Chapter 545 - 186: Cyan Eye Level 3, Underground Ruins
In the quiet room, the teacup was empty. Red Makeup refilled it for Shen Bai and set it back down.
Shen Bai didn’t reach for the cup. Instead, he stared at the white paper before him, lost in thought.
The white paper was covered in tiny, densely packed characters.
After Shen Bai had read all of its contents, his eyes narrowed.
’The Battle of Ten Thousand Cities was actually a conspiracy?’
Shen Bai stroked his chin, thinking to himself.
It recorded a grand and magnificent history, so incredible that a single glance was enough to inspire awe.
Legend had it that in a distant, ancient age, only one nation existed in all the world.
Its name was Great Qi, but the Jianghu People of the time called it the Daqi Divine Dynasty.
Immortality was the hallmark of Great Qi, symbolizing a world united and a dynasty that would last for ten thousand ages.
Yet, what in this world is truly immortal?
Many years later, the Daqi Divine Dynasty fell.
Its fall was shockingly swift. In a mere month, the terrifyingly vast Daqi Divine Dynasty disintegrated in an instant.
Everyone was terrified by the collapse of the Daqi Divine Dynasty. However, no one could have imagined that its destruction was merely the beginning.
The fractured Daqi Divine Dynasty splintered into thousands upon thousands of factions, each carving out a territory and declaring themselves king.
Over yet more years, countless factions were worn away and destroyed amidst the turmoil and conflict.
Ultimately, tens of thousands of cities arose across the land, collectively known as the Ten Thousand Cities.
And these tens of thousands of cities shared a single goal: to replace the Daqi Divine Dynasty and establish their own unrivaled supremacy.
War broke out once more, a terrible conflict that plunged all life into a sea of suffering.
Sunset City was one of them.
The Sunset City Lord from that era was not the same one Shen Bai had fought; he was unfathomably powerful.
It was only after his death, when he was transformed into an aberration, that his power was reduced to the Peak of Void Realm.
’So that era was both an age of heroes and a time of dark turmoil,’ Shen Bai thought.
Troubled times give rise to heroes, but it is the common folk who suffer most.
Heroes, warlords, and nefarious champions rose to prominence, all vying for supremacy, while the common folk simply struggled to survive from one day to the next.
To put it bluntly, it was a problem with the state of the world.
This was the history following the fall of the Daqi Divine Dynasty, but in the end, it was merely history and not enough to truly surprise Shen Bai.
What truly surprised Shen Bai was the "unseen hand" described on the paper.
"An unseen hand is pushing everything forward. Even if we wish to quell the chaos of war, even if we wish to live and prosper in peace, the fighting cannot be stopped."
Those were the exact words on the paper.
Shen Bai could glean a few clues from that sentence.
The so-called Battle of Ten Thousand Cities was apparently instigated by someone behind the scenes; the brutal fighting was also the result of someone’s interference.
’Who could it be?’ Shen Bai stroked his chin, pondering.
Based on the information left by the Sunset City Lord, Shen Bai felt that several elements might be connected.
The fall of the Daqi Divine Dynasty, the hand behind the Battle of Ten Thousand Cities, and the speaker of the two words Shen Bai had heard in Sunset City: "We failed."
If these things were truly connected, Shen Bai felt the implications were terrifying.
"Unfortunately, there’s no further information or any clues," Shen Bai sighed.
That was where it all ended.
Even the Sunset City Lord and the other City Lords couldn’t find any clues.
They only had a suspicion. They had even searched for answers but had found not a single trace of information.
’I won’t dwell on it. It’s enough to be aware of it.’
Shen Bai set the paper on the table. After a moment’s thought, he took out an envelope and placed the paper inside.
He planned to pass this information to the Saint Martial Emperor.
It was just information; as far as Shen Bai was concerned, he had nothing to lose by sharing it.
Better yet, he could let someone else do the investigating.
The Saint Martial Emperor ruled over the entire Great Zhou Country and had far more intelligence resources than he did. It was much better to let his superiors deal with the headache than to investigate it himself.
He was just a Prefecture Chief. All he wanted was to protect his own little patch of land and peacefully grind his Skill Levels.
When he one day reached the pinnacle of power, that would be the time he’d have a real opportunity to get involved.
With that thought, Shen Bai put the matter out of his mind.
Steam billowed from the teacup on the table, gradually dissipating.
Shen Bai drained his cup and watched the steam before him, his gaze focused.
The steam gradually coalesced, forming words that displayed Shen Bai’s latest Divine Power Attributes, hovering in mid-air.
[Soul-Annihilating Sword Level 7 (Swordsmanship +64, Anti-Demon +64, Vibration +64, Sword Qi +64, Spirituality +64, Sword Heart +64, Soul Cutting +64): 1000/40000]
[Vajra Dharma Form Fist Level 6 (Fist Technique +32, Buddha’s Light +32, Power Dao +32, Fist Gang +32, Dharma Aspect +32, Fist Intent +32): 0/20000]
[Flawless Ten-layered Body Level 6 (Hardness +32, Resilience +32, Counter Damage +32, Anti-Sealing +32, Overlapping Waves +32, Movement +32): 0/20000]
[Chaotic Heart Spell Level 6 (Clear Heart +32, Neutral +32, blessing +32, Non-Invasion +32, Chaotic Heart +32, Destructive Attribute +32): 0/20000]
[Shadow Kill Level 6 (Hidden +32, Hidden Track +32, Shadow-Dispelling +32, Night Combat +32, Creating Shadows +32, Clone +32): 0/20000]
[Divine Thousand Miles Level 6 (Speed +32, Endurance +32, Evasion +32, Burst Charge +32, Flying +32, Instant Teleportation +32): 0/20000]
[Poison Avoidance and Spirit Recovery Skill Level 6 (Healing +32, Recovery +32, Antitoxic +32, Poison Attachment +32, Spirit Recovery +32, Breaking Illness +32): 0/20000]
[Mixed Element Array-Breaking Technique Level 6 (Array +32, Gathering Array +32, Primordial +32, Resistance +32, Heaven and Earth +32, Seal +32): 0/20000]
[Spirit Casting Technique Level 4 (Casting +8, Fault Tolerance +8, Commander +8, Soul Absorption +8): 4000/10000]
[Water Control Technique Level 4 (Water Attribute +8, Water Speed +8, Water Control +8, Water Attack +8): 0/10000]
[Life and Death Storage Skill Level 3 (Space +4, Living Creatures +4, Dead Objects +4): 1000/5000]
[Divination Skill Level 4 (Calculation +8, Accuracy +8, Fortune and Misfortune +8, Detailed Calculation +8): 1000/10000]
[Void-breaking Cyan Eye Level 3 (Investigation +4, Tracking +4, Deterrence +4): 0/5000]
Staring at the Divine Power Attributes before him, Shen Bai tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought.