by Zhuang Bifan
With his comprehensive knowledge of the debris of the stars, the Immortal King's incarnation managed to split their power in two, one of which was spread in the world of Anril, and the other in Well of the Sun.
The Immortal King's memories were far more valuable to Lin Li than gaining the ownership of the Sky Castle. After entering the Sanctuary-realm, every increase in level meant a step closer to the realm of the gods, and each step was even larger than the distance from the sky to the earth.
After Lin Li digested a portion of the Immortal King's memories, he actually managed to gain so much information and progress. Not only did his level increase to the peak of level-26, the combat power that he could now exert was definitely not comparable to what he had been able to do before, since he had gained a better mastery of the debris of the stars.
As Lin Li continued to digest and absorb more of the Immortal King's memories in the future, his path to the Sanctuary-realm's peak would definitely be smoother than before. Of course, the premise was that he had to get through the next obstacle. If he were to die in Osric's hands, he wouldn't have to think about anything else anymore.
With this gain, Lin Li still wasn't certain that he would definitely defeat Osric, but he was at least more confident in dealing with the latter.
Lin Li stood in place for a long time until he felt that he could no longer comprehend anything from the Immortal King's memories with his own power. He then slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand to put away the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.
Through this period of comprehension, Lin Li had gained a new understanding of the debris of the stars, and he could even feel the emotions conveyed by them. Even without the Stars of Fury, he could still exert power that was definitely hundreds of times greater than before.
If Lin Li were to have another battle with the Immortal King's incarnation now, he would no longer be in a pathetic state like before, though it was unlikely that he would win. If he used the same method, however, he would definitely be able to get rid of the incarnation without sustaining injuries.
At this moment, the armies of the alternate world had already vanished because of the dissipation of the Immortal King's incarnation. However, the expedition suffered major losses in the battle, and the effect of the reversed flow of time that happened when Lin Li gained control of the Well of the Sun did not work on the expedition. After all, it was a test that the Immortal King had prepared for Lin Li, and the cannon fodder was not taken into consideration at all.
Seeing that the armies had disappeared, those who survived finally let out a sigh of relief, and fell to the ground ungracefully. They couldn't care if it was really safe or not. If there were any enemies, they would just accept it. They no longer wanted to put up a fight.
Archbishop Martin's face turned pale when he looked at his team. After the intense battle just now, the Brilliance Shrine's team had lost more than half of their members even though their strength had increased. That made the archbishop feel extremely agonized. Those members were the elites of the Brilliance Shrine and their future.
However, Archbishop Martin was more concerned about Lin Li's state. As long as Lin Li was alright, the magical weapon that Lin Li had would definitely make up for the losses this time, and it could even make the Brilliance Shrine become stronger. It seemed cruel to say that, but that was the truth. No matter how pitiful the casualties were, they were already dead, and those that were alive still had to consider their own lives.
Compared to the Brilliance Shrine, the losses suffered by the Rotterdam Kingdom's team were far greater as almost all their Alchemy Colossuses were crippled. Seated together, Donald and Kanber looked around sulkily. If they could reach their goal of exploration this time, it would be worth it, but if not, they would definitely lose a lot.
Even in the Rotterdam Kingdom where alchemy was the mainstay, the value of the Alchemy Colossus was still huge. If they could not gain anything from the expedition this time, how could Donald and Kanber answer to the king and the officials of the kingdom? Even Prince Kanber who was favored by the king would probably be directly deprived of his succession rights, or even reduced to a commoner.
"I wonder what happened to that Felic. If we could get the magical weapons from him, it would be considered a form of explanation for the king!" Kanber said softly to Donald as he looked at the team from the Tower of Dusk.
The team from the Tower of Dusk had already suffered some casualties in the intense battle. However, compared to the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, their losses were negligible. The main casualties were the new mages who joined the team. Due to the fact that they were stressed, there were mistakes in coordination, and they basically injured themselves.
The result naturally made the other two feel extremely jealous. However, they were mages. Hence, they obviously wouldn't rush to the front line like Warriors. Besides, the several Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk had done a lot. No one could say anything, since they did not contribute nearly as much during the battle.
Chapter 994 - The Crown
There was a reason that Kanber thought of Lin Li. After all, it was obvious from the situation just now that Lin Li's strength was clearly inferior to the Immortal King's incarnation's. In Kanber's opinion, the victory definitely did not come easy even though Lin Li won. He might just be at his last breath.
Kanber had always been very interested in Lin Li's magical weapons and coveted them, but due to the fact that Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he suppressed his d.e.s.i.r.e. However, if Lin Li was already at his last breath, Kanber definitely would not miss this rare opportunity to give Lin Li a hard time.
Hearing Kanber's words, Donald began to tremble in shock, and turned to look everywhere. When he saw that the people of the Tower of Dusk did not pay attention to them, he suppressed his voice, and said to Kanber, "Your Highness, please don't mention that anymore. Even if Felic is injured, do you think we can deal with the people of the Tower of Dusk with our current power?"
"What's the big deal? Don't we still have the Brilliance Shrine? Aren't they very interested in the other magical weapon that could emit Holy Light? We can cooperate with them. With the power of our two teams, we can definitely deal with those people from the Tower of Dusk," Kanber said with interest, thinking to himself that his idea was definitely wonderful.
However, at this moment, a figure suddenly flew in from afar, and it already landed in the middle of the expedition team in the blink of an eye. Due to the fact that it was flying too quickly, the members of the expedition even got a great shock as they thought that the Immortal King's incarnation had flown back. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the one who returned was Lin Li, who they thought had escaped.
"How is this… possible!?" Kanber was preoccupied with the thoughts of having gotten a great advantage, but he did not expect Lin Li to be unscathed, without a single wound on his body. He did not seem to have experienced a battle at all. When facing a full-fledged Sanctuary powerhouse, Kanber would know that the Sanctuary powerhouse was definitely not someone they could mess with even if his brains were fried.
Donald, who was initially already tempted by Kanber, was just thinking about how to persuade the Brilliance Shrine's team to join forces with him. However, there was no need to think about that anymore. Even the teams of the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine would not stand a chance against a Sanctuary powerhouse.
"Master Felic, you're back. How did it go? Has that enemy left?" Seeing that Lin Li had returned, Archbishop Martin immediately went up to him and asked him that question happily.
Archbishop Martin was also confused by Lin Li's appearance as he did not seem to have gone through an intense battle at all. Hence, he asked if the enemy had left of his own accord.
However, Lin Li did not deliberately correct Archbishop Martin. Instead, he nodded, and said, "Let's organize the team and leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around to walk t
owards the Tower of Dusk's team before beginning to check on their situation.
Through the soul contact, Lin Li had long gained an understanding of the situation of the Tower of Dusk's mages. Hence, he went to the team to berate the mages who had made mistakes during the battle. Faced with Lin Li's rebuke, the mages who had been named began reviewing their mistakes in public.
Seeing this situation, Archbishop Martin couldn't help but smile wryly. The mages of the Tower of Dusk had already done well enough, yet they still couldn't avoid being berated. What were his subordinates considered, then?
After painstakingly waiting for the discussion of the Tower of Dusk to end, Archbishop Martin walked over and embarrassedly raised a request. He hoped that Lin Li could use the power of the Holy Light to help the members of the Brilliance Shrine recover from their injuries.
Lin Li could actually fulfill that request easily and continue letting the team of the Brilliance Shrine be the cannon fodder. Hence, he readily agreed to it, and tossed out the debris of the stars, Holy Light. The immense power of Holy Light immediately shrouded the people of the Brilliance Shrine.
Seeing the injured members of the Brilliance Shrine who were rapidly recovering because of the power of the Holy Light, Donald and Kanber from the Rotterdam Kingdom were green with envy. Unfortunately, they were not believers of Holy Light who could heal their wounded subordinates using such a method. Moreover, the biggest problem faced by the members of the Rotterdam Kingdom were not just casualties, but the damage done to the Alchemy Colossuses. It was not as simple as healing their injuries.
Of course, Donald hadn't forgotten that there was another Master of Alchemy who owned a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in the team of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, after Lin Li put away Holy Light, he immediately went forward to ask for help in repairing the damaged Alchemy Colossuses.
At this moment, Angelano was still seated in the Alchemy Colossus, and arguing with Garl, the Lord Devourer.
"You disgusting fellow. If you have what it takes, repeat what you said just now. See if I'll crush your brains." Under the control of Angelano, the Alchemy Colossus slammed its heavy fists together with loud sounds.
Faced with Angelano's threat, Garl did not show any weakness. He disdainfully said, "Damned dwarf, don't provoke me. Be careful, or I might swallow you in one bite."
"Is that so? Come and try swallowing me if you can. See if I'll rip your disgusting mouth apart." Angelano flailed his arms, and a pair of huge blades popped out of them.
If Garl was still the Lord Devourer, he might really swallow Angelano's Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in one gulp. However, Garl was now using the transformed Abyssal Gryphon as his host. Even if he widened his mouth to the maximum, he might not be able to swallow the Alchemy Colossus.
Although the two of them were arguing, they did not really begin fighting, and were still mindful of the bottom line. While they were doing so, two giant hands appeared in the void and pulled the two of them apart. Lin Li's figure appeared between the two of them. While taking out the Summoning Lamp, he said to Angelano, "Angelano, go take a look at their Colossuses. If possible, help them repair them."
Angelano was a little dissatisfied, but he soon saw Lin Li taking out the Summoning Lamp and engulfing Garl's large body. He smugly said, "Hmph, I'll let him off this time."
As he watched Angelano put the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in his own alchemical space, Donald, who had been waiting at the side, was dumbfounded. When Angelano approached in his ridiculous and funny-looking armor, Donald came back to his senses. Taking Angelano to see the damaged Alchemy Colossuses, he probed, "Master Angelano, our Rotterdam Kingdom has always been built on alchemical civilization. May I have the honor to invite you over so that we can exchange some pointers on alchemy?"
Donald knew that Angelano was not Lin Li's servant, as the two of them had not signed a servant contract. Hence, he developed the intention of poaching Angelano. Since he no longer had the chance to get Lin Li's magical weapon, he would be able to offset the major losses that they suffered this time if he could successfully get Angelano to join the Rotterdam Kingdom's team.
"Exchange? What do you guys have to exchange? Do you think that having a few pieces of garbage that can move will represent alchemical civilization? What a joke!" However, Angelano did not show Donald any respect at all. After thinking about it and realizing that he might often run into the disgusting Garl in the Tower of Dusk in the future, all the more he did not have the thoughts about leaving. If he were to leave like that, wouldn't that make Garl think that he was afraid of him?
Donald was just about to say something, but he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He quickly raised his head and looked over at the Tower of Dusk's team. Even though he did not see the young Sanctuary powerhouse looking over at them, he still decided not to say what was on his mind.
Although Angelano had helped with the repairs, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom were mostly severely damaged. Hence, he only managed to repair a small number of them. Of course, most importantly, Angelano was too lazy to put too much thought into repairing the junk as it was truly torturous to him.
However, no matter what, the Rotterdam Kingdom still managed to put together more than 10 Alchemy Colossuses, and they would more or less cover some of their combat power. However, compared to the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk, their combat power still seemed somewhat pathetic, causing Donald and Kanber to have great worries about the rest of the expedition.
Although the Brilliance Shrine had also suffered heavy casualties in the battle, at least the ones who were alive were recovering well with the help of the Holy Light. Besides, the team from the Tower of Dusk hadn't suffered many casualties, and its strength could be considered unaffected.
After some rest and recuperation, the expedition finally set off again, and headed to the place where they left the Well of the Sun under Lin Li's leadership. Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had already successfully explored the Well of the Sun, and obtained seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Hence, he was extremely familiar with the Well of the Sun, and it was naturally not tough for him to leave this place.
Lin Li led the expedition to a square located in the center of the Well of the Sun, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars flew out with dazzling rays of light towards the Great Whirlpool above the Well of the Sun. As they approached the Great Whirlpool, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars spun faster, and the seven origin forces fused together. They gradually opened up a passageway in the Great Whirlpool.
There was no need for them to fly up into the sky. An unparalleled force darted out of the huge vortex, leading the expedition up into the sky and into the passage.
When everything in front of them was calm again, they realized that they were in another enclosed space, which was not quite the same as the one they were in before they entered the world. The surface area of the space was extremely large, and it looked just like a huge square. Other than a few murals and sculptures, there were also a pathway and various gates.
It was in fact the underground space of the Sky Castle that could be considered the core of the Sky Castle. The Sky Castle was like a city built on an inverted pyramid. Hence, there was an extremely vast space underneath it as well. It contained the power core that gave the Sky Castle the power to travel through space, as well as the control center that controlled the magic traps and gears of the Sky Castle. It also contained the mana source of the entire Sky Castle.
Seeing the situation around them, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others suddenly beamed with joy because their goal of exploring the Sky Castle this time was in a certain corner of this underground space.
When the three forces were cooperating at the beginning, they once argued over which target to look for first. As a result, Lin Li suppressed them all, and demanded that they head to the Central Tower together first in order to make the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom his cannon fodder.
The experience of this journey left Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others with barely any hope of finding their respective targets. The dangers in the Sky Castle were far beyond their imagination. The only hope they had was to leave this place alive.
However, no one had expected that they would arrive here after leaving the Well of the Sun. For a moment, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others were so excited that they were about to cry tears of joy. However, after the excitement subsided, they suddenly remembered that they were in no place to make decisions about the expedition's advancement.
"Master Felic, according to the information we have received, the High Elven queen's crown that we are looking for this time seems to be somewhere here. Do you think we can spare some time to go there and find the crown?" Archbishop Martin asked anxiously. He was the first to reach Lin Li.
"Master Felic, the item that our ancestor of the Rotterdam Kingdom left behind in the Sky Castle seems to also be somewhere here. Can we go look for it first?" Donald asked carefully.
In the beginning, Lin Li insisted on coming to the Central Tower partly because he wanted to race against Osric, and also because he wanted to make the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom his cannon fodder. Hence, he did not want them to leave early after finding their target. However, now that they had come this far, both forces had suffered major losses, and it was impossible for them to leave early on their own, so Lin Li naturally did not bother holding it against them.
Hence, Lin Li nodded, and said to Archbishop Martin and Donald, "Alright, the two of you may discuss among yourselves whose target to look for first. Let me know when you come to a decision."
Seeing that Lin Li didn't make things hard for them regarding this issue, Archbishop Martin and Donald were suddenly thrilled, and they quickly scurried to the side to discuss for a while. After reaching a consensus and striking a deal with each other, they decided to look for the target of the Brilliance Shrine first—the High Elven queen's crown.