King Chaman

"Speaking of which, the Treasure Land has been even livelier than usual lately."

Looking at the 108 towering mountain peaks in the distance, King Chaman sighed and said with a wistful air, "Ever since the 'Land of Divine Gift' appeared, many Venerables have gone with the God Lord to explore it. Most of us King-Ranks come here to have some fun and do a little support work on the side.

"But without all those Venerables around, we have a bit more freedom, too. By the way, we have a dedicated plane in the Hong Alliance. How come I couldn't find you just now?"

"King-Rank status is recognized within one's own race through the Virtual Universe. The Hong Alliance judges by battle records, and I don't have any noteworthy battles to show for myself. But there's no need to rush that for now."

Chen Qing wore a helpless expression and spread his hands. "Hahaha, it doesn't matter. We'll take it one step at a time."

Looking at King Chaman's beaming face, Chen Qing began to ponder. King Chaman probably hadn't advanced through the Genius Battle; he must have worked his way up one step at a time. It seemed he had a soft spot for someone like Chen Qing, who had spent nearly ten million eras before finally becoming a King-Rank. No wonder he'd been there to greet him as soon as he came out. He'd probably gone out of his way to do so.

"By the way, this place is a bit far. Did Green Jade King come by space or by time?"

"When it comes to staying alive, teleportation is naturally the priority. Otherwise, how could I have survived this long?"

"Good. Let's teleport over, then. It'll be faster."

At that moment, on a mountain near the outer edge, a Venerable of the Fanchui Race sensed a disturbance in space and turned to look outside. "Hmph! Humans again, those pieces of garbage!"

He had just started to turn away when he stopped and narrowed his single eye at the two people at the foot of the mountain. He'd been humiliated at the "Land of Divine Gift" some time ago and had been looking for somewhere to vent his anger. "Heh, so-called pinnacle races—they're all bandits!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his massive aura wrapped around him as he shot toward the foot of the mountain.

"Heh, Venerable Beishan is bullying the weak again. Who's it this time? Oh, King Chaman. Since when has Venerable Beishan gotten so bold?"

"King Chaman doesn't count as a core member. There's another one beside him. I think he's called Green Jade King, appeared a thousand years ago, and doesn't seem to have any battle records."

"Just some old human scholar who got lucky, self-proclaimed King-Rank. The sight of him makes me sick!"

Several Demon Race King-Ranks stood nearby, watching the show. They didn't even bother using voice transmission. Their mocking looks were plain to see, and they deliberately spoke loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

As they talked, King Chaman also noticed something strange at the mountaintop. But the Venerable was moving too fast. He had barely stepped half a pace in front of Chen Qing when the aura swept past him like a flood and stopped not far behind them.

Damn it!

Chen Qing helped King Chaman, who had fallen face-first to the ground, back to his feet. Although he knew of Venerable Beishan, what terrible luck. He'd gotten the same treatment as Luo Feng. "What kind of mangy dog is this? Missing an eye and still doesn't know to be careful, running wild everywhere. What a pest!"

"Hahaha, Green Jade King is right. What a pest!"

King Chaman brushed the dust off his clothes. The Human Race wasn't afraid of these minor races, especially a notorious Venerable like Beishan.

Venerable Beishan didn't move again. He only glared at them. After a moment, his aura subsided. He glanced at Chen Qing, then turned and left the Treasure Land.

"Something's not right! Green Jade King, don't go out alone for a while."

King Chaman explained Venerable Beishan's temperament to Chen Qing through voice transmission, then said gravely, "It looks like he really wants you dead. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone quiet like that."

Chen Qing nodded, his smile turning a little grim. "He probably hasn't been insulted by a King-Rank like that before. After all, he is a Venerable. If word gets out, not only will he lose face, but the other Venerables will be ashamed of him."

"You human brat, you really don't know your place. Go back and drink a few tens of thousands more eras' worth of milk. Otherwise, you might die one day without even knowing why!"

Chen Qing had barely finished speaking when laughter rang out from the distance. It was the same few Demon Race King-Ranks who had been watching the show.

"The one who spoke is Blade King of the Sky Wolf Race, one of the Eighteen Royal Clans of the Demon Race!"

The Sky Wolf Race? Lord of Sky Wolf seemed to be in charge of intelligence. Since he'd already offended a Venerable, why should he be afraid of a mere King-Rank?

Chen Qing scoffed inwardly and took a step forward, appearing instantly before Blade King's enormous eyes. Looking at his dilated pupils, he said softly, "Your mouth stinks!"

He turned and returned to King Chaman's side as if he had never left. Only then did Blade King's aura spread out, knocking over the Demon Race member beside him.

"Deep teleportation!"

"No, there was Time Acceleration too!"

Blade King said no more. He even retracted the blades on his claws a little. After one last look at Chen Qing, he turned and led his teammates away.

"Hahaha, good! You really are the Green Jade King I believe in. Everyone thinks you just got lucky, but I don't see it that way. We've never given up!"

King Chaman had never been this happy. Perhaps he'd had teammates and brothers before, but he'd never felt such a profound kinship with anyone. "Come on. Maybe we'll find something different this time. There are plenty of good things here—at the very least, top-grade precious materials."

In the Demon Race Territory, inside a majestic palace, Lord of Sky Wolf, covered in white fur, studied the intelligence report in his hands. "Green Jade King? It took him so long to become a King-Rank. He's probably a lucky fellow with strong willpower. No matter how strong he is, he's still useless. At most, he'll be about as strong as a Venerable. There shouldn't be any problem.

"But since he insulted one of my people, I'll have Tianhua take a look. If that useless Fanchui Venerable can't stop him, we can deal with him ourselves."

With that, he tossed the report aside and continued searching for other unusually rising powerhouses.

Inside a Mechanical Fortress elsewhere, Mechanical Father God had returned and was surrounded by countless flickering beams of light. Suddenly, at a certain moment, they all came to a halt. "Great Father God, an unusual King-Rank has appeared in the Ancestral God Religion. There's a 79.7% chance that he's ordinary, a 2.5% chance that he's a hidden human genius, a 17% chance that he's obtained a special opportunity, and a 0.8% chance that he's an anomaly."

"Green Jade King?"

Mechanical Father God seemed to be performing an extremely complex calculation. The fortress remained silent for a full quarter of an hour before he spoke. "We can't let him go, even if the chance is only one in a thousand. That Green Lotus affects even us, who have no souls. No one understands its wonders better than we do. Send a Venerable over. Also, gather all the related information. We have no leads right now, so we might as well try this. Even if he turns out to be ordinary, we can still draw the other races' attention to him!"

"Yes, Great Father God!"

In the Zerg Territory, Lord of Minglian entered a massive Mother Nest. At its very center, the Empress reclined with a graceful figure, her gauzy veil floating like strands of wind as she radiated endless allure. "Sister Empress, there's a newly discovered King-Rank powerhouse here. She's probably reached Invincible King."

"Oh, is that so?"

The Empress's elegant voice drifted from her lips. Lord of Minglian's intelligence report flew into her hand. "Green Jade King. Green as jade—is that deliberate or unintentional? My soul seems to be stirring. What a strange feeling. Little Sister Minglian, keep a close eye on him. Don't rush to harm him. Some opportunities can't simply be seized at will, especially when they involve things beyond our understanding. We only need to keep track of those who have an opportunity."

"Yes, Sister Empress!"