Swallowed Star
chapter-1238

“A request?”

All the great beings from the pulse of the Divine Eye Clan—who were within Ice Cliff Fortress at that point in time—were so angry with that friend of Duan Dong River that they wanted to eat his flesh, drink his blood, and gnaw his bones! They loathed him!

The Divine Eye Clan had seven great miniature universes. In the first miniature universe, all seven true masters were gathered together to monitor the progress of this round of inheritance of the pulse of Duan Dong River. They envied Luo Feng and Blue Blood Knight for being so outstanding. They were disheartened because their own clan did not have any good candidate, but they were also relieved and thankful for the fact that Sorcerer Sprite Master had been able to achieve a breakthrough of the second bottleneck at the very last minute.

Just as they were feeling out of sorts regarding this major opportunity of transcending a reincarnation era, an unexpected line came from Duan Dong River: “None from the pulse of the Divine Eye Clan qualify. Thus all must die.”

This immediately caused all seven true masters to blank out. It was as though they had been given a good slap right in the face!

The seven true masters felt a surge of despair and anger. Why must he sever all chances for their Divine Eye Clan to try to transcend reincarnation? Why? Why must it be so unfair? Why?

Now, they all knew why. It was because of a request from a friend of Duan Dong River. Because this friend had made a request, the Divine Eye Clan had lost their chance—to the extent that two great universe supreme masters and numerous elites had to die!

“Who?”

“Who the hell is it?”

“This friend of Duan Dong River! Who the hell is he?” First True Master let out a roar of rage.

At that moment, the entire first miniature universe seemed to undergo a mind-blowing change between heaven and earth. Slight tremors could be felt.

“Who was the one who severed all our chances? Who?”

All the other true masters were similarly in extreme agony and rage.

******

Within Ice Cliff Fortress, there were 28 candidates from the pulse of the Divine Eye Clan, and all of them were in despair, anger, grievance, and reluctance.

“Lord Duan Dong River!” Second True Master transmitted his voice, which was filled with anger but still maintaining sanity. “For this round of inheritance, our Divine Eye Clan has abided with all your requirements, warding off that monster Cuello, decoding the Rhinoceros Emperor Game—all of which were done without any acts of sabotage. Now, because of a request from someone whom none of us knows, you are going to exterminate the entire pulse of our Divine Eye Clan?”

Duan Dong River looked down at Ice Cliff Fortress and said a detached tone, “Exterminating you all is a small matter that I happen to have chanced upon.”

“Is there no chance that you could change your mind?” Second True Master was still reluctant to give up.

Duan Dong River merely snorted his reply. “How ridiculous.”

Upon hearing his reply, Second True Master finally gave in to his despair and shouted angrily, “Duan Dong River, you are merely an old fellow who has died umpteen reincarnation eras ago! Just who are you to think of exterminating my entire pulse of Divine Eye Clan? Not so easy! I really will like to see just how great the power of a dead fellow like you can be.”

Seventh True Master’s voice also resounded: “Duan Dong River, just who is that friend of yours? Who would want to exterminate the pulse of my Divine Eye Clan?”

“Who?”

“Who is it?”

Other angry voices shouted. They were all eager to know which bastard would want to cause the entire Divine Eye Clan to fall into such a desperate situation.

“No rush,” said Duan Dong River, looking down at them. “I will let you all know.” Then he pointed somewhere into the distance.

Hua!

One of the walls within the hall suddenly split into two, revealing a passageway. Every great being from the various groups of powers from the Universe Ocean all looked over, as they were all eager to know just who would be able to cause Divine Eye Clan to fall into such a predicament.

“Huh?” Luo Feng also looked toward that passageway. He could vaguely see a blurred figure walking out slowly. He was covered in golden scales and took the form of a human. Behind him, he had a pair of golden wings, and nine pairs of eyes swept the crowd. But no one dared to look him straight in the eyes.

“It’s him?” Luo Feng was shocked when he recognized the great being who had stepped out. “Thundercoat Devil God?”

Thundercoat Devil God was a lone wandering universe supreme master from the second reincarnation era. Among all the universe supreme masters, he was considered average, and because he did not have a supreme true treasure, the true treasure “Thundercoat” made him a name for himself. It was merely a treasure like Crazy Demon Extermination Godly Armor. Within Universe Ocean, he was one of the universe supreme masters who maintained an extremely low profile.

“Thundercoat?”

“It’s him?”

“Duan Dong River’s friend is Thundercoat Devil God?”

Not only was Luo Feng was taken aback, but all the groups of powers from East Emperor Holy Land, Purple Moon Holy Land, and the three reincarnation eras were shocked beyond words. Thundercoat Devil God—who kept such a low profile that there was almost no news about him at all—was unexpectedly associated with the matter of wanting to exterminate the Divine Eye Clan.

Second True Master was still in disbelief. “Thundercoat? Are you the one who requested that Duan Dong River sever the only chance for my Divine Eye Clan? You even want to exterminate the pulse of my Divine Eye Clan?”

“Thundercoat? It’s you?” Seventh True Master also could not believe his eyes.

Thundercoat Devil God was just walking out of the passageway. At times, he would show a hideous expression. At other times, he would be laughing heartily but silently. He seemed to be a little out of control, and the moment he raised his head in soundless laughter, his entire body was slightly trembling. Through gritted teeth, he said, “That’s right. It’s me. It’s me, Thundercoat. I, Thundercoat, am the one manipulating everything behind the scenes! I am the one who broke off all chances for your pulse of the Divine Eye Clan. I am the one who wanted to exterminate you all! Second True Master and Seventh True Master… Haha! Just the dozen of you universe masters… Haha…” Thundercoat Devil God’s voice was trembling.

“You deserve to die!” Seventh True Master bellowed.

“Thundercoat Devil God, you deserve death!” Second True Master also shouted at the top of his lungs.

In the great hall of Ice Cliff Fortress, voices were heard in succession.

Thundercoat Devil God stood at the same spot with an aloof smile as he gazed at Ice Cliff Fortress. “Deserve to die? I deserve death? You all are the ones who deserve to die! You and all of your Divine Eye Clan ought to die! Death-deserving Divine Eye Clan! When you all were fighting for a supreme true treasure, it was seven true masters joining forces to lay siege on Kong Luo and me. How vicious you all were. Kong Luo died… and I had to flee for dear life…” Thundercoat Devil God gritted his teeth and continued. “What easy targets for bullies we were, Kong Luo and myself, without being powerful enough, and without any supreme true treasure… Right. We were, indeed, ideal for bullying…”

“You all from Divine Eye Clan are so powerful… Throughout Universe Ocean, you are the only power that is comparable to the two great holy land universes. I am just a nobody with no supreme true treasure at all. How am I going to fight against you? Before you, Divine Eye Clan, I stand alone. And I possess no formidable power. Am I considered anything at all?” Thundercoat shook his head. Then he laughed crazily. “I bet you did not expect this! This time, all of you have fallen for my plot!” Thundercoat Devil God was staring hard at Ice Cliff Fortress, and his eyes seemed to be burning with flames. “Who would have thought that I, Thundercoat Devil God, who stands alone with the weak power I wield, could bring such great loss to you Divine Eye Clan?”

“Why would Duan Dong River listen to you!” A hoarse voice sounded from within Ice Cliff Fortress.

“Because… I am the very first one to enter this Boat of Mausoleum!” Thundercoat Devil God revealed with a cold laugh.

Silence.

Luo Feng and all were in great shock. To learn that… to learn that they were not the first to enter the Boat of Mausoleum after all. It was Thundercoat Devil God? Yet from the looks of it, it seemed that he was speaking the truth. All of the great beings had just arrived at this hall, but Thundercoat Devil God had been here all along and had even made friends with Duan Dong River.

Thundercoat Devil God laughed heartily and said, “Why do you think the Boat of Mausoleum is here? The Boat of Mausoleum should originally appear at the core land of the Universe Boat. The core is where universe supreme masters do not dare to intrude, as they only dare to traverse familiar regions; when the Boat of Mausoleum appeared, not even one of you knew… If I were a universe supreme master—and even until the end, I am unable to receive that inheritance—do you all think you stand a chance for a turn? This is why I struck a deal with Duan Dong River. In fact… All of you should thank me.” Thundercoat Devil God’s gaze swept through the crowd and stopped when it reached Luo Feng. “Especially you, human Milky Way. All the more, you should thank me.”

Luo Feng merely smiled.

Thundercoat Devil God also laughed and said, “I should thank you, too. Thank you for performing so well—for being among those with the greatest potential. And for not letting the Divine Eye Clan snatch the first position away.”

There was silence throughout Ice Cliff Fortress.

None of them had expected that Thundercoat Devil God, who seemed so harmless and weak without any supreme true treasure, could bring such a great loss to the Divine Eye Clan! Usually, only universe masters at the level of Five Chaos Master, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master would dare confront Thundercoat in battle, and they would, at most, be able to bring him to a disadvantageous position. At this moment, all of them were aware that they were in a troublesome situation.

Thundercoat Devil God said softly, “I gave you, Divine Eye Clan, a chance to enter. I let you all rejoice and go crazy with joy! And then… at your most exciting moment, I shall drive you all straight to despair!” Thundercoat Devil God gave a cold smile. “If you Divine Eye Clan had anyone at all, who could possibly emerge as the winner at decoding the Rhinoceros Emperor Game, then I would have something to vex over. After all, Duan Dong River will not allow me to kill the one with the highest potential. But you, Divine Eye Clan are so useless… you are destined for total annihilation!”

“Aren’t you afraid of us, the Divine Eye Clan?” Second True Master, who was also in Ice Cliff Fortress, retorted with a cold smile. “Who else could have potential great enough to be ranked number one? Wouldn’t it be that instead of putting us in distress, you are actually helping our clan, albeit unknowingly?”

“Haha…” Thundercoat Devil God snorted. “Firstly, I do not trust the three reincarnation eras and two holy land universes. Instead, I allowed your clan to be ranked first. Secondly, I am prepared. If you, Divine Eye Clan, were to be so lucky as to produce a great being of boundless potential… then I would rather face annihilation myself. But I will do it while dragging this great being to death along with me.” He turned to look up at Duan Dong River with a slight bow. “Lord Duan Dong River, please pardon my disrespect.”

“I can understand.” Duan Dong River nodded slightly.

Thundercoat Devil God smiled. It was a relaxed smile. “Lord Duan Dong River, this hatred has been kept in my heart for much too long. I finally have the chance to voice it. Lord Duan Dong River, you may take action now.”

“All right.” Duan Dong River nodded.

Take action? 28 great beings from the pulse of Divine Eye Clan, who were all within Ice Cliff Fortress, started to panic right away.

“Thundercoat, you want to exterminate us all?” Second True Master roared. “I would like to see how this old fellow, who has been dead for umpteen reincarnation eras, could have the ability to exterminate us all!”

“You will know soon.” Thundercoat Devil God’s eyes flashed a trace of sympathy, then he snorted, “And after you are all annihilated, your supreme true treasures will belong to me.”

“Come, come, let us see how powerful this dead fellow can be!” Second True Master and Seventh True Master bellowed.

Hong!

Ice Cliff Fortress suddenly transformed into light and brought with it an immeasurable power as it crashed right toward Thundercoat Devil God.

“Freeze!” Duan Dong River looked down and pointed into the distance.

Hua!

The surfaces of the walls within the entire hall started to release countless golden secret engravings, which took the form of golden threads that converged in midair, then surged toward Ice Cliff Fortress in a frenzied manner. Like silk over a cocoon, these golden threads wrapped up Ice Cliff Fortress, layer over layer, to completely bind and restrain it.

Hong!

Ice Cliff Fortress struggled with all its might, causing the surrounding void space to tremble. But the countless golden threads restrained Ice Cliff Fortress with such concrete layers that there was no way it could force its way out.

“Only restraining, yet not exterminating.” A voice was heard from within Ice Cliff Fortress. “This supreme true treasure is, after all, truly a supreme true treasure!”

“How ridiculous.”

Duan Dong River looked down and gently pointed to the ground, which instantly split apart to reveal a deep abyss. Within that abyss, bouts of a terrifying aura were spreading out. Ice Cliff Fortress, under the restraint of the countless golden threads, seemed to be forced to move toward the ground with the entrance into the abyss.

“The secret technique left within this hall may not be able to exterminate you all, but the other dangerous lands that I have left within my inheritance will be more than enough to complete the deed. Supreme true treasure? How ridiculous! In my homeland… there is no such thing as a supreme true treasure.” Duan Dong River shook his head with a sneer.

Hua!

Ice Cliff Fortress was struggling like mad. In it, Second True Master and Seventh True Master were bellowing, but they were unable to stand against the countless golden threads pushing them directly into the terrifying abyss. There was a loud crash. Then—

Bang! Pow!

The entrance of the abyss closed, and the area where the ground had split open was returned to its original state. Peace resumed.