Dimensional Judgment Descends

Ling Yuan: "Please call me Jian Yong!"

Akame: "..."

Lightning Dragon Slayer: "Hmph! This is the only time you're slightly useful."

Eighth Empire

Ren Kougyoku was a little flustered for a moment.

She paced around her chambers.

"What should I do? What should I do? The Group Owner is coming to my place, will my surroundings be too messy? Will it make the Group Owner laugh?"

Xia Huangwen and a group of guards looked utterly bewildered.

What was wrong with the Princess?

She looked like a lovesick young girl.

"Could it be!"

Xia Huangwen's expression changed.

Did the Princess fall in love with that commoner while she was away?

This wouldn't do at all! It would be detrimental to his future plans!

He couldn't help but speak, "Princess..."

But before he could even utter a word, Ren Kougyoku calmed down, tidied her clothes slightly, and stood obediently in place.

As if waiting for someone.

"Princess?" Xia Huangwen's hand froze in mid-air.

Immediately after—

His expression drastically changed.

The space in front of Ren Kougyoku suddenly distorted, transforming into a pitch-black spatial passageway.

"!"

Under Xia Huangwen's stunned gaze, a man with dark, spiky hair slowly emerged from within.

"Greetings, Lord Ling Yuan." Following etiquette, Ren Kougyoku placed her hands together and gave a slight bow.

However, Ling Yuan wasn't one for such formalities. He reached out and placed his hand directly on Ren Kougyoku's head, gently ruffling her hair. "Nice to meet you, Little Kougyoku."

"L-L-Little Kougyoku!" Xia Huangwen was dumbfounded.

Ren Kougyoku's small face also flushed slightly, and she covered her mouth, her heart pounding wildly.

"Don't be scared, Princess! Let me, Xia Huangwen, protect you!"

Xia Huangwen, with two followers, shielded Ren Kougyoku behind him, looking at Ling Yuan with a wary expression.

"Who are you? Could you be a remnant of the Three Kingdoms?!"

Seeing the man's East Asian features, Xia Huangwen questioned him.

Ling Yuan, unfazed by the man's unfamiliarity, simply smiled faintly. "My name is Ling Yuan. You can think of me as your Princess's friend, or perhaps a backer."

"A backer?" Xia Huangwen blinked.

"I know you want Kougyoku to become the next Emperor. And with Ren Kouen's current actions, do you think he might be planning to eliminate Kougyoku?" Ling Yuan asked Xia Huangwen with a smile.

"!"

Xia Huangwen's breath hitched.

Indeed, this was exactly what he had previously considered.

But... with Ren Kouen's strength, he wouldn't need to resort to such petty tricks. No, wait!

These weren't petty tricks!

If Ren Kougyoku died at the hands of a dungeon creature, it would not only be a public display of her incompetence, but Ren Kouen, who would then become the master of the new Demon God, would have his prestige boosted to its peak!

Ren Kougyoku's small face froze. Lord Ling Yuan hadn't said this in the group chat before.

"Alright, Xia Huangwen, Ling Yuan is my friend. He's here specifically to protect me as I enter the dungeon."

"W-What? How can you entrust the Princess's life to this person of unknown origin? I, Xia Huangwen, will..."

"Do you want to die?"

Ling Yuan interrupted Xia Huangwen before he could finish.

"What about your ambitions? Your dreams of becoming a powerful minister? Do you want to die in the dungeon without ever achieving anything?" Ling Yuan's words were sharp and precise, causing cold sweat to break out on Xia Huangwen's forehead.

Although he didn't know how Ling Yuan knew his intentions, he still forced himself to say, "E-Even so, I will protect the Princess!"

"Thank you, Xia Huangwen, but it's not necessary this time. I trust Lord Ling Yuan. He possesses strength comparable to my brother Kouen." Kougyoku mustered up her courage. This was the first time she had refused Xia Huangwen.

"Comparable to Lord Kouen..." Xia Huangwen was stunned.

The world of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic was an extremely peculiar one.

It has seventy-two labyrinths and seventy-two metal vessels.

Each labyrinth seals a Demon God, who are the clan leaders of the seventy-two races that followed King Solomon in the other world, 'Alma Toran'.

They became immortal Demon Gods due to the power of the divine staff.

As long as one conquers a labyrinth, they can gain the Demon God's recognition, obtain a metal vessel, and acquire power comparable to a Deity!

However, Ling Yuan also knew that everything in this world was under the surveillance of the Sacred Palace.

Of course, the current master of the Sacred Palace, Ugo, was not as bored as he would become later. At this moment, he was wholeheartedly accompanying Aladdin, the son of King Solomon.

The only thing that puzzled Ling Yuan now was...

When Ren Kouen obtained Phoenix, Kougyoku should have been thirteen years old, but why was she only nine now?

Could it be a butterfly effect caused by the group chat? But that didn't make sense either, the group chat had only been active for three days.

Even with a butterfly effect, it shouldn't have shortened the timeline so drastically.

Soon, it was afternoon.

Ren Kouen stood expressionlessly at the front, leading an army of about five hundred people.

There was Kouen, Kouha, Koumei, Kougyoku, and the First Princess, Ren Hakuei, daughter of the former Emperor Ren Hakutoku.

In addition to that, there was Judal, the black Magi, hovering in mid-air.

A total of six people.

Kouen glanced at Kougyoku, who was hiding behind Ling Yuan, then shifted his gaze to Ling Yuan.

Ling Yuan, who was being looked at, smiled and waved.

It was a greeting.

Kouen didn't say much more. He mounted his horse, pulled the reins, and his calm voice rang out, "Let's go!"

But soon, Ling Yuan had a new problem.

He, it seemed, didn't know how to ride a horse...

Chapter 16: Do You Want to Know the Secret Hidden in the World?

However, just as everyone else mounted their horses, Only two people remained standing still.

These two out of place individuals attracted the attention of those around them.

Ling Yuan: "..."

There was a very awkward problem now.

He didn't know how to ride a horse!

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person struggling to make a living. Where would he have had the time to learn how to ride a horse?

"Kougyoku, what's wrong?" Ren Hakuei asked.

Kougyoku also looked at Ling Yuan curiously, "Brother Ling Yuan?"

"Brother? Kougyoku, why are you calling this guy brother?" Kouha asked, not understanding.

Ling Yuan: "..."

Being stared at by so many people, Ling Yuan was momentarily stunned.

His brain entered a brief shutdown. Ling Yuan took a deep breath.

He made a decision.

Since I can't control my bottom line, I'll break through my upper limit!

Under everyone's confused gaze, Ling Yuan slowly raised his hand.

"Whoosh~"

Flames surged from all directions.

"Huh?"

Judal, the Imperial Priest who had been yawning, seemed to see something unbelievable.

"No Rukh?!"

Rukh is a butterfly-like entity.

Everything in this world is constructed from Rukh.

It is the torrent of life and the embodiment of energy.

But on this human, he not only saw no trace of Rukh, but even the Rukh around the summoned flames showed no response!

The flames condensed in Ling Yuan's hand, eventually transforming into a handgun that resembled a firebird.

Ren Kouen frowned.

A gun?

But the next moment, Ling Yuan's words sent a shock through everyone present.

"Blazing Flame of the Highest Heaven and Truth—"

Whoosh~

Flames appeared around Ling Yuan, forming a circle of orange-red fire that isolated him and Ren Kougyoku within.

"Whoa!"

Sensing danger, the horses began to stir restlessly.

"What?!"

Everyone quickly settled their mounts, staring in disbelief at Ling Yuan within the flames.

"Is this guy a Metal Vessel user?" Ren Koumei asked, steadying the horse beneath him.

Even Ren Kougyoku was bewildered.

At this moment, Ling Yuan's words concluded.

"Bestow upon me, dwell within me—"

"Transform me into the great Dragon God!"

The Blazing Key in his hand emitted endless light.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by an ancient dragon's roar.

An incomparably massive phantom of a fire dragon appeared in the void before everyone's stunned gazes.

In an instant, all five hundred-plus horses shrieked in unison.