Chapter 245: Divinity and Authority, New Changes on the Panel

Chapter 245: Divinity and Authority, New Changes on the Panel

On the rooftop, Star Protector stood motionless, blending in with the snow as he observed the scene in the courtyard below.

He slowly shook his head, his thoughts turning inward.

"Without a Divine Embryo, it's not worth taking such a risk for a mere shell of a Divine Statue," he silently mused.

After reaching a decision, he quietly retreated.

He was well aware that if he provoked Hong Minghu, his strength would be no match for the latter.

The more he understood about Divine Lineage Transformation, the more he less willing he was to use such a method.

Each time he did, he took one step closer to the abyss of losing his divine mind.

Previously, there had already been many martial artists within the sect who had completely lost their divine minds.

Meanwhile, as the figure on the rooftop withdrew, Jiang Ning's gaze locked onto the man in front of him.

At this moment, the man looked at Jiang Ning, his eyes filled with confidence and composure.

This composure did not stem from confidence in his own strength.

Instead, it was rooted in his anticipation of the arrival of the Star Protector.

The Star Protector was a Fifth Rank Inner Power Fortification cultivator, whose inner breath had reached the stage of Condensing Illusory Qi into Reality, and its thickness had become as vast as a river.

This level of thickness in inner breath was far superior to those who had just begun to condense their inner breath at the Fifth Rank.

Not to mention, the young man before him was a dual cultivator of both inner and outer strength.

To have achieved the stage of Condensing Illusory Qi into Reality at such a young age was indeed remarkable.

But what of it?

Dual cultivation was still dual cultivation.

How could it compare to a Fifth Rank cultivator? Not to mention, the Star Protector's inner breath was as thick as a great river.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Jiang Ning's body moved.

"So fast!" The man's pupils constricted, and he immediately countered.

Bang—

Fists collided, and their forces clashed.

Riiip—

The sleeve of his right arm seemed to tear apart by an invisible force, and the shredded fabric scattered like a celestial maiden's flowers, while his body rapidly retreated backward.

"So weak?" Jiang Ning was astonished.

He twisted his right foot.

Boom—

The ground beneath his feet instantly shattered, and he successfully countered the retreating momentum, his body surging forward again.

At the same time, the man's face changed drastically once more.

He felt two extreme forces within his right arm clashing and erupting.

This powerful eruption continuously tore at the flesh and tendons of his right arm.

Even his bones, which had already reached the Profound Bone Realm and were gradually transforming into jade, now also felt excruciating pain under the force of this eruption.

In less than a breath's time, his exposed right arm, which had been unharmed initially, became drenched in blood, and his muscles continued to split, while his veins ruptured repeatedly.

As Jiang Ning drew closer, the man's eyes once again filled with terror.

He was no match for Jiang Ning!

Boom—

Another collision of fists.

Observing the martial artist's distorted body, Jiang Ning's inner breath erupted, and he struck out with another punch.

This punch faced no resistance and landed directly on the man's skull.

In an instant, the man's head exploded like a watermelon.

Jiang Ning retracted his fist and shook his head slightly.

"Bone Forging Sixth Rank, too weak!"

"Just now, he had the posture of a strong cultivator, so calm and composed. I really thought he was some powerful expert!"

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but chuckle.

He had almost been intimidated by this man just now.

Then, he looked at the corpse, and his heart rejoiced.

The previous Bone Forging Sixth Rank martial artist, being a member of the Adoration God Sect, had contributed a full fifty thousand Merit Points.

Today, another Bone Forging Sixth Rank martial artist, also a member of the Adoration God Sect, had been tainted by the evil god's aura and could transform into a distorted form.

This was another great achievement for the Inspection Bureau in their mission to eradicate the Adoration God Sect.

Additionally, in the courtyard, there were five headless corpses that had also undergone distortion.

Four of them were Eighth Rank, and one was Seventh Rank, making it a considerable harvest.

Not to mention, in the underground passage, there was also a Divine Statue that had been previously enshrined in the City God Shrine.

Finding that statue would be another great achievement, worth fifty thousand Merit Points.

Thinking of all this, Jiang Ning's heart was filled with silent satisfaction.

Today's trip had yielded a much greater harvest than he had imagined.

At this moment, the battle ended, and the dust settled.

The crowd behind him exchanged glances.

"So strong!" someone whispered.

"Indeed! Commander Jiang's strength is clearly much greater than it was a few months ago!"

"What level of strength do you think Commander Jiang has reached now?"

"Above Eighth Rank, at least Seventh Rank Great Perfection or even the peak!"

"Did you notice what he said just now?"

"What did he say?"

"Dual cultivation! Condensing Illusory Qi into Reality!"

". . ."

Faced with the whispers and exclamations from behind, Jiang Ning's expression remained unchanged, and he refocused his gaze on the house in front of him.

Because the entrance to the underground passage was right ahead, and the divine statue that the Inspection Office had been searching for days was right there.

"Sir!" Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Jiuge approached and stood behind Jiang Ning.

"Let's go! Follow me into the underground passage!" Jiang Ning said.

"Yes, sir!" The two immediately replied.

After that, the three of them entered the dilapidated house.

Instantly, they saw the dark entrance on the ground ahead.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ning took out a torch from his Xumi Ring.

He held the end of the torch and casually waved it.

Boom—

Flames instantly rose from the tip of the torch, illuminating the room brightly.

Feng Jiuge was surprised and glanced at Jiang Ning.

Even with her discerning eyes, she couldn't figure out how Jiang Ning had managed such a casual and effortless way of lighting the torch.

"You two, follow me!" Jiang Ning said indifferently.

As his voice fell, he took the lead and stepped into the descending stairs of the underground passage.

Although he was already familiar with the layout of the underground passage, he still needed to put on a little act.

On the other side.

When the crowd saw Jiang Ning and the two team leaders enter the house, they immediately relaxed.

"Is it our turn to strike it rich today?" someone laughed.

"Of course!" Another person pointed at the bodies on the ground and said, "Six bodies tainted with the essence of the Flesh and Blood God, all members of the Worship God Sect. This is a great achievement!"

"Yes!" Another person nodded in agreement, "Even if we only get a small share of the reward, it's still a windfall!"

For a moment, the crowd was filled with anticipation for the upcoming reward distribution, and their faces showed smiles.

In the underground passage.

Jiang Ning led the two through the narrow stairs and into a solid ground, where the area suddenly opened up, illuminated by the torchlight.

The underground passage was about three zhang wide, and every ten steps along the walls, a torch was hung.

"Sir, looking at the direction of this underground passage, it seems to lead outside the city!" Xie Xiaojiu spoke up.

"That's right, it leads outside the city!" Jiang Ning nodded and then continued forward.

At the same time.

The crowd in the courtyard outside suddenly heard the loud calls of the sentries at the door.

"Greetings, Commander Yuan!"

"Greetings, Commander Yuan!"

The two voices echoed, causing the crowd's joyful hearts to sink.

In Luoshui County, who else would be addressed as Commander Yuan? Only Yuan Hua, a Seventh Stage Martial Artist, would be called by this title by the sentries at the door.

The next moment.

They saw a group of people appearing at the entrance of the courtyard and then stepping into the courtyard.

"Greetings, Commander Yuan!"

"Greetings, Commander Yuan!"

"Greetings, Commander Yuan!"

When they saw Yuan Hua, they had no choice but to salute him.

In the Inspection Office, they could ignore other team leaders and not salute them because they had their own team leader.

But they couldn't ignore the Deputy Commander level; they had to salute upon seeing them.

Even when they were out on official business, it was the same.

Yuan Hua stepped into the courtyard, and with a sweep of his eyes, he saw the bodies scattered on the ground, as well as those few headless corpses with distorted flesh and blood.

"Commander Jiang is quite capable, taking away the credit that rightfully belongs to me!"

Upon hearing these words, the courtyard fell silent.

No one was a fool; they naturally understood that Commander Yuan wanted to take a share of the credit and claim the achievement for himself.

Seeing this, the crowd's hearts sank.

Yuan Hua was a student from the Academy.

And the Academy was an institution in the city, an official institution for cultivating martial arts geniuses.

It was affiliated with the Martial Sage Palace.

And because of this, when the Inspection Office was established, whether it was the Martial Garden or the Academy, as well as the higher-level Daoist Palace students,

they were all filled into various Inspection Offices, taking up important positions.

These people skipped the middle stages of competition and struggle, and it could be said that they had risen to the top in one step.

These people were also core members of various Inspection Offices across the land, not only with extraordinary martial arts skills but also from the same place, having deep connections and friendships from their school days.

Basically, if one was offended, it was like offending the entire group.

Therefore, even in the same position, their influence and status were subtly higher.

At this moment, Yuan Hua glanced at the entire crowd and smiled, speaking again, "By the way, where is Commander Jiang?"

The crowd fell silent.

The next moment.

Cheng Ran stepped forward.

"Reporting to Commander Yuan, Commander Jiang has entered that house, probably deep into the enemy's lair, and hasn't returned yet!"

"So that's the case!" Yuan Hua nodded and then said, "Later, tell Jiang Ning that I had my eyes on this Worship God Sect stronghold several days ago. I didn't expect him to intercept it before me."

"However, I won't hold it against him. As for the credit of wiping out this Worship God Sect stronghold, I won't fight him for the lion's share."

"I'll take these three corpses with me!"

"As for the rest, they belong to Commander Yuan!"

After saying this, he strode towards the corpses in the snow, still oozing black blood.

"No!" Cheng Ran stepped forward, blocking Yuan Hua.

"You dare stop me?" Yuan Hua's gaze narrowed, and his tangible aura made Cheng Ran swallow involuntarily.

Meanwhile, in the underground passage.

"Sir, don't look directly at it! That's the statue of the Flesh and Blood God!" Xie Xiaojiu exclaimed, immediately turning his head away.

Jiang Ning gave it a casual glance.

The statue ahead, nearly two zhang tall, was identical to the one he had seen earlier inside the golden box.

It also had three heads, six arms, and four legs.

As Jiang Ning gazed at the statue, whispers gradually filled his ears.

"Worship me, and your mortal body will live forever."

"Offer me sacrifices, and your mortal body will ascend."

"Serve me, and your mortal body will be indestructible."

". . ."

These three familiar voices slowly echoed, as if drifting from the distant horizon.

Compared to the whispers from the golden box earlier, these were significantly weaker.

Just then, a pair of cold little hands covered Jiang Ning's eyes.

"Sir, don't stare at it anymore!" Xie Xiaojiu spoke up, "This statue of the Flesh and Blood God, when stared at directly, will make the divine voice echo in one's ears."

"This divine voice can distort reality and pollute one's spirit."

"If this continues for a long time, you will gradually lose your divine mind and become a believer of that god!"

Feng Jiuge, standing nearby, gave them a brief glance and then turned away, saying nothing.

Jiang Ning smiled and removed the cold little hands blocking his vision.

"No problem!"

"This weak spiritual pollution has no effect on me at all!"

As he spoke, Jiang Ning walked forward.

After a few zhang, he reached the base of the statue.

His palm rested on the statue's feet.

The next moment, his expression froze.

[Divinity discovered, Authority discovered. Absorb?]



Divinity? Authority?

Jiang Ning was utterly astonished by the prompt in front of him.

He had never seen such a change on his panel before.

Divinity and Authority—these words sounded incredibly mysterious.

After only a moment's hesitation, Jiang Ning made his decision without a second thought.

[Yes]



He immediately felt the unique characteristic of the statue ahead dissipate, and the faint whispers that had just sounded in his ears suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, his panel underwent a significant transformation, constantly fluctuating.

Like a black and white screen, it flashed with gray spots, and the previous display became blurry.

Meanwhile, Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Jiuge watched Jiang Ning, who stood motionless, their guard.

They saw the statue slowly rise, lifting a chi above the ground.

"It's quite heavy!" Jiang Ning remarked casually.

Then he gently lowered it.

Boom!

As the statue touched the ground, the earth beneath it trembled slightly.

Dust fell from the ceiling of the underground passage.

"Let's go! Someone wants to take credit for your accomplishments!" Jiang Ning said, dispersing Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Jiuge's focus.

"Sir, who? Who dares to take credit for your achievements?" Feng Jiuge's brows furrowed in anger.

Jiang Ning replied, "Commander Yuan Hua."

As he spoke, he had already reached their side.

"Jiuge!" Jiang Ning called out.

"Yes!" Feng Jiuge responded.

"When you go up, find Commander Ye Qiu Ye from the Inspection Office, and also invite the hall. "With this statue here, I'm sure they'll be very interested in coming!"

"Yes, sir!" Feng Jiuge agreed immediately.

Jiang Ning turned to Xie Xiaojiu, "Xiaojiu!"

"Yes!" Xie Xiaojiu replied.

Jiang Ning instructed, "Go to the county government and ask Chief Constable Xu Zhengnan to bring people here! The Black Tiger Gang's crimes are as solid as iron; since no one is taking action, I don't mind cleaning them up myself!"

"Yes, sir!" Xie Xiaojiu bowed in agreement.

"Let's go!" After giving his orders, Jiang Ning headed towards the stairs leading upwards.

Seeing this, Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Jiuge hurried to follow.

At this moment, Jiang Ning's panel appeared before his eyes.

[Name]: Jiang Ning

[Divinity]: 1

[Authority]: Flesh Regeneration (0% Deficiency)



[Essence Energy]: 370.15

[Skills]:

Literacy and Calligraphy (Four Times Limit Break 2413/5000) (Characteristics: Photographic Memory, Extraordinary Senses, Quick Thinking, Exceptional Comprehension)



Five Animal Fist (Once Limit Break 811/2000) (Characteristics: Five Viscera Storing Essence)

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end