience, Morrow had no intention of paying the reward this time.
At this moment, the hall was utterly silent.
After killing Beyond, Morrow had suddenly stood still and motionless.
Everyone stared at Morrow as if in a daze, not making a sound.
A strange, silent atmosphere filled the room.
It wasn't until Morrow suddenly lowered his right hand that the members of the Zodiac Twelve and Beans seemed to be startled awake, finally reacting.
They stared at Morrow's figure, their hearts still filled with intense shock even now.
Cheadle's gaze shifted slightly to Gel beside her, and she asked directly, "Those few months you were suddenly out of contact... you went to the Dark Continent with Morrow, didn't you, Gel?"
Faced with Cheadle's question, Gel's answer was very direct.
After all, to crush Beyond's spirit just now, Morrow had already mentioned bringing back hope from the Dark Continent in front of everyone.
And in the previous meeting concerning Chairman Netero's will, Gel had consistently maintained the attitude that she would only go to the Dark Continent if Morrow agreed to lead the team.
This naturally allowed Cheadle to easily connect the dots and realize that she and Morrow had already been to the Dark Continent.
Upon hearing this, Cheadle and the other Zodiac members fell silent for a moment.
So that's how it was...
Their feelings were incredibly complicated.
Gel paid no mind to her colleagues' reactions, her attention remaining fixed on Morrow.
It's not over yet...
She keenly sensed something was amiss and, in a flash, swiftly moved in front of Morrow.
Morrow's eyes were closed, his brow slightly furrowed.
Seeing him like this, Gel immediately understood the reason.
Her recent trip to the Dark Continent had given her a clearer understanding of Morrow's Nen exorcism ability.
She knew that when Morrow removed Post-Mortem Nen, there was a certain probability he would receive information or memory fragments from it.
And given the overwhelming intensity of the Sword of Good Omens, if it generated memory fragments, it would likely bring a significant negative impact to Morrow.
Realizing this, Gel unhesitatingly channeled her aura. Her right hand instantly materialized the serpentine Nen beast, which silently coiled around Morrow, protecting him at its center.
Cheadle and the other Zodiacs were startled to see Gel's action, somewhat baffled.
What's happening?!
They even felt the distinctly defensive gaze Gel cast their way.
That's right.
Although Morrow had his own aura protection, at a time like this, Gel dared not be the least bit careless.
Besides guarding against any of Beyond's accomplices who might be lurking in the shadows, she also unhesitatingly included her colleagues before her in her defensive perimeter.
This unusual level of concern and defense left the Zodiacs completely bewildered, but Gel had no intention of explaining.
Just as Gel thought, after absorbing the Post-Mortem Nen from the Sword of Good Omens, Morrow was instantly inundated by a massive flood of information.
The faces of countless sacrifices flashed madly in his consciousness like a rapidly flipping slide show.
The immense stream of information violently assaulted his mind, bringing with it excruciating pain.
But Morrow was long accustomed to this kind of burden, so he didn't show any outward signs of distress, merely furrowing his brow.
Through this torrent of information, he finally understood why the Sword of Good Omens possessed such an astonishing intensity of energy.
It was built entirely on countless human lives.
—--
In his mindscape.
A black tide surged on the water's surface. Morrow stood quietly in the center of spreading ripples.
Directly in front of him was a dense, tightly packed mass of dark figures, rising to the sky like a tsunami.
They were stacked upon each other in grotesque forms, writhing ceaselessly like ghostly shadows.
This innumerable tide of people was precisely the lives Kakin had sacrificed to the Sword of Good Omens through the ages.
And before the surging tide, Netero stood as still as a wall, holding back the dark flood behind him.
Morrow was not surprised by Netero's appearance.
During the battle just now, when Beyond used the Sword of Good Omens to replicate the aura of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, he had roughly guessed the true cause of Netero's death.
"What, are you trying to take this chance to say goodbye to me, or..."
Morrow looked at Netero in his mindscape, his tone as casual as if he were making small talk.
"Are you reluctant to pass on to the next life?"
Netero looked at him and couldn't help but smile.
"Well, a little of both..."
-------------------------------
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