Chapter 143 - 142: Everything is Destiny’s Arrangement

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Everything is Destiny’s Arrangement

When Aragon suddenly fell silent after hearing the truth, the three monarchs exchanged an uneasy glance.

Aragon had displayed immense power on their journey. The three of them combined were likely no match for him. At his level, a conventional army could no longer restrain him.

’I hope he senses our goodwill and sincerity!’

Angus prayed silently.

Lucia tried to ease the tense atmosphere. "Your Excellency Aragon," she said, "we’re more inclined to believe that you are the one who will end this disaster and bring hope to the continent of Ounide.

After all, your teacher Gandalf is so great and benevolent. For the sake of women everywhere, he even invented a Holy Artifact like the Purifying Cloth..."

"That’s right." Li Ye took in their expressions and smiled. "There’s no need to be nervous. Every time Gandalf walks the Mortal World, it is when a great catastrophe has befallen it."

"Disaster always seems to accompany him, but you can’t blame him for it, just as you can’t blame me for the catastrophe caused by the Skeleton Monarch."

*Whoosh!*

Angus breathed a sigh of relief and quickly offered a smile. "Your Excellency, that’s what we thought as well."

"I’ve always known the Skeleton Monarch was an outsider, but I never told those around me for fear of causing a panic." Li Ye sighed softly. "After all, like the Skeleton Monarch, I am an outsider too. In the Ancient Era, there was a saying: ’Those not of our kind are sure to be of a different mind.’ I even have black hair, completely different from all of you."

"Your Excellency, you possess a noble character and great personal charisma," Angus said with a smile. "Even if you weren’t Gandalf’s student, no one would treat you like an outcast, much less define you by the color of your hair..."

"I’m a far cry from my teacher." Li Ye shook his head. "When I learned that the Skeleton Monarch was an outsider like me, I guessed my teacher’s purpose in sending me here."

"Perhaps he means for me to save this world, just as he guides the Children of Destiny to fulfill their own missions. He sent me here specifically to deal with this catastrophe."

’It’s a huge relief that he thinks that way!’

Angus and the others exchanged a look, finally able to relax. People of noble character were their favorite kind to deal with.

"Your Excellency, we will cooperate with you," Angus said.

Li Ye nodded and scanned the group. "An enemy in plain sight isn’t to be feared; the real threat is the one lurking in the shadows. Along the way, I’ve been using the search for the Children of Destiny as a pretext to lure out the two other hidden outsiders, but I haven’t succeeded. Fortunately, Floyd provided a clue, so I finally have a lead."

’So there’s this much more to the search for the Children of Destiny?’

Angus marveled at the thoroughness of Aragon’s methods and quickly said, "Your Excellency, we’ve actually been searching for that other outsider as well, but we haven’t found any clues."

"I know. If an outsider is determined to hide, it’s impossible for you to find them," Li Ye said. "So, I will continue to tour the various cities, promoting the Purifying Cloth while I search for this otherworlder."

"If she is an enemy, I’ll eliminate her. If she is a friend, I’ll find a way to persuade her to join forces with us against the Skeleton Monarch."

"Your Excellency, what do you need us to do?" Angus asked.

"Spread information and details about the other outsider," Li Ye said with a small smile. "Say that she’s a mole planted in the human world by the Skeleton Monarch to dismantle the alliance’s order from within. We can even give her a name: the Desire Celestial Demon."

"The Desire Celestial Demon’s power is to stir the deepest desires in people’s hearts. Those she bewitches will eventually fall into depravity, lose their true selves, and become puppets of the Demon King. If she won’t come out of hiding, we’ll force her out."

"Your Excellency, is that wise? What if this pushes her to side with the Skeleton Monarch?" Angus asked.

"The whole point is to flush her out," Li Ye said. "If she doesn’t reveal herself, how can we deal with her? If she’s an enemy, she’ll side with the Skeleton Monarch sooner or later. Should we just wait for her to backstab us while we’re fighting him?"

’If you’re not a friend, you’re an enemy.’ Li Ye had no intention of leaving any potential threats behind. As for the Time Traveler siding with the Skeleton Monarch? That was simply impossible.

"Your Excellency, your reasoning is sound. I’ll arrange for it to be done at once," Angus said deferentially.

"Your Excellency, is the matter of the Children of Destiny real?" Lucia asked.

"It’s real." Li Ye was like a salesman, constantly promoting his Purifying Cloth. "Every era has its own Children of Destiny. They are favored by fate and possess great power. The Purifying Cloth is likely a gift my teacher Gandalf prepared for them. Anyone who can uncover the secret my teacher hid within the Purifying Cloth will receive his legacy."

"So, Gandalf’s legacy is really inside the Purifying Cloth?" Angus asked.

"Yes. My teacher is a Demigod; he never acts without purpose," Li Ye said. "He sent me to this world, and the Holy Artifact I brought with me is the Purifying Cloth. Before I began studying Forbidden Magic, my teacher gave it to me as part of a game, and I brought it to this world. I even have the Nourishing Essence Pills that helped Floyd recover his Life Energy..."

"These are too many coincidences. It’s less an arrangement of fate and more that my teacher foresaw what was to come. I am merely the one carrying out his will, but Gandalf is still the one directing everything from behind the scenes."

"Sometimes, I even suspect this is all a trial my teacher has arranged for me."

He paused, then added, "Of course, this is all just my speculation; I don’t know what the future holds for certain. But I truly hope I can save this world. After all, I’ve walked through the Land of the Dead. The suffering of those killed or controlled by the Undead is immense..."

’Nothing like borrowing a tiger’s skin to use as your own banner.’

’Doing things in my own name would never be as effective as invoking Gandalf.’

’The more powerful he made Gandalf seem, the more these people would trust him.’

Li Ye understood this principle perfectly.

Angus pondered for a moment before saying, "Your Excellency, we would like to establish a proper Holy Guard Sect in your name to search for the Children of Destiny. Would that be acceptable?"

"Of course." Li Ye smiled and nodded. "I will serve as its first Pope and lead everyone to victory against the Undead..."

"Your Excellency, what about the Angel’s Heart?" the Elf Queen suddenly asked. "Do we still need to search for it?"

"Of course." Li Ye nodded. "The Skeleton Monarch is extremely powerful. With the Angel’s Heart, my chances of defeating it would be much greater. By the way, how many pieces did Michael’s Divine Format shatter into?"

"Seven," Floyd said.

"How many have you found?" Li Ye asked.

’A thief never leaves empty-handed.’ He had already embarked on the path of cultivation. To him, Magic was just the icing on the cake; it would be mostly useless once he left this world.

’But Michael’s Divine Fragment was different. Michael was an Archangel. In the hierarchy of the Eastern Celestial Court, he would be at least on par with a figure like Taibai Venus.’

’The Divine Format he left behind would be of great significance for understanding the power of the Immortal Gods from the Ancient Era.’

’In the last world, the legacies he’d found—whether from Amitabha Buddha or Zhou Qingyun—had been incomplete. But this was the genuine Angel’s Heart of Michael.’

’And if it was useful to him personally, all the better.’

"One," Angus said.

"Take me to see it," Li Ye said. "Your world has been without the protection of a Divine Spirit for too long. Perhaps I am the only one who can unleash the full power of the Angel’s Heart."

Angus and the others exchanged a look, then led Li Ye through heavily guarded corridors to the treasury where the Angel’s Heart was kept.

Besides the Skeleton Monarch, there were two other outsiders. Li Ye was the only one who had shown them any goodwill. Since they had decided to trust him, they felt they shouldn’t hold anything back.

...

The fragment of the Angel’s Heart rested inside a golden chest, which was placed in the center of a Magic Array.

They deactivated the Magic Array.

Angus, Lucia, and Grom each stepped forward and used their personal keys to undo the locks on the chest.

The moment the chest opened, a soft light radiated outward.

The Magic Elements in the air instantly grew active, scrambling to gather above the chest and dance within the soft light. Even an ordinary person could have plainly seen the colors of the Magic Elements.

"Your Excellency, inside the chest is the fragment of the Angel’s Heart. It possesses a powerful Elemental Affinity," Lucia said. "It was discovered in the Ruins of a battlefield from the Ancient Era..."

Li Ye looked down into the chest.

Inside lay a roughly fan-shaped red gemstone. Magic Elements vied to surge into it.

When Li Ye’s Divine Sense touched the gemstone, he could clearly feel the immense power it contained, along with a rich, concentrated Life Energy.

"Your Excellency, the Angel’s Heart possesses immense power, but not even the strongest Forbidden Mage has been able to control it," Angus said. "Mage Field once tried to set it in his Magic Staff to use against the Skeleton Monarch."

"But its power blew Mage Field to pieces, and the rampaging Magic Elements destroyed an entire fortress. Its destructive force was even more terrifying than Forbidden Curse Magic."

Li Ye took out the roll of paper and held it above the Angel’s Heart.

The voice of the paper roll echoed in his mind. "Divine Power. Back when I was the Chaotic Heaven Silk, I took care of plenty of guys like this."

"Can I use it?" Li Ye asked quietly.

"Perhaps! Most of my memories are gone," the paper roll replied.

"Your Excellency, if you can use it, that would be for the best!" Angus, thinking Li Ye was asking him, quickly added, "You possess not only the Magic Power of a Mage but also a robust body comparable to a Giant Dragon’s. Perhaps you can withstand the power of the Angel’s Heart. But you must still be careful. After all, you are humanity’s hope now..."

’Should I take it?’

’Or not?’

Looking at the fragment of the Angel’s Heart in the chest, Li Ye hesitated. To be honest, the thing looked incredibly tempting.

’Divine Power!’

’It should be a tier higher than Spiritual Power, right?’

"Your Excellency, the Angel’s Heart can be touched. As long as you don’t activate its power, anyone can pick it up." Seeing Li Ye’s hesitation, Angus smiled. "Touching it brings a great sense of peace to one’s mind."

With that,

Angus reached out and, as if to demonstrate, cradled the Angel’s Heart in his palm.

’It can be touched?’

Li Ye looked at the fragment of the Angel’s Heart in Angus’s hand, hesitated for a moment, then wrapped the roll of paper around his own hand. After insulating his palm with Spiritual Power, he finally took the Angel’s Heart from Angus.

But the instant he took hold of it, the once-peaceful Angel’s Heart erupted with sudden violence.

The light became blinding, stinging everyone’s eyes.

The expressions of Angus and the others changed in an instant.

The three of them took a step back in unison.

Angus was so frightened his voice cracked. "Your Excellency, if you’re going to activate its power, perhaps we should move to a more open area...!"