Chapter 396: The Way To be Stronger

“I don’t want to ask you a second time. You must remember that. You are a genius that I value, so I will give you that generous treatment. You must not let down my expectations,” King Landhar III suddenly said faintly when Samuel did not answer him immediately.

Those words made Samuel’s body tremble. His face showed a mixture of excitement and nervousness. “Your Majesty, I…I desire power.”

He did not expect that His Majesty had paid any attention to him. He did not expect that the King already knew about some of the things that happened in the past few days and had a preliminary judgment of the situation. He even said that he wanted to help him. What an honor it was! In other words, the King valued him more than Watson. Otherwise, His Majesty would not have said such words to help him.

King Landhar III seemed to be very satisfied with Samuel’s answer. He nodded and said, “Not a bad answer. Only a person who craves power can increase his strength to the limit. For people who don’t have the desire, I would not choose to help them at all.”

“How will you help me increase my strength, Your Majesty?” Samuel asked nervously.

Perhaps the King would give him a powerful tool, but the most powerful weapon that the kingdom could produce was only platinum-tier weapons. Even the holy relics were only diamond-tier. However, Watson was able to create a starlight-tier tool. No matter what the King gave him, it would be useless. Perhaps, the King would give him a potion that could increase his strength. However, Watson was a diamond-tier elite. He had to be on the same tier to be able to contend with him. Was there a potion that could increase a person’s strength to diamond-tier? He had never heard of it.

Even if there were such a potion, King Landhar III would keep it for himself? Why would he give it to Samuel? Did he really value his talent?

Even though he was excited to meet the King, the fact that the King was so cordial in his conversation with him meant a certain amount of rationality still remained in Samuel’s mind.

“What I want to give you is something that can increase your strength to the peak of diamond-tier and even allow you to obtain a certain degree of divine power. This item is extremely precious. After you use it, you must be extremely careful not to let others know.”

As King Landhar III spoke, he took out a jade box from his bosom. After opening the box, a ball of black viscous liquid the size of a fist was revealed. It squirmed continuously, and the edges of the liquid were in the shape of a spider web as black lines split outward, and the interior of the box trembled as if it was breathing.

That ball of liquid seemed to have a life of its own, giving off an extremely uncomfortable feeling. After looking at it, Samuel swallowed his saliva. He did not doubt the words spoken by a king. However, he still wondered what that liquid was and how it could allow him to obtain the strength of a diamond-tier elite.

“You should know that the seven gods favor the Kingdom. As its master, I get the gods’ blessings occasionally and obtain some good things! This is one of the items. Its name is God’s Remains, and it is made up of the fragments of the divine kingdom. Oh, I almost forgot, you might not know what the divine kingdom is. Perhaps you can understand it as the corpse of a god. Consuming this item will allow you to obtain a portion of the god’s power when you were alive, but—”

“But?”

“After all, a god is an existence that transcends human cognition. Therefore, the remains of a god have certain side effects. After consuming it, if one’s will is not strong enough, they will likely be eroded by the remnant of the god’s will and become a lunatic.”

At that point, King Landhar III suddenly reached out with his hand and pushed the box containing the item toward Samuel. “This was from the God of Poison’s remains. He was killed by one of the seven gods that the kingdom worshipped—the Goddess of Shadows and Potions, Sidi. After absorbing this, you will gain the ability to use poison. You’d be able to kill a starlight-tier with poison then. The price is the risk of madness. Isn’t it very profitable?”

Samuel stared at the pitch-black god’s remains in front of him. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Indeed.”

He knew that even if King Landhar III had been paying attention to him, there was no reason for him to give him such a significant gift. It turned out that the gift was risky. No wonder King Landhar III did not use it on himself. However, he was relieved. The King had invited him for a meeting and offered to help him to increase his strength. He could not help but suspect that the other party had ulterior motives. He felt like the other party wanted to give him something that he did not need.

To the king, it was a gift. To him, it was a rare opportunity. If he could succeed in life, achieve a decent status, and get everyone to remember him, he was willing to sacrifice part of his health if he could do all of that.

With that in mind, Samuel did not hesitate at all. He grabbed the black viscous liquid in the box, gritted his teeth, and stuffed it into his mouth.

That scene seemed to be something that even King Landhar III did not expect. He was stunned.

“Your Majesty, what’s wrong? You didn’t expect me to agree so readily?” Samuel felt a greasy and disgusting taste in his throat, and there was a rotten smell in it. He forced a smile out of his discomfort.

“No, I haven’t told you how to use that thing. How could you swallow it directly? You need to smear it all over your body and wait for it to penetrate the skin gradually.”

“Ah, Your Majesty, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Samuel’s face turned green. He covered his mouth and hurled at the space at the side. Nothing came out of his mouth. Instead, spider-web-like black threads crawled out by themselves. Those black threads covered Samuel’s face first. Then, they went down his neck and gradually covered his body.

Samuel’s ears, eyes, and even every pore on his body were filled with that black substance. That scene looked very scary. Samuel opened his mouth wide as if he wanted to scream. However, his Adam’s apple was also covered by the black substance and no longer trembled.

Samuel stood where he was and turned into a pitch-black sculpture.

“Desire is the driving force that pushes a person’s progress. At the same time, it is also the original sin that destroys a person! As for how it will turn out, let’s wait and see. A few days ago, I had planned to use the Campbell family to deal with Watson. But that plan had failed. This time, I plan to let them kill each other. How will he deal with that?”

King Landhar III stared at Samuel’s statue. There was no sadness or joy in his eyes as if he was looking at an ordinary tool. It was completely different from the amiable look he had before.

As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass in front of him and poured himself a drink. Just as he was about to pick it up, the shadow of the wine glass extended on the table irregularly, and a female voice came from within. “King Landhar the third, you really are a man with a wicked sense of humor. I’ve never seen a human like you who takes pleasure in playing with others’ lives! Speaking of which, that young man is only a platinum-tier elite. It’s still too much for him to bear the god’s remains. Although the God of Poison is only an ordinary starlight-tier existence, he was still a starlight-tier being. There’s a world of difference between him and regular humans. If this goes on, that kid is very likely to die.”

“Such a pawn doesn’t have much value, so what if he dies? However, I don’t have anyone who could infiltrate the Sword Saint’s courtyard better. Furthermore, he was given the remains of a god to absorb into his body. Wouldn’t it be a waste of that material if he died without doing anything? I won’t allow that to happen. Sidi, help him.”

“King Landhar III, take note of your tone. You should be saying please.”

“Did I hear wrongly? A god that cares about these things? What is the meaning of secular etiquette to you?”

“You are humorless. Alright, I won’t chat with you anymore. I’m going to start working.”

The shadow of the wine glass on the table squirmed, extended deep into Samuel’s shadow, and connected with it. The statue stook as cracks appeared on it. More cracks continued to appear until the shadow of the wine glass squirmed and returned to its original state.

Then, Sidi said, “It’s done. After all, I killed the God of Poison, so his remaining consciousness will feel fear. However, this situation can only last for three days. After that, that guy will only become worse without my help.”

“Three days? That’s enough time.”

King Landhar III put down his wine glass, his eyes flashing. Under his gaze, Samuel’s black outer shell quickly fell off, turning into pieces and falling to the ground. Then, Samuel seemed to come back to life, gasping for air as he looked around. A glint of darkness flashed in his eyes.

After he swallowed the god’s remains, he suddenly felt as if every cell in his body wailed. Those cells seemed like they were not his but another individual with an independent consciousness, going in all directions. At the same time, images of ancient times appeared in his mind. Many different and glorious kingdoms sat in the sky. Suddenly, one day, those divine kingdoms began to clash with each other.

Kingdoms collapsed. Some became ruins, while some absorbed other damaged kingdoms. They still stood in the sky, becoming stronger.

The impact of the divine kingdoms was no weaker than if the earth shattered or if the sky collapsed. That scene gave Samuel a tremendous visual impact. When he snapped back to his senses, he realized his body was not quite the same as before. Firstly, the energy in his body had reached peak diamond-tier, just like what the King had said.

Secondly, he was initially a swordsman, but at that moment, the combat aura in his body had been replaced, turning into a viscous black liquid. That black liquid was comparable to lead and mercury. If it flowed at a slightly faster speed, it could even produce the sound of a great river. At the same time, Samuel had an epiphany. The blood in his body was the most potent poison in the world. Just one drop of it would be able to pierce through the intestines of a platinum-tier elite.

“Your Majesty, how long have I been unconscious?”

“Not long, about a few seconds. How do you feel?”

“I’m alright.” Samuel knelt on one knee toward King Landhar III. “Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I feel great now.”

Samuel’s eyes had a hint of wriggling darkness. He felt like his body was filled with power. The poisonous blood in his body was like another organ of his. He could take the initiative to separate it and enter someone else’s body to poison them to death, which made him sigh with emotion at the power of a god. He could evolve such an ability. At the same time, he regained his confidence. Right then, he had the strength of a peak diamond-tier elite and had grasped the power of a god. No matter how talented Watson was, he was nothing to Samuel.

It seemed that he would be able to defeat Watson soon and obtain everything he wanted.

“Samuel, it’s good that you don’t feel any problems—as expected of the person that I value! Since I’ve rewarded you, it’s time for you to tell me what happened in the Sword Saint’s courtyard over the past few days.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

..

While King Landhar III was getting information from Samuel, on the other side, in the direction of Christina and Watson.

“Miss Christina, didn’t you say that you will take me to the tavern where we ate last time to continue enjoying the food? Why did you bring me to the Holy Dragon Tavern?”

Watson stood in front of the magnificent Holy Dragon Tavern and looked at the passing crowd helplessly. He could still remember the battle with Augustus there a week ago, which had caused a lot of trouble.

“The Holy Dragon Tavern is the largest in the kingdom, and the dishes here are formal and expensive. It’s fitting to treat you here.”

“What do you mean by that, Lady Swordmistress? Why did you invite me to a feast?”

Watson sensed something and asked sharply. He saw Christina’s mouth rise in dissatisfaction. “Watson, we’ve become familiar with each other. You’ve already started to call me by my name. Why are you calling me Lady Swordmistress again? It sounds like we’re strangers, doesn’t it? Besides, you should know why I invited you to dinner.”

“Don’t tell me that you invited me because you want me to make you a starlight-tier weapon?”

“Of course not. I’m not as unambitious as my senior brothers. What’s the use of just getting a starlight-tier weapon? If that weapon is stolen, won’t they lose their power again? Furthermore, without the corresponding strength, carrying a weapon of that level will only attract other people’s jealousy.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Of course, I want you.”

Christina bent downward and put her face in front of Watson. At the same time, she stretched her slender fingers and poked Watson’s chest. One had to admit that Christina’s appearance was perfect. In addition, one could smell the sweet scent of Christina’s breath at a close distance. Watson subconsciously swallowed his saliva and hugged his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Miss Christina. I can’t agree to such a request. I’m still a child.”

“Idiot! What are you thinking? When I said I want you, I did not mean your body but your knowledge. You told me before that you had a way to improve your ability quickly, and you said you could teach me, but you did not tell me the truth! Now, I’m going to use this meal to bribe you. This is just the beginning. As long as you teach me what I want, I will not only treat you to meals every day, but I will also do other things for you. As long as it’s something you can think of, then I can do it for you.”

“Very well, don’t go back on your words. And are you sure it’s anything I ask for?”

“That’s right.” Christina nodded firmly at first. Then, she thought of something else, and her face blushed. She was gorgeous, but she revealed a shy look, making her look even more attractive. “But don’t embarrass me. I won’t do that for you.”

“Miss Christina, it’s not fair to add conditions now.” Then, Watson shrugged. “But treating me to a meal every day sounds good. Since you’re so sincere, I’ll give you a simple method to make you stronger this time.”

It was a success.

Christina clenched her fists discreetly, and the corners of her mouth curled upward. She had wished for Watson to give her an answer for many days, especially after Watson had successfully fused a starlight-tier weapon. She was even more curious about the method that made Watson stronger. Watson was only a diamond-tier elite, so how could he make something a starlight-tier weapon? There must be some special trick to that.

If she could learn that trick, would she be able to do the same thing?

Initially, she had not been in such a rush. Unfortunately, that morning, the Royal Academy informed her that they would stop recruiting students in two days to start the course officially. She decided to learn that technique before entering the academy. Once there, she would show it to the other geniuses and get them to understand the Sword Saint family’s fighting style.

Christina and Watson walked into the Holy Dragon Tavern. Under the guidance of the service staff, they arrived at the Red Dragon area that they had visited a few days ago. That area had been destroyed by Augustus’ flames previously. However, the walls and roof had been replaced. It looked as good as new. In fact, some of the decorations had been replaced with more expensive ones.

The staff brought them into the room and left. Christina and Watson sat down—they were only one wall away from the King and Samuel. As soon as Christina sat down, she spoke with a fervent look in her eyes.

“Speak, Watson. What is the way to make me stronger?”

“Believe in me,” Watson replied in a serious tone.

Christina was stunned for a few seconds before she snapped back to her senses. She smiled and waved her hand. “D*mn it, Watson, you’re still trying to fool me with your previous answer. You said that you would tell me the real technique to become stronger. You wouldn’t go back on your words, would you? So, what is the real technique?”

“Believe in me.”

“Watson, are you kidding me?”

Christina widened her eyes, and her face trembled.

“No, Miss Christina, I am not lying to you. Everything I said is true, but you don’t believe me. If you’ve tried to believe in me but didn’t get anything in return, then you can say that I’ve lied to you. As for now, you can’t blame me for your one-sided doubts.”

He had been truthful with her—Believing in him could get her benefits. In the end, Christina chose not to believe him. She even said that she would do anything for him. Perhaps those were only words.

Since Watson’s tone was so confident, it was Christina’s turn to be swayed. She said reluctantly, “Watson, since you said so, then I’ll try to believe in you. But if that doesn’t work, I’ll have the right to be angry with you.”