Elder ke''s eyes were bloodshot as he was choked, the feeling of suffocation growing stronger.
He was nearly hysterical, his voice cold and mocking, "What good will killing me do? The Phoenix Kingdom is teeming with masters. It won''t be long before not just you, but even that Goddess Sylvia..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
"Goddess Sylvia what? Keep talking," Timothy''s gaze was icy.
Elder ke suddenly sneered, "I might tell you, but first, let''s talk terms. You don''t think I''d just spill everything, do you?"
Just when he thought he was cornered, Elder ke suddenly regained his confidence.
He realized that Timothy cared about Goddess Sylvia far more than he had imagined.
Using information about Goddess Sylvia as leverage could not only give him a chance to survive but might even make Timothy surrender!
As long as he held the secret about Goddess Sylvia, Timothy couldn''t touch him!
He felt Timothy''s grip loosen slightly.
Elder ke grew more confident, even bursting intoughter, "You wanted to kill me, right? Come on, why don''t you dare now? Haha! Clearly, Sylvia means a lot to you. As long as I hold a secret that could threaten Goddess Sylvia, you wouldn''t dare kill me, hahaha!"
"Crack."
But as his wildughter was just peaking, Elder ke suddenly felt the force on his neck increase terrifyingly.
"Crack, crack..."
With a series of crisp sounds, Elder ke''s eyes bulged, filled with disbelief.
"How dare you! Let me go, let me go, I''ll tell you..."
A wave of murderous intent swept over him, and he frantically begged for mercy.
But Timothy showed no sign of stopping.
With a final snap, Elder ke''s neck waspletely crushed, his body copsing limply.
Blood flowed from all orifices, his death was gruesomely tragic.
Even in death, he couldn''t understand why Timothy had actually gone through with killing him.
"Man, I''ve never heard such a pathetic request in my life. Seems like this guy''s brain was never quite right," Timothy sighed.
Threaten him? He could just spend a skill point at the system store to exchange for the "Soul Search" ability. Why would he need to listen to this nonsense?
After exchanging for Soul Search, Timothy swept through Elder ke''s broken body with it.
Scenes after scenes from Elder ke''s recent memories shed through his mind.
Momentster, Timothy dropped the body, his brow slightly furrowed.
As expected, things were not as simple as they seemed.
While Nn had put out a bounty for him all over the Phoenix Kingdom, he had also willingly be a servant to the three Holy Emperors.
He had even kidnapped the newly ascended Ocean Dragon King, using his own blood and the Dragon King''s blood to try to activate the Dragon Blood Formation.
The Dragon Blood Formation was extremely mysterious and had been lost for ten thousand years.
When the three Holy Emperors attacked the Sky Sanctuary, this formation could be one of their most crucial trump cards.
Behind the Dragon Blood Formation were three powerful practitioners from Ocean''s Gate conducting the ritual.
However, they were all far away in the capital of the Phoenix Kingdom, at least a ten-minute journey from here.
This time was incredibly short,Timothy had to kill Nn before alerting the practitioners from Ocean''s Gate.
Timothy quickly set off, heading out of the city.
Just as Timothy was passing through the city gate, the guard, a local soldier named Liam, called out to him curiously, "Hey, bro, you were only in there for a short while, weren''t you? Something seemed to have happened in the city just now. Do you know what went down?"
"What happened? A lot happened, actually." Timothy smiled. "Do you remember what I said before I entered the city?"
Liam scratched his head, puzzled, "Was it... you''re very handsome?"
Timothy shook his head.
"Then... you''re handsomer than Timothy?"
Again, Timothy shook his head.
"What was it then?" Liam waspletely stumped.
Timothy grinned slightly, "Didn''t you say that if I was Timothy, you''d stand on your head and eat a stinky sock?"
Liam: "Uh?"
Before he could recover from his confusion, Timothy''s foot suddenly came flying.
"Whoosh!"
"Smack."
"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."
Kicked into a pit toilet, headfirst, Liam plummeted straight down.
"Ah! You thug!"
"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."
All that could be heard was a scream and what seemed like the very enthusiastic "thud, thud, thud, thud."
Chaos erupted around the distant outhouse, with chickens and dogs scattering and shouts filling the air.
"No need for a stinky sock, this vor will be much better!" Timothy remarked as he watched Liam headfirst in the pit.
An old man sighed nearby, "Ah, how times change, and not for the better! Young people these days have such peculiar tastes. If you''re going to eat, just eat, why pretend to fall in? And to ruin a perfectly good roof in the process..."
This kick added to the chaos already engulfing Blossom City.
...
Deep in the majestic mountains outside Blossom City, Chancellor Neville suddenly paused.
Momentster, sweat dripped down his forehead as he hurriedly approached Nn, speaking with both respect and seriousness, "Prince, I sense something has happened in Blossom City. Moreover, I fear Elder ke may have been killed."
"Oh?"
Nn showed no outward reaction, but his gaze was icy cold, "I didn''t expect someone would dare disrupt my ns. I wonder which fool it could be."
"Prince, should we arrange for increased defenses outside, just in case? After all, the Ocean''s Gate powerhouses are still at the pce, and it will take some time for them to get here," Chancellor Neville advised with some concern.
"No need. They''re just petty thieves. Do you really think there are many who can challenge me?" Nn appeared unconcerned.
He closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the sky.
Instantly, a subtle and profound aura enveloped him again.
His presence grew more formidable,manding awe.
In just that moment, Nn had further mastered the art ofposure.
At this moment, his heart was as steady as a rock, unshakable by anyone except his beloved Goddess Sylvia.
"Sylvia, rest assured, I know of your affection for me. It won''t be long before I cane to Sky Sanctuary to marry you and give you a lifetime of happiness," Nn sighed deeply, his mysterious aura suddenly spreading outwards.
Simultaneously, his power surged to the mid-stage of the Mystic Core!
"Prince, you''ve broken through again..." Chancellor Neville was at a loss for words.
When would he ever stop having to say that?
...
Deep in a cave, a foul stench wafted through the air.
Nn walked slowly into it.
As he ventured deeper, at the very heart of the cave, there was a vast pool of blood.
Surrounding the blood pool were numerous blood-red formations.
The patterns on the formations were bizarre and emitted an oppressive aura that was suffocating.
"Damn it, let me out! If our Supreme Dragon King returns, none of you will escape!" An angry voice rang out, furious yet eerily melodious.
In the blood pool, the source of the voice was a dragon soaked in blood.
The dragon was ocean blue with shimmering horns.
Despite the filthy blood pool, it radiated an undeniable dragon majesty.
Oddly, despite its imposing aura, the dragon had a somewhat delicate appearance.
Combined with its light, girlish voice, this high and mighty dragon seemed somewhat adorable.
"Supreme Dragon King? You think those old fools can scare me?
Now that I''m favored by the three Holy Emperors and adored by Goddess Sylvia.
Even if they were here, it''s not certain they''d dare to act," Nn scoffed,pletely disregarding the dragon''s words.
Ocean Dragon King? Her body would soon be part of this Dragon Blood Formation, ultimately aiding me in breaching Sky Sanctuary.
That moment was not far off.
"Timothy, what do you have that canpete with me?" Nn''s expression was icy as he suddenly cut his finger.
A drop of blood fell into the blood pool, causing it to boil instantly, the bizarre aura intensifying more than before.
The blood spread, nearly enveloping the little dragonpletely.
The dragon struggled desperately, but no matter what, it couldn''t break free from the bonds of the blood-red patterns.
...