Goodbye, Friend

All the Chosen of Gods of the Nightless Sky Family have died young.

This is already an open secret among the Noble circles of the city that City That Never Sleeps.

Even the other Five Great Families and other Chosen of God, who are also Royal Nobles, do not know what kind of limitations the Nightless Sky Family's "Chosen of Wisdom" has that causes this family's Chosen of God to iterate at a faster pace.

But...

They were indeed aware of this fact—and they had not given up investigating it.

However, because the reason for this matter is almost a top secret even within the Nightless Sky Family, the efforts of other families over the years have not yielded any substantial progress.

Now...

Kim Solence was almost the first of the other Four Royal Nobles to discover this secret.

He could sense something from the state of Nightless Sky Yong Lian and the "God of Wisdom" who descended there...

"God of Wisdom"... something's not right.

Although the Divine Kingdom here is only Projection, Kim Solence could still sense that the "Divine Kingdom" of the God of Wisdom was incomplete and unstable.

Although he couldn't immediately know the exact Truth that the "God of Wisdom" was a false, artificial Deity, his assessment of the situation allowed him to form some fairly accurate guesses.

It's simply that... the God of Wisdom is either in a very weak period, or perhaps he suffered a severe blow while merging with a second Authority.

In short, the "God of Wisdom" is not at his peak, which is indeed the information that King Solence currently knows.

And...

He could also sense that this was related to the fact that "all the Chosen of Wisdom of the Nightless Sky Family were short-lived."

Because the moment the Divine Kingdom Projection appeared, he could also sense that... the power contained within the soul of Nightless Sky Yong Lian was being consumed in large quantities.

Her soul is being rapidly assimilated by this Divine Kingdom.

Others in the City That Never Sleeps may not realize what this means.

But Kim Solence, who was also one of the "Chosen of God," could certainly see how unusual this was.

Even if the descent of Deity summoned by "Chosen of God" causes different levels of physical depletion to the Chosen of God person due to various means, it is impossible for the god to manifest during the descent process!

Some "descents" that meet special conditions can even heal the injuries of the Chosen of God and, in turn, use Divine Power to restore Chosen of God to their peak condition.

Even a normal "Divine Descent" that comes at a cost and involves consumption could never cause any loss to the Chosen of God one during the Divine Descent itself.

In particular, it's impossible for a state that can no longer be described as "consumption," but rather as "damage to the soul" to occur!

"So that's why the 'Chosen of Wisdom' was short-lived..."

"Did you actively choose your 'dead end' and exert influence... also in order to change all of this?"

Kim Solence murmured, pondering.

But...

This conjecture, which went from zero to one, or even from zero to ninety-nine, and was only one step away from the Truth with some minor differences, did not bring Kim Solence the slightest excitement or satisfaction.

The reason is quite simple...

The price... is far too heavy!

Kim Solence had already foreseen that Nightless Sky Yong Lian would inevitably die today on the rooftop of the Universal Trade Association, in his own office.

He himself, Kim Solence, would be the last person to see Nightless Sky Yong Lian City.

So...

He absolutely cannot let a word of this get out!

At the very least... it can't leak out immediately!

It also couldn't be that after everyone in the City Never City That Never Sleeps realized that Nightless Sky Yong Lian had communicated with the God of Wisdom here and summoned the God of Wisdom, people would discover that she had died here!

This enormous trouble will inevitably plunge the Solence Family into the eye of the Storm and cause the already crumbling situation of the entire City That Never Sleeps to collapse completely—and it will begin to collapse right now, right here.

This is something that Kim Solence, who hoped for a smooth transition and a gradual transfer of power within the Solence Family, absolutely did not want to see.

This matter might present an opportunity, but Kim Solence didn't think he could seize it.

The death of a Chosen of God, Royal Nobles, is enough to shake this city that City That Never Sleeps.

Not to mention...

She is Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

No one can withstand the turmoil unleashed by the death of Nightless Sky Yong Lian —it's no different from facing the collapse of the heavens.

The risk is too great.

Kim Solence predicted without exaggeration that "Eternal Royal Nobles of the Nightless Sky Yong Lian" would die, especially under the influence of "the descent of the God of Wisdom"... If left unchecked, the impact of this might even lead to one more or one less noble family in the City of City That Never Sleeps.

Therefore, he had to do everything in his power to stop it all.

The "Alchemy God" has finally descended upon this place—King Solence used his unrestrained Complete Divine Descent and Divine Kingdom to cover almost the entire Inner City.

The dazzling Rainbowlight overshadowed the perpetually gloomy sky above the City That Never Sleeps that never sleeps, and the surging Alchemy Energy filled the entire City That Never Sleeps with a sense of intoxication.

Alchemy Energy is like oxygen to Alchemy Components. Judging from the current concentration of Alchemy Energy that Jin Solence has accumulated and dissipated after activating his Divine Descent... everyone in the City That Never Sleeps is going to get oxygen intoxication.

This is equivalent to Kim Solence treating all the residents and employees of the City That Never Sleeps to prosthetic body treatments—and the Inner City residents got the high-end version.

Even the Alchemy Turbulence that was originally expected to affect the Great Wilderness within the City That Never Sleeps was blocked outside the city by this Divine Descent.

"After all that, we still have to hold a press conference... There has to be a reason for this sudden 'Divine Descent,' otherwise rumors of me going crazy will spread, causing headaches for the company's stock price and the family's public opinion..."

"Blocking Alchemy Turbulence and preventing it from causing damage? Forget it... giving such a reason for doing charity would probably make people think I'm crazy!"

"Demonstrating a determination to resist 'Supreme Evolution'? That seems far-fetched and doesn't quite fit..."

"I've got it! Let's just hold a promotional festival... If there's no reason, we'll create one afterward—bigger discounts, pretend we're trying to grab market share, and release all the new products we were planning to launch throughout the year, making it look like a surprise commercial attack... Hmm, seems like a good idea, we might even make a profit—the only thing to consider is what to do for the rest of the year."

While being under Divine Descent and continuously receiving Alchemy Energy, Jin Solence was also seriously contemplating the matter.

After all, the reason he made such a grand spectacle covering the entire City That Never Sleeps was to conceal the Deity emanating from Eternal Love of Nightless Sky Yong Lian, who was currently in the office, gradually merging with the "God of Wisdom," as if engaging in some kind of tug-of-war with the deity she worshipped.

Although the Authority of the God of Wisdom did not actually radiate outwards much, it seemed to be confined to the interior of this office.

However, if Jin Solence hadn't descended with the Chosen of God of this caliber, it would have been impossible for him to have detected the fact that he had blocked the other experts in the City That Never Sleeps.

If possible, Kim Solence would prefer that no one discover that Nightless Sky Yong Lian died in his office.

And it is precisely because Kim Solence's goal was to "conceal"...

So besides keeping the atmosphere of this place a secret, he also had to come up with an explanation to justify his actions afterward and avoid arousing suspicion.

Otherwise... if my intention was to cover it up, wouldn't it just backfire and attract even more people to investigate what happened?

But...

The reasons given afterward are not even Kim Solence's biggest headache right now.

Because Kim Solence knew perfectly well that his hasty arrival, forced upon him by Nightless Sky Yong Lian, was definitely not the kind of arrival that would benefit or restore the Chosen of God.

After the "descent" ends, I will probably be severely weakened.

Even in the next few years, he probably won't be able to use such "Divine Descent" techniques anymore—he might even have to avoid using Divine Art as much as possible.

However... without going to this extent, it would be impossible to conceal the aura emanating from Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian is risking her life... so I have no choice but to risk mine too.

Thinking of this, Kim Solence couldn't help but sigh again.

"Is this why Nightless Sky Yong Lian is so sure that even if the Nightless Sky Huo Shu is handed over to me, I won't be able to interfere in the affairs of the Nightless Sky Family a few years later?"

"Is it because she calculated that I would be severely weakened this time, so she wants a smooth transition of power to take longer?"

As Kim Solence thought about it, he felt it was increasingly likely, and he couldn't help but think to himself again.

"As expected, Nightless Sky Yong Lian saying that she might also 'suffer a loss,' and that the predicament she faces this time is completely different... was a complete lie."

"I've really been... terribly wronged."

"Honestly, why does it have to be me!"

And this was what Kim Solence was thinking to himself.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian over there also spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Old Jin, for forcing you into this situation—but it's a necessary expedient measure I had to take."

"After all, there are only a handful of people in the entire City That Never Sleeps who can help me cover up this commotion."

"And if we have to choose from among them... you are already the best candidate."

Kim Solence was somewhat surprised to hear Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

"You can read minds? Have you finally pushed the Alchemy of the Emotion Spectrum to this level?"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian chuckled, "I don't know that kind of thing, but... judging from your expression, I can roughly guess what you're thinking!"

"Anyway... thank you, Old Jin."

Kim Solence was about to complain a bit, but then he suddenly realized...

At some point, the symbols behind Nightless Sky Yong Lian had become extremely dim and mostly disappeared.

It resembles a stone tablet that has been eroded by the wind for thousands of years, with many characters worn away.

Even the life force of Nightless Sky Yong Lian had declined to its lowest point.

She now resembles a frail old woman who may die at any moment, or a newborn baby who has not yet cried.

Kim Solence opened his mouth, and finally, this mountain-like man stood in his own Divine Kingdom and sighed softly.

You're welcome, old friend.