Chapter 398: Chapter 280: Winds of Change, the Struggle Erupts in Jun City (Part 1)

"Alright, take him away for treatment."

The old man with his head wrapped in bandages withdrew his Divine Power and gave an order to the Celestial Generals gathered around him.

"Yes."

A look of disbelief still lingered in their eyes.

A mere binding, placed remotely, had required the old man to remove the Saint’s Shroud and reveal his Holy Body Divine Pattern to resolve. This was undoubtedly beyond their expectations.

However, they didn’t dare discuss it further. Following the bandaged man’s orders, they carried Zeno out of the conference room.

The conference room doors closed once more, and the current leaders of the Five Divine Sealing Veins retook their seats.

"What are your thoughts, everyone?"

The gentlemanly elder asked, looking at the others.

"Based on that outburst, Donghua Yi Beidou’s personal power may be approaching the level of the Sleepers. A Mortal Martial Artist, the pinnacle of the age... he truly cannot be underestimated."

The young man from Asia remarked with a sigh.

"There’s no need to overestimate him. From the looks of it, he’s at the peak of the Celestial General level, nothing more. A vast chasm still separates him from a Celestial Monarch or a Sleeper. Have you never heard that a near miss is still a world away?"

The bandaged elder said coolly, seemingly unmoved by the power Yi Beidou had displayed.

"There is one thing you cannot underestimate: his age. He’s not yet thirty. Our veins have records of many astonishingly brilliant figures, the pinnacles of their eras. There was no shortage of geniuses who could challenge the ancients in their prime. Some chose to go into hiding and reincarnate at the end of their lives, while others perished spectacularly, facing their heavenly tribulations. But for someone to reach his level at his age... that is something unheard of, even in the annals of history."

The graceful woman said in a solemn voice.

"The Mortal World has produced too many miracles in this era. If he doesn’t die prematurely, he still has a century of life ahead of him. He is whole in body and spirit. I wonder... is it possible he could break through the barriers, create another miracle, and ascend to Immortality from the mortal coil?"

The young man from Asia said.

"Deep down, you know that’s impossible. Ordinary humans can indeed create many miracles, but there is one point on which they cannot: life has insurmountable limits. Earth Immortals are what they are because of the ’Divine Power’ they ingested. In thousands of years, not a single person has ever broken that limit through their own power."

"Furthermore, the younger and more powerful he is, the more dangerous he becomes. Look at how he conducts himself—arrogant beyond measure, knowing nothing of forbearance or humility. Even after we changed our stance, he still chose to provoke us. That reveals his character. The Great Trend of the Hidden Realm is now stirring, and he wants to meddle. With a personality like that, he is bound to meet a disastrous end sooner or later. He will die, and his path will vanish."

The bandaged elder said calmly.

’Haven’t they heard the saying? What is too rigid is easily broken.’

"Enough. This is all a discussion for another time. They’ve already refused to cooperate with us, agreeing only to a limited ’transaction.’ We cannot command the Donghua Martial Artists, so there’s no use talking about it further. The stronger they are and the more arrogantly they act, the more turmoil they can stir up in the eastern regions. In a way, that’s actually to our advantage."

"Keep an eye on their movements. Let’s just see if they can truly bring us any surprises."

The gentlemanly elder tapped the cane in his hand, bringing the topic to a close.

Their contact with the Donghua Martial Artists was merely an interlude; the real game was about to begin.

"According to the latest intelligence, the key battleground for the first round of the fight for the Spiritual Talismans will likely be... here."

The gentlemanly elder raised his cane. A ray of light shot out, landing on a map of the Mediterranean Region hanging on the conference room wall.

It was a strategic chokepoint, a city famous throughout history.

Constantinople.

「Elsewhere.」

Constantinople.

This was once the Ancient Eastern Roman Capital, a crossroads where East and West converged, giving birth to a brilliant civilization. Both in terms of cultural significance and geography, it held an extremely important position in the Mediterranean Region.

As a result, the city had become a world-renowned tourist destination, attracting countless visitors who came to see its famous sights.

At this very moment, within a private villa in this tourist city.

A man with a body as chiseled as a sculpture lay by a garden pool. He was basking in the bright sunlight pouring down from the Sky, utterly motionless, as if he were truly a statue.

The sun climbed slowly, gradually reaching its zenith in the Sky.

Just then, the man’s eyes snapped open. A trace of pure white seemed to flow in their depths, and for an instant, even the sunlight seemed to lose its color.

"The appointed time has come."

He slowly got to his feet, stretched languidly, and walked back inside, entering a master bedroom as extravagantly decorated as a palace.

He twisted a mechanism on the headboard, revealing a hidden compartment in the wall, from which he retrieved a black wooden box.

The top of the box bore a symbol: an eyeball, like a sun, hovering over a pyramid. He opened the box. Inside, a pair of golden earrings lay quietly.

The design of the earrings was identical to the symbol on the box.

The man took out the earrings and put them on. He then poured himself a glass of expensive wine and sat on a plush sofa to savor it, seemingly waiting for something.

Suddenly, he felt a distant call emanating from the earrings, as if from an impossibly far-off place.

The man focused his mind. A strange Abnormal Power spread from his body, and wherever it reached, all color drained from the world, leaving only simple shades of white and gray.

"Purifier, connecting."

The man spoke softly, as if to himself.