Chapter 578 - 344: The Great War Begins, Crisis at the Oasis

Of the three great families, only the Hogan Family was now relatively weak, without even a single Venerable Powerhouse.

Although the Wol Family and the Stu Family had no legendary powerhouses, they at least each had two Venerable Powerhouses.

This was a fighting force that could not be ignored.

Therefore, Su Ze entertained the idea of subjugating the Wol and Stu Families. As for the Hogan Family, he decided to forget about them. He had already killed their current Clan Leader, and the only ones left were a few hegemons, not worth the effort to subjugate.

Although he had already brought the two families under his command, Su Ze did not release their four Venerable Powerhouses from confinement.

He couldn’t yet bring himself to trust the four of them and didn’t want them to know about the Magic Cube’s existence. Thus, he was unwilling to let them roam freely inside the spaceship.

Meanwhile, the Shepherd King devoured Baliss’s soul and obtained some information.

The most valuable of which was partial information regarding the Divine Blood Crystal.

A few years ago, after obtaining the complete "Puzzle No. 4," Baliss’s grandfather, Uur Hogan, had entered the internal inheritance, opened the Inheritance Treasure Vault, and acquired a Golden Bloodline Crystal—also known as a Divine Blood Crystal.

This Divine Blood Crystal was different from the one Su Ze had absorbed. Perhaps due to the unique nature of the Divine Grace of Evolution skill, the Divine Blood Crystal containing it could only be absorbed by Mortal-level Life Forms.

The Divine Blood Crystal that Uur Hogan obtained, however, had no restriction on the absorber’s evolutionary level. Uur Hogan could have absorbed it himself.

However, he was already a legendary powerhouse at the time. While the skill within the Divine Blood Crystal was strong, it was akin to a "Divine Skill Prototype." It couldn’t replace a true divine skill and serve as a "ladder" for him to ascend to a higher level of life.

So, Uur Hogan faced an awkward dilemma: if he absorbed it himself, he would have to give up the external inheritance, forgoing the chance to obtain a true divine skill and leave Blue Star.

It was more or less equivalent to giving up his chance at godhood.

Unless he could later fuse a divine skill on his own, but the chances of that were clearly slim.

Thus, he could only give the Divine Blood Crystal to Baliss, the most talented of his descendants. After settling Baliss’s affairs, he accepted the external inheritance and left Blue Star.

After scheming for a century, he couldn’t even use the Divine Blood Crystal he had obtained. He could only use it to benefit his descendant, and in doing so, he completely alienated the Wol and Stu Families. It was hard to say if it had all been worth it.

As for Baliss, after absorbing the Divine Blood Crystal, he did indeed build a profound foundation for himself. He completed his fifth evolution in just three short years, becoming a Venerable Powerhouse.

And relying on the "Meteor Impact" skill obtained from the Divine Blood Crystal, he was considered a strong fighter even among Venerable Powerhouses.

In the end, however, he still fell at Su Ze’s hands.

It just goes to show that life is unpredictable.

Su Ze opened the confinement cell holding Baliss. Baliss’s body lay quietly on the floor. A golden Divine Blood Crystal had already precipitated out, resting beside the corpse.

He picked up the Divine Blood Crystal. ’Looks like I’ve finally found my next skill,’ he thought.

’The pure attack skill "Meteor Impact" is perfect for integrating into my "Strongest Punch." It’s powerful even when used alone; I’ve already witnessed its might from Baliss.’

’With this Divine Blood Crystal, the first skill slot after my sixth evolution is now set.’

’Now, for my sixth evolution, everything is ready. The only thing left is to upgrade my "Furious Waves" skill.’

Just then, Mr. Ya walked over with a long face. "Boss, I failed to absorb the Bloodline Crystal."

He had excitedly tried to absorb the Bloodline Crystal, thinking he was about to get the first attack skill of his life, but he never expected... it to fail!

It was completely impossible to absorb!

The feedback from his body’s instincts told him that the skill within this Bloodline Crystal conflicted with his genes.

’What kind of conflict could there be?’

’Was it even a question? It had to be the attack skill that was conflicting with him.’

’Unbelievable. He thought he had ruled out all other possibilities, that this one remaining attack skill would be his inevitable choice.’

’But now, it was basically telling him it couldn’t be absorbed!’

’So it was forcing him to take a survival skill!’

Listening to Mr. Ya’s plight, Su Ze was torn between sympathy and amusement.

He took out the Moon God-grade Bloodline Crystal he was carrying and handed it to Mr. Ya. "Take this Bloodline Crystal and absorb it. It contains a survival skill; it should be a good fit for you."

Mr. Ya sighed, left with no choice but to accept this outcome.

...

Su Ze released the four Venerable Powerhouses from the Wol Family and the Stu Commerce Association. However, he shielded their senses during the process. With the Magic Cube remaining in a cloaked state, they couldn’t detect it.

After the four had landed, Su Ze followed them down. He had the Magic Cube vanish into the sky before he removed the sensory shield on them.

Before this, Su Ze had already allowed the four of them to communicate freely for a while. As a result, they had exchanged information and reached a consensus regarding the existence of the Nian Race and the two families’ surrender to Su Ze.

Su Ze didn’t particularly trust them, but they were all natives of the Western Continent. There was no Divine Dice here either, so at the very least, their status as humans from Blue Star was beyond doubt.

The Nian Race had always looked down on the small, scattered settlements of the Western Continent and hadn’t bothered to expend the effort to extend their influence here.

Therefore, they had no contact with the Nian Race and, due to the issue of race, were naturally opposed to them.

Furthermore, the ancestors of both families had received favors from that mysterious powerhouse of the Human Race. Unless the leaders of these two families had a complete lapse in judgment, they wouldn’t go so far as to betray the Human Race and defect to the Nian.