Chapter 923: Chapter 711: Long Meng’s Invitation
The radiance of the divine arts surrounded the Dragon-man youth, shifting from bright to dull, until it faded away and disappeared.
The bishop of the Ice Glacier God expelled a breath of stale air, revealing a look of weakness.
Meanwhile, the priest standing behind him had been staring at the Dragon-man youth since meeting him, and even though the healing took quite a long time, the excitement and reverence on his face did not diminish in the slightest.
The priest was quite young and bore a noticeable resemblance to the bishop in appearance.
“Thank you, Bishop.” The Dragon-man youth flexed his Dragon Claw and expressed gratitude.
After this treatment, the injuries from his battle against Mifang had been completely healed.
Among the three major Transcendent systems, the healing effect of divine arts is the most outstanding. This is not because spells cannot simulate it, nor because combat skills cannot replace it, but divine power itself is a universal energy source, and the scope of Healing Divine Technique is extremely broad.
The Ice Glacier Bishop wore a solemn expression, indicating his willingness to treat the Dragon-man youth. If there was a similar need in the future, he expressed his willingness to help again.
Later, when the Dragon-man youth paid the consultative fee, the Ice Glacier Bishop voluntarily offered a discount, charging only an 80% friendly price.
Upon parting, the young priest behind him couldn’t hold back any longer and said to the Dragon-man youth, “Lord Long Fu, I personally watched your duel with Mifang. You fought so boldly; you’re a real man!”
The young priest gave a thumbs up to the Dragon-man youth, resembling an avid fan.
The Dragon-man youth smiled, “So you are my supporter, huh?”
“Come, let me give you a small gift.”
The Dragon-man youth beckoned slightly, and his attendants immediately took action to present an ice sculpture.
“Your country’s alchemy technique is top-notch in contemporary times, especially adept at ice sculptures. I followed local customs and hired a master sculptor to carve some gifts.”
“After each major duel, regardless of victory or defeat, I always make some ice sculptures to give back to my supporters.”
“Please accept it.”
The Ice Glacier Bishop slightly frowned, his eyes high, immediately noticing that this ice sculpture was made from rather advanced materials and crafted with extreme precision. The materials included various Golden Level components, and from the sculpting and alchemy techniques, it was surely the handiwork of a master.
“It’s just too precious…” The Ice Glacier Bishop was about to refuse, but the young priest beside him swiftly reached out and took it.
“Really, it’s for me?”
“That’s amazing, truly amazing!”
“It’s really amazing!!”
The young priest was delighted, holding the Long Fu ice sculpture with bright eyes, absolutely loving it.
The posture of the Long Fu ice sculpture depicted the Dragon-man youth grabbing a massive fighting energy blast single-handedly, diving down. The sculpture was lifelike, perfectly showcasing the bold and decisive style of Long Fu at that moment.
The Ice Glacier Bishop saw the young priest’s face flush with excitement, sighed helplessly, and expressed genuine and sincere gratitude to the Dragon-man youth.
The Dragon-man youth courteously escorted the two individuals until they reached the inn door.
The background of this inn was remarkable; it was an asset of the Cold Jade family, to some extent representing the family’s face, chosen by the Dragon-man youth as a temporary residence in the Royal Capital.
The Cold Jade family was a major noble within the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, second only to the Ice Sculpture Royal Family, with comprehensive strength even surpassing the Lijian family.
The two clergy members whom the Dragon-man youth had just seen off belonged to the Ice Glacier Sect.
The Ice Glacier God is one of the main deities of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, and the scale and strength of the Ice Glacier Sect rank first nationwide. Although their church headquarters isn’t located here, serving as a bishop in the Ice Sculpture Capital is undoubtedly extraordinary.
“My identity as Long Fu, having been promoted to the Golden Level and defeated Mifang, is enough to earn the attention of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s high ranks.” The Dragon-man youth mused.
He was originally a Divine Officer and a Golden Level Mage, capable of self-healing.
But he chose not to do so and specifically invited the Ice Glacier Bishop.
This was certainly not a random choice.
The identity of the young priest was the youngest son of the Ice Glacier Bishop, who was greatly favored. When the Dragon-man youth dueled Mifang, he cheered fiercely from the sidelines.
“With the Ice Glacier Bishop’s treatment, my injuries have been proven, and the Holy Domain’s qualification has been substantiated.”
“But fighter combat power still needs improvement.”
The Dragon-man youth knew that his victory over Mifang relied mainly on psychological warfare. If Mifang unleashed her full potential, the Dragon-man youth would have been very hard-pressed to win with just his fighter’s strength.
“Under this identity of Long Fu, spells and divine arts couldn’t be used.”
“Equipment also didn’t provide any advantage.”
“Only bloodline can be worked on.”
“Holy Domain Level bloodline can bring massive boosts, making ‘Long Fu’ able to enter peak battle power just after being promoted to Golden Level.”
“Problems also lie here; my Holy Domain qualification is supported by a Blood Core composite mutation, with weak amplification for Blast Fighting Spirit.”
The youth previously transformed into Bolang Fishman Form in the Snowbird Port battlefield, where the 100% Divine Level Fishman Bloodline provided enormous amplification of divine arts, leaving a deep impression on the youth.
Yet during his duel with Mifang, despite having a Legendary level of King of Flame Dragon bloodline grade, its concentration was low, and the amplification was far inferior to the terrifying amplification of Bolang Fishman Bloodline for divine arts.
To exhibit the Holy Domain’s grandeur, the Dragon-man youth secretly mobilized the Blood Core to perform other Dragon Clan mutations. These traits manifested internally, without any external display, deceiving the entire venue.
If relying solely on King of Flame Dragon bloodline, the existing concentration would be insufficient to sustain such a quantity of Beneficial Magic.
The current issue is most variations are general Dragon Clan bloodlines or frost-type Dragon Clan bloodlines, providing limited amplification to his primary King of Flame Dragon bloodline and Blast Fighting Spirit, instead supplementing other aspects (like frost resistance).
“So, there’s significant effort needed to gather more of King of Flame Dragon bloodline.” The Dragon-man youth sighed inwardly.
In regard to this, upon his return, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps intensified its collection. Under the guise of alchemy and potion crafting, the Mercenary Group engaged in frantic acquisitions.
Unfortunately, in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s natural environment, very few dragon beasts possess bloodlines near the King of Flame Dragon.
On this matter, the Dragon-man youth had no choice but to cast a wide net.
However, with the Blood Core composite mutation, his qualification was temporarily adequate.
“Hmm?”
A peculiar color flashed in the Dragon-man youth’s eyes.
He betrayed no emotion on his face, calmly turned around, and returned to his room.
Upon reaching his bedroom, he discreetly crushed a Pearl Bubble, invoking a divine art to renew his disguise.
Ever since he formally returned to the Royal Capital and repelled “Hua Tang” head-on, there have been investigations and divinations from various factions.
Previously, when the Dragon-man youth’s strength was lacking, after his return, he mastered divine and magical arts, and advanced to become a Golden Level Transcendent of three schools, hence able to sense the consumption of deceptive divine arts.
Just moments ago, at the inn’s entrance, he felt the sudden increase in the consumption of deceptive divine arts.
Even back in his room, the consumption did not cease.
“This is the hotel of the Hanyu family, which boasts solid defenses.”
“It seems it’s not observational means, but divinatory means. Some powerful figure or faction is divining on me.”
Since the Dragon-man youth’s duel victory over Mifang, such divinations and investigations have clearly increased and intensified.
The Dragon-man youth couldn’t determine who was spying or divining on him.
Too many people, too many factions have motives for this.
The Alchemy Guild, Lijian family, Jingxiang family, duelists of Anqiu…
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps entered the Royal Capital, also immersed in the whirlpool of competing factions here.
Feeling the ongoing consumption of the deceptive divine arts, the Dragon-man youth remained calm in mind and body.
He currently has an abundance of Pearl Bubbles in hand, unafraid of such consumption. In fact, it benefits him. Because any divination is directed toward the illusion he purposely set.
Right now, the Dragon-man youth is pondering the recently departed Glacier bishop and his youngest son.
“His youngest son has become a priest of the Ice Glacier Sect, yet he’s so passionate about dueling.”
“I can feel that this young man holds me in great esteem. This is a gain from my battle with Mifang.”
“Sure enough, my deliberately bold style of combat is well-received by the citizens of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.”
“Though the Ice Sculpture Kingdom is primarily composed of the Elf Clan, the prevailing customs are quite valiant.”
Judging by the young priest’s enthusiasm, the Dragon-man youth more deeply comprehended how deeply enrooted dueling was in the hearts of the people.
“Even the clergy worshiping the Ice Glacier God are like this, let alone others.”
“Though that young priest might not know better, his father, being of bishop level, witnessed his youngest’s performance firsthand. If it were significant, he would not refrain from instructing the priest.”
Through understanding specific situations, the Dragon-man youth discerned the major sects’ attitudes towards dueling.
“What if the God of Duels were to manifest in the future?” The Dragon-man youth was no longer an outsider, as the Divine Blessing provided him ample Divine Officer experience.
If a God of Duels truly existed, the sects’ attitudes towards dueling would shift dramatically!
Faith is an interest the deities must compete for.
“The current issue is whether the high echelons of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom are aware of the God of Duels, the Anqiu duelists, and such secrets?”
The Dragon-man youth’s gaze was deep and contemplative.
He learned about the Duel Godhood in Anqiu because of Mei Lan’s Divine Revelation.
But the Divine Revelation did not reveal whether others or factions are plotting for the Duel Godhood.
Is there, or is there not?
Do the high echelons of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom know? If not, the situation is relatively simple. The fear is that the high echelons are well aware and are greatly involved.
Over the past few days, the Dragon-man youth has perused numerous documents and found that the activity of dueling has been consistently promoted and supported by the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s authorities, treated as a major national policy fully executed.
On this point, the Ice Sculpture Kingdom has never wavered a bit.
This inevitably filled the Dragon-man youth with many doubts.
“Even if the high echelons of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom aren’t aware, at least those duelists in Anqiu are a major obstacle for me.”
“If only I could contact Lan Zao…”
Regrettably, with the spatial rift to the Duel Divine Country closing, sensing Lan Zao has become considerably difficult for the Dragon-man youth.
“Opportunities will arise.”
The Dragon-man youth kept a tab on Lan Zao, the big guy, and Snowbird Port while waiting for public opinion to ferment.
Primarily, he awaited the subsequent reactions of the Lijian family and Jingxiang family.
Though he had resolved to solely claim all benefits from the mount’s magic potion, he wished to avoid direct confrontation.
Direct confrontation would pose great resistance, so he aimed to disguise cooperation, misleading external forces and possibly inciting mutual exhaustion among them, easing his eventual resistance.
A day later, the Dragon-man youth received an unexpected invitation, rather than emissaries from the Jingxiang family or the Lijian family.
“Oh? Long Meng sent someone to invite me for a meeting?”
Long Meng!
The foremost of duelists, the acknowledged top-tier Golden Level power in the entire Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
He naturally is the top contender for the championship of this national ceremony’s grand duel.
The Dragon-man youth was aware that Long Meng’s name was etched on a tombstone atop Anqiu Mountain.
He also understood that Long Meng’s power was formidable; even in Fishman Form, he was not assured of victory; it would require actual combat to discern.
Not to mention his current Long Fu identity.
“Why did Long Meng invite me? What are his intentions?”