I Can Never Repay Your Kindness / Law of Heaven and Earth

Nangong Nayue thought through gritted teeth.

Fortunately, Aya Tokoyogi helped her share the burden last night; otherwise, she probably wouldn't even be able to stand up today.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. Our fate as witches is inherently turbulent. Let alone a lifelong partner, it's hard to even find like-minded friends. Now, it's rare to find a man capable of accepting us. What more could you possibly want, Yue?"

Aya Tokoyogi raised an eyebrow.

Upon hearing this, Nangong Nayue's expression stiffened, then she smiled bitterly and said, "That's not what I meant, it's just... I used to think I would live a lonely and miserable life, but everything changed after he came."

Chapter 368 The debt of gratitude can never be repaid

And so, every night Ren would discuss the coexistence of demons and humans with the witch and the True Ancestor, and time flew by unnoticed.

During this period, the defeat of the Sanctuary Organization Army sparked controversy, with several countries seemingly privately considering whether they should withdraw from the Sanctuary Treaty Organization.

Those countries that had not joined the Sanctuary Treaty Organization responded with sarcasm and ridicule.

However, a considerable number of people also expressed great concern about Ren's combat strength.

While the original vampire progenitors were considered to be the strongest in terms of individual strength, it was also believed that they could be dealt with using advanced technology and military techniques.

However, Ren's performance has once again raised concerns within the military.

Therefore, although the Sanctuary Organization Army was defeated, countries around the world began to increase their military spending due to a sense of urgency, in order to develop more advanced and cutting-edge weapons.

However, some countries take a different approach.

Lacking both money and technology, they simply waited for the Fourth Progenitor to establish a nation, and then established diplomatic relations as soon as possible.

The idea was simple: if you can't beat them, join them.

The day of the nation's founding arrived quickly.

The founding ceremony was held in the center of the square at the Keystone Gate.

People who had already received the news flocked to the scene, their eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and unease.

Then, amidst the great attention of the crowd, the Original, dressed in her finest attire, confidently stepped onto the stage.

The moment he stepped onto the stage, the once noisy square fell silent, and everyone subconsciously held their breath.

Then, in the slightly tense atmosphere of Itogami Island, the Original looked at the tens of thousands of people below the stage and began his speech without notes.

"Dear citizens."

"On January 30th, the new Night Empire Government was established, and we also repelled all invaders who attempted to defeat us, so I believe that the goals I promised before have been achieved."

"Most of you don't know why I suddenly appeared and announced the establishment of a nation on Itogami Island, but you will soon find out why I started this movement."

"First, I want to make one thing clear to everyone: we should not be held responsible for any losses or casualties caused by that previous war. We were not the cause of the war, we were not the commanders of the war, and we have no ability to change the world's political landscape. What happened to me when I was a True Ancestor of Vampires, living among ordinary people, taught me that the only way to change the situation of being oppressed is for all people, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, to unite..."

At this moment, as the Original speech began, the crowd, most of whom had initially just come to join the fun, gradually lost their joking expressions.

His face gradually became serious and earnest.

Meanwhile, in the main office of the Keystone Gate, Ren and the girls were waiting.

Nangong Nayue squinted, listening quietly to the other person's speech, and then asked, "Did she come up with all these things herself?"

Although the Original didn't appear very often, its arrogant attitude left a deep impression on many people who came into contact with it.

Aside from showing a little respect to Ren, he treated everyone else with utter condescension, much like how emperors of the past treated their subjects or commoners.

She treated everyone the same, including Nagisa Akatsuki and the others.

So when Ren made the decision to have the Original give a speech, she still thought the Original would definitely pull off something big.

For example, saying things like, "You are all my subjects," or "From now on, you must all listen to me."

Unexpectedly, the content of the speech was completely different from what she had imagined.

Even she couldn't help but want to keep listening.

And as I listened, I even felt a surge of excitement.

"No, I taught her yesterday."

"That's what Ren said."

Of course, the content of the speech was not entirely Ren's own idea, but rather the result of him copying a certain "great man" and making minor adjustments to fit the current situation.

There's no need to double-check anything; the so-called founding ceremony is just a formality, something for the people of Itogami Island and the whole world to see.

But putting everything else aside, this revised speech is actually quite effective.

Especially when combined with the momentum and attitude brought by the Original, the speech sounded even more powerful.

No.

The people in the audience seemed to have been injected with adrenaline, and those with determined gazes were even more eager to join the Party.

"Fellow citizens, I swear that if you give me four years, I will carry on the promise I made when I took office, not for salary or power, but for you."

"Even if some of you still doubt or even scorn me, time will prove that what I have done is the best. I believe that time is not far off, and those who condemn me will become one of us, and together we will cheer and welcome the new Night Empire we have created, a proud and powerful empire!"

The speech has ended.

After nearly five seconds of silence, the audience, suddenly realizing what had happened, erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.

Long-suppressed emotions erupted like a volcano, and deafening cheers resounded through the sky.

At first, there were only scattered shouts and cries.

But soon, millions of voices spontaneously converged into a unified shout.

"The Fourth True Ancestor!"

"The Fourth True Ancestor!"

"The Fourth True Ancestor!"

The calls grew louder and louder, echoing back and forth above the Keystone Gate.

Every person from Itogami Island at the scene had a burning fervent worship and gratitude in their eyes; some of them even had tears in their eyes and reached out their hands to the figure on the stage.

At this moment, in their hearts, the Fourth Ancestor was like a burning sun.

The debt of gratitude owed to the Fourth Ancestor can never be repaid!

Residents of Itogami Island: o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Himeragi Yukina, Kirasaka Sayaka, Liana, and Veldiana stood behind Ren.

The latter's eyes were filled with reverence, while the former had never expected that Ren's casually written speech could be so unifying.

Although the residents of Itogami Island did not have a difficult life, the threat from the Sanctuary Organization Army had indeed made many people feel desperate. However, after he single-handedly repelled the army, all the problems were solved.

Not only those who became new citizens of the empire, but also Himeragi Yukina and Sayaka Kirasaka changed their opinion of Ren once again.

Later, the Chaos Bride called via a private line, "What exactly happened with that speech? How did you manage to do that? Don't tell me it was the Original made up on the spot; I know her skill level very well."

Ren offered a brief explanation, and the Chaos Bride sighed even more, "Luckily, I'm one of those who know the inside story; otherwise, I'd start worrying about whether you'll launch a second demon war after you establish your kingdom."

Just as the Chaos Bride was expressing her feelings and the people were in an uproar, the system's voice rang out at the opportune moment.

Chapter 369 The Heavenly Law, Earthly Form

[Quest: The Rise of the Fourth Progenitor]

[Objective: To personally create a Night Empire, requiring a territory of at least 220,000 square kilometers and a population of at least 500,000.]

[Rewards: Will be determined based on the Night Empire's influence and individual contributions.]

[Main quest completed, rewards being calculated.]

[Reward obtained: Heavenly Law, Earthly Form]

[Skill - Heavenly Law, Earthly Form: Gain the supernatural Heavenly Law, Earthly Form. After use, the body can grow larger, and all attributes are multiplied. The larger the body, the greater the attribute increase.]

[Note: Duration and enhancement multiplier depend on the host's strength. After use, a period of weakness ensues, and the duration of the negative effects depends on the host's strength.]

"Oh."

Ren's eyes lit up when he saw the rewards panel.

After all, he had been looking forward to seeing what kind of good stuff the final reward of the main quest would be.

Even from his perspective, the main questline of Strike the Blood was taking a rather long time.

However, this is still due to the limitation that "it depends on the influence of the Night Empire and its own contribution."

If he rushed to Itogami Island the day he caught the Original Pokémon and then declared himself king, putting aside the question of whether other countries would recognize him, it would be difficult to determine the effort he put in during that process.

That's why he chose to take a slightly safer approach, continuing with the main quest only after the Feast of the Crimson had ended.

Regardless of whether his previous guesses were correct, judging solely from the rewards obtained from the main quest, it can only be said that he did not make any mistakes.

Although the atmosphere outside was lively during the founding ceremony, Ren's mind was no longer on it.

He now wants to test the power of the Heavenly Law, Earthly Form Technique.

After all, before this, the abilities he had acquired were all from Western games and anime.

The ability to "Heavenly Law, Earthly Form" can be considered a unique skill in Eastern mythology.

Moreover, if you really have to put it that way, this isn't even a skill, but rather a "supernatural power."

As many people who have read Journey to the West know, Sun Wukong, the childhood idol of many, learned several magical arts when he became an apprentice of the Bodhi Patriarch.

Besides the most well-known Seventy-Two Transformations and Somersault Cloud, there is another technique that few people know about: the Great Heavenly Immortal Art.

It can be said that Sun Wukong's strength is due not only to his extremely high talent and potential, but also to the significant role Great Heavenly Immortal Art.

Cultivators can become invisible, walk on the sun and moon without leaving a trace, enter metal and stone without hindrance, enter water without drowning, and enter fire without burning. They possess abilities such as subduing tigers and capturing dragons, kicking the sky and manipulating wells, changing constellations and shifting stars, and moving and transporting objects.

After the elixir is completed, one can even use powerful supernatural abilities such as the ability to manipulate the Heavenly Law, Earthly Form.

It can even move the universe and bring the dead back to life.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at the description tells you just how outrageous this immortal technique is.

Although the protagonists in various time-travel novels have many strange and wonderful abilities, if he really had to choose from all the options and succeed, Ren would probably choose the path of cultivating immortality.

After all, the improvement brought by cultivating immortality is too great, and unlike some power systems, it can only strengthen a single path.

However, the path of cultivation depends too much on talent and potential. Ordinary people can cultivate for a lifetime and still not make any progress. Of course, if everyone had a Heaven-Palm Bottle like Han Laomo, that would be a different story.

Ren felt a little regretful that he hadn't obtained the Great Heavenly Immortal Art, but only the unique divine power of the Heavenly Law, Earthly Form.

But he didn't think much of it.

After all, even in the original Journey to the Journey to the West, very few deities possessed the ability to manifest the Heavenly Law, Earthly Form.

Throughout the entire book, only Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen used this supernatural power.

After acquiring supernatural powers, Ren has independently figured out how to use the ability of "Heavenly Law, Earthly Form".

"The Heavenly Law, Earthly Form, open!"

After leaving the office and finding an empty room next door, Ren tested his newly acquired supernatural power and even solemnly expressed his thoughts.

Supernatural powers are something that don't really matter whether you talk about them or not, unlike the Word Power in the Campione! world, where you often have to read the words aloud to unleash their full power.

But besides being powerful, its biggest function is to make people feel chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) and cool.

Otherwise, why do the main characters in tokusatsu dramas always say "Henshin" when they transform?

Whether you're strong or not is a matter of time, but whether you're handsome or not is a matter of a lifetime.

The next second.

Ren felt an unprecedented power surging within him.

A golden radiance surrounded him, and within that radiance, his body grew without wind, expanding in an instant to a massive size about three meters tall.

"Oh? This isn't quite what I imagined, but this should be the authentic version of the Heavenly Law, Earthly Form."

In ancient Chinese, "fa" and "xiang" both mean "image".

Therefore, the literal meaning of "Heavenly Law, Earthly Form" is to be as great as heaven and earth.

Those who possess this supernatural power can naturally expand their bodies to enormous sizes.

Of course, there is also the beauty of numbers.

Ren, who had expanded to about three meters in size, felt an explosive increase in the power within his body, roughly estimating that it was at least a three-fold increase.

Moreover, this upgrade is not just a simple increase in strength and power like the "Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet"Longinus from High School DxD, but a comprehensive upgrade across all attributes.