Chapter 97 - 95: Extraordinary Clan

Chapter 97: Chapter 95: Extraordinary Clan

...

"Tracing the matter to the Kalu family, I had to face another problem: the Extraordinary Clans."

"That’s right. Kalu wasn’t an ordinary person. Perhaps he was at first, but the man who left Black Death Prison definitely was not."

"The family he spawned has already stepped into the Inner World."

"Fortunately, the players are a diverse bunch. A few high-level players, in particular, were very knowledgeable about the Inner World’s situation."

"All the information I’ve obtained about the Inner World came from those players."

"According to them, for thousands of years, the Nulis Federation and the archipelago of a dozen or so smaller surrounding nations have been a desert in the Inner World."

"For some unknown reason, Spiritual Energy in the surrounding ninety million square kilometers is incredibly sparse—only one-fifth of that in a normal Inner Ring world."

"This has led to an extreme scarcity of all sorts of resources. It’s barely tolerable at the Apprentice Tier, but once someone becomes an Awakened, they all move away without exception."

"Only the Nulis Federation, relying on its great national power, can afford to purchase Spiritual Energy Capsules from the outside world and barely support one resident Transcendent."

"There are many theories in the Inner World about the cause of this strange phenomenon, but they are basically wild guesses—complete shots in the dark."

"Even Transcendents are completely baffled, as they can’t perceive any sign of the Spiritual Energy disappearing."

"If they could sense a large-scale flow of Spiritual Energy, they might be able to lock onto the source, but as it stands, there’s no abnormality whatsoever."

"It’s as if some entity is impartially and evenly siphoning Spiritual Energy from the entire ninety million square kilometer area."

"The very thought of such a thing is incredible."

"In any case, after everyone got used to it, the surrounding Inner World circles came to see it as normal."

"This situation remained unchanged until 1,700 years ago, when the mass extinction of the Lanyu Kingdom’s natives—or rather, the birth of Black Death Prison—caused ripples again."

"Although no one knows what exactly happened in the Inner World circles back then, rumors of the Divine Talisman and Longevity Cells have circulated ever since."

"The reason the surrounding region became a Spiritual Energy desert is because the Longevity Cells are siphoning the Spiritual Energy."

"As for what exactly Longevity Cells are? That’s not something Apprentices can know. Even Transcendents might not be clear on the details."

"The origin of the Divine Talisman, on the other hand, has been thoroughly researched by the Inner World."

"Though Apprentices still can’t access more specific information, it is widely acknowledged in the Inner World that the Divine Talisman originates from the Mountain Ghosts."

"Unfortunately, Black Death Prison is a one-way trip. Even Transcendents who enter are never seen again, leaving not even bones behind."

"For a very long time, Black Death Prison, and even the entire Lanyu Kingdom, was a forbidden land in the Inner World. Unless absolutely necessary, not even Apprentices would set foot here."

"This situation only changed completely when Kalu burst onto the scene."

"The Inner World believes the reason Kalu was able to get out alive is that he obtained the Divine Talisman, or at the very least, found it."

"This isn’t baseless speculation. Since Kalu is a descendant of the natives, it’s not impossible that a connection could form between the two if the Divine Talisman truly originates from the Mountain Ghosts."

"In fact, this is the only possibility that could explain why he was the only one to emerge alive."

"Unfortunately, even after becoming a Transcendent, Kalu remained hidden in Black Death Prison, much to the frustration of many."

"After Kalu’s death, his descendants inherited the position of Prison Director and also became Transcendents. In this way, generation after generation, the Kalu family became the sole Extraordinary Clan within that ninety-million-square-kilometer area."

"If they hadn’t remained cooped up in the Lanyu Kingdom, the surrounding Inner World would likely be the Kalu family’s domain by now."

...

’So this is the state of the Inner World around the Lanyu Kingdom?’

’It’s not nearly as powerful as I imagined!’

To be honest, while this passage was a great shock to Chen Qi, he felt more disappointment than anything else.

If the Nulis Federation was the only one with a Transcendent, then his dream of obtaining more Extraordinary knowledge was pretty much down the drain.

But what about Zhong Xingchen’s earlier hint?

If neither of them were lying, then there was only one possibility.

After the King’s Game was born, the state of the surrounding Inner World must have changed.

And the starting point for all of it was Gutaf’s imprisonment.

...

"We have to admit, fate sometimes favors a particular individual."

"In the second year of Gutaf’s imprisonment, an Earth Master came from a distant kingdom and entered Black Death Prison."

"Although the details couldn’t be investigated, the Kalu family must have engaged in a game of wits with that Earth Master."

"And our King fully utilized his intellect to gain an advantage in this contest."

"If you have already read through the materials in the treasury, then you should have already guessed the outcome."

"The Earth Master ultimately died in Black Death Prison, and everything he had fell into the hands of the Kalu family. Gutaf, meanwhile, walked out of Black Death Prison alive seven years later and began the legendary second half of his life."

"Everything he did from then on was worthy of the title ’legendary.’"

One could tell that the Prime Minister was not at peace when he wrote this part.

After all, Gutaf went on to change not only his own destiny but also that of everyone in the Lanyu Kingdom.

As one of the foremost beneficiaries, in a sense, our Prime Minister was naturally the one most deeply moved.

...

’So that’s where the Earth Master’s legacy came from?’

’That’s right. How could a top-tier legacy like the Earth Master’s possibly arise in a Spiritual Energy desert?’

’But what was that Earth Master’s purpose in coming here? Did he think Black Death Prison was a living Heaven and Earth Spiritual Acupoint?’

Having already comprehended the Earth Master’s legacy, Chen Qi instantly guessed the Earth Master’s motive for coming to the Lanyu Kingdom.

The pursuit of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Acupoints was practically branded into the bones of every Earth Master.

And the various rumors about the Black Death Realm did indeed sound a bit like the legendary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Acupoints.

It would have been more incredible if an Earth Master had heard of it and *not* gone to investigate.

’That Earth Master probably never expected to fall at the hands of a bunch of country bumpkins like the Kalu family in a Spiritual Energy desert.’

’He must have died feeling utterly indignant.’

’And the Kalu family’s fate probably wasn’t much better.’

’Otherwise, the Earth Master’s legacy wouldn’t have ended up in the hands of the players.’

’The two sides who fought to the death in Black Death Prison back then probably never imagined, not even in their wildest dreams, that the ultimate winner would be that ordinary man, Gutaf.’

’I’m so curious how our King managed to do it!’

However, when Chen Qi turned the page to continue reading, he was dumbfounded.

The rest of the content was gone. Or rather, someone had taken it.

"Bastard! Dammit! Who the hell did this?"

"The most crucial part is missing! The birth of the game, the King’s abilities—the most important information has been taken!"

"They’d better hope I never find out who did this!"

Furious, Chen Qi slammed the document onto the bookshelf, only to see a series of messages written on the back of the folder.

...

"Read it!"

"Very fruitful!"

"May the Prime Minister rest in peace!"

"Yuwen Yong was here!"

"I’ve taken the documents. You bunch of traitors, just wait until Judgment Day! I’ll definitely report all of you! [Signed, Everick]"

The handwriting came from five distinctly different people. Clearly, these notes were all left by those who had read this document before him.

Except for Yuwen Yong, who used a common tongue, all the others had left their messages in various ancient scripts.

Even Everick, the one who kept threatening to report them, had done the same.

’Fine. Everick, is it? I, Chen Qi, will remember you!’