Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 488: The Opening of the Divine Palace at the Hour of Hai_1

"Is he already set to inherit the power?" Wang Linchi perceived that Zhang Xuan, the King of Northern Jiang, was planning to hand over the entire Northern Jiang Army to Yuan Lin as a complete package.

After his daughter married Yuan Lin, if Zhang Xuan and his son were to die, Yuan Lin would naturally become the successor.

More importantly, Yuan Lin was now beginning to make his mark. He just needed to accumulate sufficient experience and reputation; the rest wouldn't be an issue.

"He was learning before, and now he's putting it into practice. Once he reaches Master of Divine Skills, he'll surely sweep across the world," Wang Linchi mused. His Memory comrade, Wu Yong, had taught Yuan Lin a great deal. Part of this included various methods of rebellion and management Skills Wu Yong had acquired from a previous world, much of it imparted through rote learning.

How much of it Yuan Lin could actually utilize depended entirely on his own abilities.

From the data Wang Linchi monitored, Yuan Lin had essentially assimilated it all. It could only be said that he was indeed worthy of being called a Hidden Dragon; even starting from nothing, he could maximize the absorption of all kinds of resources to fuel his Growth.

"If things progress quickly, he should be able to pacify the world within three years." Wang Linchi deduced this from the data and felt it was a genuine possibility.

"Huh, have I reached the Nine Extremes Divine Palace?" Wang Linchi then noticed that his game character, through a series of 'assists,' had finally reached the Nine Extremes Divine Palace in just three months, a journey that should have taken five.

Next, all he had to do was wait for the appropriate time to enter.

"There are no significant issues in the vicinity, nor any detectable data anomalies." Wang Linchi explored the surroundings through his game character's vision, but naturally, he found nothing.

If it were that easy to find, he wouldn't be the only one to have discovered the Nine Extremes Divine Palace by now.

"I hope to find records from previous eras or information about the Transcendental System." Wang Linchi knew this was unlikely.

Judging by their methods, they focus on destruction. It's highly improbable they would leave backups.

To Wang Linchi, the Nine Extremes Divine Palace seemed more like a maintenance factory for Transformed Humans. Otherwise, these Transformed Humans, operating for such long periods, would inevitably suffer wear and tear or malfunctions. After all, they weren't using original parts and had integrated components from multiple systems. Wang Linchi himself wouldn't dare to use multiple systems unless they were fully integrated, let alone these Transformed Humans.

"I'll wait until my game character infiltrates it, then decide how to handle the Nine Extremes Divine Palace." True to his nature, Wang Linchi's first instinct would be to blow it up directly.

His game character carried a large quantity of Philosopher's Stones. In this Calamity of the Last Law, which only targeted various Transcendental Systems, nuclear and hydrogen bombs remained completely unaffected.

But on second thought, blowing it up wouldn't yield many benefits. It would be better to utilize the Nine Extremes Divine Palace for my own purposes.

If I exploit their personality flaws, the Nine Extremes Divine Palace could become an excellent tool.

It wouldn't be too late to eliminate them after I've squeezed every last bit of value from them. If they hadn't stirred up so much trouble, how could I have profited so greatly?

They might have destroyed his three hundred sixty-five Dai Temples, but for Wang Linchi, as long as the benefits were substantial enough, he could laugh it off even if someone cursed him to his face, perhaps even offering them a glass of water so they wouldn't hurt their throat.

He never cared for the so-called dignity of the powerful or the notion of being unyielding. Shamelessness was the secret to a long life. Otherwise, if someone hurls a couple of insults, you feel offended and rush to kill them—what if it's a trap?

Unless his own tangible interests were at stake, Wang Linchi rarely acted recklessly.

Thus, once the Nine Extremes Divine Palace had generated sufficient benefits for him and proven its considerable value, Wang Linchi magnanimously forgave them for destroying his Dai Temples. He even implied that if they offered a bit more, they could burn the Dai Temples on Mount Tai too; even smashing the golden statues wouldn't matter.

Of course, if they ceased to have value, Wang Linchi would chew them up and spit them out, leaving not even a crumb behind.

...

"'How much longer until the Hour of Hai?' Jia Eryi complained.

The opening time of the Nine Extremes Divine Palace varied with the seasons. This year, it was set for twelve o'clock.

It wasn't as simple as the entrance appearing when the time came; specific rituals and corresponding items were also required.

It was like a lock whose appearance was timed, but to open it, one still needed the correct password and key. Otherwise, it remained inaccessible.

"'There are still six hours to go. Don't be impatient,' the game character, Wang Linchi, said.

After Wang Linchi had last mentioned wanting to study their argumentative vocabulary, the members of the Nine Extremes Sect had quieted down considerably. Whenever they started to argue, Wang Linchi would silently take out paper and pen to record. Those who had seen Wang Linchi's notes could attest that he transcribed everything verbatim.

Not only did he copy everything, but he also highlighted key points and added annotations on how certain words could further enrage an opponent or target a specific weakness. This made the members of the Nine Extremes Sect increasingly flabbergasted.

This led to a situation where, whenever someone started an argument, they would immediately stop if Wang Linchi took out his pen and paper, afraid he would record their words and use them against themselves later.

This inadvertently improved the atmosphere considerably; otherwise, their gatherings were always a chaotic mess.

Jia Yi also found this situation vexing. Although his name was Yi, meaning One, it didn't mean he was their leader; he was merely the first to be created and thus couldn't control the others.

Aside from their shared arrogance and common objective, each possessed their own distinct personality; they were not all identical.

"'We still have six hours. How about we go to that town up ahead and have some fun?' Jia Qi suggested, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes.

By 'fun,' of course, he meant a killing spree.

Jia Qi was cruel and bloodthirsty; he was responsible for many of their massacres.

"'You, keep quiet! Don't stir up trouble. Last time, it was because of you that we were nearly exposed!' Jia Yi snapped.

Previously, Jia Qi couldn't restrain himself and had massacred an entire village. As a result, they were discovered and pursued for dozens of miles before finally eluding their chasers. Under a volley of fire from Crossbows, they were fortunate not to be ordinary individuals; otherwise, they would have perished on the spot. Even so, each of them had sustained injuries.

With Jia Yi taking the lead, the other members of the Nine Extremes Sect also chimed in with curses and complaints.

This silenced Jia Qi, who then sulked listlessly, saying nothing more.

Naturally, Wang Linchi had orchestrated that pursuit. He couldn't stand Jia Qi; how could the man still not control his urges at such a critical time?

He needed to teach Jia Qi a profound lesson, lest he ruined Wang Linchi's plans.

A lesson aimed solely at Jia Qi would be like a scratch—ineffective. But if everyone suffered because of Jia Qi, then a form of collective restraint would emerge.

The other members of the Nine Extremes Sect wouldn't care if Jia Qi wanted to die—they had little affection for one another. However, they couldn't tolerate him endangering their lives or jeopardizing their mission, potentially leading to its failure.

Therefore, to handle such an eccentric, one had to find the right approach, not direct confrontation.

And if Jia Qi dared to disobey? The remaining members of the Nine Extremes Sect would help him 'obey.' If they couldn't resort to violence, they had other countermeasures. Otherwise, what would they do if a truly rebellious one emerged?

"'For the remaining six hours, everyone is to behave and avoid any complications, lest more accidents occur,' Jia Yi stated gravely.

This time, no one jumped out to contradict Jia Yi, as they all felt the same way.

"'Jia Thirty-Three, how do you know there are exactly six hours left until the Hour of Hai?' Jia Eryi sidled up and asked curiously.

"'You wish to know?' Wang Linchi glanced at him, then asked arrogantly, 'What will you offer in exchange?'

"'Er... you want an exchange for this as well?' Jia Eryi hesitated, conflicted.

"'Hmph. And why should I tell you for free?' Wang Linchi retorted, his arrogance palpable, his tone clearly implying: 'Pay up if you want to learn; otherwise, get lost.'

Jia Eryi was annoyed. He too was arrogant, but he didn't start a fight, considering everyone else shared a similar attitude.

"'Tch, it's not like it's anything precious, yet you still want to trade for it,' Jia Eryi scoffed, deciding against learning it. Anyway, if he needed to know, he could just ask Wang Linchi later. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The members of the Nine Extremes Sect had no monetary system; exchanges were typically made through barter when necessary.

Time ticked by, and the six hours passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was midnight.

"'The entrance to the Divine Palace is open! Form the seals for the ritual! Prepare to return, and don't get left behind!' Jia Yi announced the moment it was time. Clearly, he too had his own method for determining the exact time. He reminded the others because if anyone were left behind, returning next time would be extremely troublesome.