John had already suspected it, but what shocked him was the towering mountain behind the city.
He could clearly sense that the entire mountain range was a World-in-Hand.
The Forest King, regardless of his strength, had at least the power of a five-star The Overseer.
John could feel that Thunderstrike and the Forest King were on completely different levels of strength.
Even he himself wouldn’t stand a chance in a direct confrontation with the Forest King.
He was very curious about what cards Thunderstrike was hiding.
“Both of you go into the city first,” Thunderstrike said, addressing Cand-Dragon and Whitewave.
The two were puzzled but didn’t question him.
Cand-Dragon looked at John, who nodded in agreement, so he left.
Thunderstrike didn’t say anything further, instead heading deeper into the forest, trying to avoid the people passing by.
John didn’t understand what Thunderstrike was up to, but he decided to follow.
After a long while, Thunderstrike stopped in the forest.
They had reached an open area where they had a clear view of the towering mountain behind Forest City.
Thunderstrike turned to him and said, “As The Overseer, you must have sensed the strength of the Forest King. Do you also think that my challenge to him is reckless?”
John glanced at him.
He could sense a trace of murderous intent emanating from Thunderstrike.
Still, John remained outwardly calm, replying, “I trust the City Lord. If you’re doing this, it’s clear you have confidence.”
“Heh!” Thunderstrike gave a faint smile and continued, “Indeed, I do have confidence. But I need your help.”
John was slightly confused.
Thunderstrike stared at him and added, “I need you to destroy your own World-in-Hand.”
“What?” John furrowed his brows and stared directly at Thunderstrike.
He could clearly feel the parasitic worm inside his soul stirring—that was a threat!
Despite this, John remained composed and spoke coldly, “City Lord, this isn’t right. You should understand the importance of World-in-Hand to The Overseer.”
“Of course,” Thunderstrike nodded, nonchalantly. “I’ll compensate you. And for the second trial, I can give you the Heart of the Continent as a reward. You can become The Overseer again, but you’ll need to start over with your cultivation.”
“The Heart of the Continent?” John was shocked. The Heart of the Continent that could be activated was different from the one dropped by a killed The Overseer.
Others could refine it and become a new The Overseer.
His thoughts immediately turned to Sini.
Lord God-level warriors couldn’t become The Overseer.
But the cultivation system in this world was completely different. Even though Sini and the others were Lord Gods, they could still become The Overseer.
With that thought in mind, John turned to Thunderstrike and said, “I can agree to your request, but on one condition. Sini must also be part of the King Selection.”
“No problem. I’ll replace Whitewave,” Thunderstrike answered without hesitation.
He didn’t care whether he could win a spot for a high-level city. His true goal was to take Forest City, and the only person he was really interested in was John.
He continued, “Let me help you destroy your World-in-Hand. If you’re detected when entering Forest City, you won’t be able to participate in the second trial.”
His plan was to ensure John entered the second trial, where the core of the Forest King’s World-in-Hand was located.
“Wait, I’ll handle it myself.” John immediately stopped him.
His World-in-Hand had just been restored and even strengthened, and he never considered destroying it.
He had the Primordial Gourd, which created a separate world of its own. He could transfer his World-in-Hand into that world, completely isolating it. This should be enough to fool these people.
“I’ll transfer the items in the World-in-Hand first,” John said, then stepped directly into his World-in-Hand.
Thunderstrike didn’t stop him. After all, John was completely under his control and wouldn’t dare pull any tricks.
…
Inside World-in-Hand, John appeared.
Sini and the others immediately gathered around him.
“Big Brother, have we reached Forest City? Can I go out now?” Spoorate asked, clearly bored from being stuck in World-in-Hand for too long.
John smiled and replied, “I’ll let you out in a bit.”
He then turned to Sini and said, “Sini, perform a soul attack on me.”
“Huh?” Sini was utterly confused, staring at him in disbelief.
If the World-in-Hand was destroyed, John would experience a backlash to his soul. The soul injury couldn’t be disguised; he would have to truly suffer the damage.
After hearing his explanation, Sini hesitated, “John, will this really work? I can’t control the damage caused by the soul attack. What if I really hurt you?”
“Don’t worry, it won’t cause any fatal damage to me. Just do it,” John said as he crossed his legs and sat down, signaling for Sini to begin.
She bit her lip, gathering the powers of the underworld, which condensed into a black arrow—her soul attack method.
John watched as the arrow shot toward him at high speed, not making any attempt to defend himself.
Thud!
The arrow struck his soul directly. He let out a muffled groan, and a small trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
“John, are you alright?” Sini asked, her face filled with worry.
He shook his head, briefly assessing the injury to his soul. This level of damage should be enough to deceive Thunderstrike.
“You all leave first. I’ll transfer the World-in-Hand into the Primordial Gourd,” John instructed. He then released everyone in the World-in-Hand.
The Primordial Gourd appeared, and John stored his World-in-Hand inside it.
The next second, his figure appeared outside Forest City.
Tracy and the others also appeared with him.
Except for Sini, none of them had ever seen Thunderstrike, and they were all on high alert.
Storm, on the other hand, had already scurried behind the others, terrified.
“John, thank you for your hard work!” Thunderstrike said with a look of gratitude.
John’s face was pale, his soul feeling the backlash. He could no longer sense his World-in-Hand.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he said lightly, “It is my honor to serve the City Lord.”
“Good, good!” Thunderstrike was deeply moved. He patted John on the shoulder and said seriously, “From now on, I will grant you the highest position, second only to me, above all others!”
“Thank you, City Lord.” John replied indifferently, neither happy nor sad.
Thunderstrike was even more pleased. He spoke again, “Let’s go. We must enter Forest City quickly. If we stay out here too long, it will arouse suspicion.”
As they approached Forest City, John clearly sensed a powerful force, The Heaven, a manifestation of the power of laws.
This power came from the Forest King’s World-in-Hand. The entire Forest City and the surrounding area were under its surveillance.
“John, if anything comes up, contact me through our World-in-Hand. I have some matters to attend to. You all can take a look around here first,” Thunderstrike said with a brief greeting before heading deeper into the city.
John and the others didn’t respond.
“John, is this Forest City? Is Ice Talker here too?” Sini asked, observing the people around them. All were Awakened Ones with at least a four-star rating, far more powerful than those in the advanced cities.
John nodded and replied, “Let’s find Cand-Dragon first.”
He had already asked Cand-Dragon to gather information about Ice Talker once they entered Forest City.
Soon, John found the mark left by Cand-Dragon in front of a tavern.
They entered the tavern, where they immediately spotted Cand-Dragon and Whitewave leaning against the window.
However, the two of them didn’t look well. They appeared slightly disheveled, their breaths unstable, clearly having been injured.
John walked over, casually pulled out a chair, and sat down. He asked with a hint of confusion, “Did you get into a fight?”
Whitewave growled, “We ran into people from Thunderstrike City. But they didn’t fare well either.”
He winced as he touched a wound on his face, sucking in a sharp breath.
Thunderstrike City?
John already knew that Thunderstrike City and Dragon Ascending City had a long-standing feud and often clashed. He didn’t expect them to act so brazenly in Forest City.
He wasn’t interested in the rivalry between the two cities, so he didn’t ask further.
“Cand-Dragon, do you have any news on Ice Talker?” John asked.
“Yes,” Cand-Dragon nodded. He glanced at Whitewave before continuing, “I learned that Ice Talker is also participating in this King Selection, representing Forest City. In addition to Ice Talker, there are two other Overseers from different cities, and they’re all on our side.”
“Two others?” John was a bit surprised. It seemed like these advanced cities were taking powerful individuals seriously.
This eased his mind. The people around him, who were fighting against The Heaven, were strong enough. For now, they wouldn’t be in any immediate danger.
Cand-Dragon continued, “Not only that, but this time, the King Selection will choose ten Lords of Advanced Cities.”
“Ten?” John was shocked. In the past, the King Selection had only had three to four slots, but this time, the number had been more than doubled.
Whitewave also said excitedly, “I was worried I might not get selected, but with the increase in the number of spots, I feel like I might become The Overseer after all.”
“Heh,” John smiled lightly, a playful expression on his face as he looked at him.
This guy’s spot had already been replaced by Sini. There was no way he could participate in this King Selection.
But John didn’t mention it; that was a matter for the offended person to deal with. When the time came, Thunderstrike would announce it.
John took the opportunity to learn more about this King Selection.
Forest City governed 43 advanced cities, with 41 city lords arriving and 130 contestants in total.
Apart from Golden Tiger City, another advanced city had been destroyed, though no one knew who was behind it.
Forest King took this matter very seriously, which was why the spots for the King Selection had been increased.
John wasn’t particularly interested in these details. As long as he could rescue Ice Talker and the others, and secure the Heart of the Continent from the second stage of the King Selection, he’d be leaving this place.
…
Later, at night, John, Sini, and Cand-Dragon were summoned into Dragon Ascending City.
In the City Lord’s Manor, Thunderstrike had a serious expression on his face. He said, “There have been some changes to the rules of this King Selection. The city lords cannot participate as spectators. I need the three of you to carry out my plan.”
John, puzzled, asked, “May I ask what your plan is, Lord?”
Thunderstrike’s eyes flickered with thought. He took out over thirty wooden barrels and piled them up in the main hall.
“Holy Spirit True Water!” John exclaimed as he sensed the liquid in the barrels, his voice full of surprise.
He hadn’t expected Thunderstrike to have so much Holy Spirit True Water.
He immediately guessed what Thunderstrike was planning to do.
Thunderstrike spoke again, “The first stage of the assessment will take place in the snow mountain behind Forest City, where you’ll hunt magical beasts to earn points. The snowmelt from that mountain feeds two rivers that provide water for Forest City. I need you to pour all of this Holy Spirit True Water into these two rivers.”