Chapter 64: The Cleric’s Martial Arts

Lu Ming stared at the crown in the box and let out a cold laugh. “Damn it, I might not be able to deal with you, but someone else can. Just wait—soon you’ll know what it feels like to be reduced to ashes.” With that, he seized the crown and ascended to the second floor, not even glancing back as he declared, “I have things to take care of. Don’t disturb me.”

Leaving behind the stupefied Yun Ketian and Qin Lan, Lu Ming made his way upstairs alone. Once there, he immediately activated the Dragon God’s Altar.

Inside the altar’s grand hall, Lu Ming gazed at the crown in his hand, sneering. “Aren’t you supposed to be powerful? I’d like to see just how formidable you really are—let’s see whether you can outmatch this old dragon.” With that, he placed the crown at the center of the altar.

In an instant, a primordial aura swept through the hall. The crown dissolved into countless points of starlight, vanishing with a piercing, mournful shriek.

Lu Ming burst out laughing. “Ha! Weren’t you supposed to be fearsome? In front of this old dragon, you’re nothing but dust.” Seeing the skeleton that had tricked him dealt with so handily by the ancient dragon, Lu Ming’s spirits soared.

That crown had, in truth, been a trap. Lu Ming hadn’t grasped all the details, but he knew that Tutankhamun had hidden his soul within that world. If someone with a mind as powerful as Lu Ming’s was drawn in, the strength within that world would lure them to probe deeper. Once someone entered, Tutankhamun’s soul would devour the spiritual energy of the intruder in order to strengthen itself and achieve some unknown purpose.

But Lu Ming had sensed the danger early and, possessing extraordinary mental strength, managed to escape by staking everything on a desperate blow. Vengeful by nature and never one to let a grudge linger overnight, Lu Ming had no hesitation in sacrificing the crown. No matter how many tricks you have, in front of this old dragon, it all comes to nothing.

At that moment, a golden hourglass appeared, filled with divine favor. Lu Ming could hardly suppress his glee. “I’ve struck it rich this time. I’m going to pick out some truly good stuff,” he said, full of ambition.

Just then, a voice ancient as time itself echoed in his mind. “Favored by the gods, in recognition of your offerings in both number and quality, the Dragon God bestows upon you the title of High Priest, granting you the Eye of Insight and the Priest’s Martial Art.”

Lu Ming chuckled. As expected, he was no ordinary man—the Dragon God had even granted him divine abilities.

But as he basked in his self-satisfaction, the golden hourglass suddenly flipped over and the divine favor within drained away at breakneck speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Lu Ming panicked. “Hey! Hey, those aren’t the rewards I picked! No cheating!” he shouted, but not a drop of divine favor remained.

“Damn it, this is a complete swindle!” Lu Ming jumped up and cursed furiously at the hall, but received no answer.

Just then, a surge of powerful energy descended upon him, freezing him in place as several new streams of information flooded his mind.

Eye of Insight: Shatters all illusion, granting true vision. Exclusive to the High Priest.
Priest’s Martial Art: The origin of martial skills, specially created by the Dragon God for his priests to conquer the Land of Darkness. Exclusive to the High Priest.

Lu Ming cursed as he tried to comprehend these two new abilities. So much divine favor, and all he got were these two forced upon him—he felt deeply dissatisfied.

He activated the Eye of Insight, determined to see what kind of useless ability he’d traded so much for. The moment he did, the world around him utterly transformed. Only now did he realize that the Dragon Hall was suspended in the vast emptiness of the void, shrouded in a layer of white light that surrounded it, unmoved by the surging torrents of time and space outside.

Lu Ming’s heart pounded as he looked out upon the boundless, dazzling void, where monstrous creatures the size of planets occasionally drifted past. His legs nearly gave out.

“Good lord!” he yelped, hastily shutting off the Eye of Insight and banishing the horrifying vision.

“That scared me half to death,” he muttered, patting his chest and struggling to calm his nerves.

What he’d just witnessed through the Eye of Insight was both wondrous and terrifying, enough to unsettle even the boldest soul. Only now did Lu Ming truly understand how insignificant humanity was in the grand scheme of things, and how many more secrets this world held, still waiting to be discovered.

After what he’d seen—those void beasts as vast as worlds themselves—Lu Ming resolved that unless he reached invincible strength, he’d stay quietly on Earth.

Hurriedly exiting the Dragon God’s Altar, Lu Ming returned to his room. “Damn it, what a rip-off! That old bastard screwed me over,” he grumbled.

Though the ability of the Eye of Insight was powerful, Lu Ming couldn’t fathom what practical use it had for him now.

Mulling it over, he activated the Eye of Insight once more. Instantly, everything around him became transparent. He looked downstairs, where Qin Lan lay smoking on the sofa. With the Eye of Insight, he could see right through floors and clothing; Qin Lan’s figure was revealed in every detail.

“Damn, she’s got a figure like that? Never noticed before. But no, she’s my brother’s girl—I can’t do this.”

He quickly shifted his gaze to Yun Ketian, who was sneaking glances at Qin Lan.

“Ugh!” Lu Ming hastily deactivated the Eye of Insight.

“It’s got its uses, but not many—completely pointless,” he concluded, then turned his attention to studying the Priest’s Martial Art.

At that moment, Lu Ming suddenly noticed a new consciousness had appeared in his mind.

This consciousness could think independently. As Lu Ming pondered the Priest’s Martial Art, it had already set to work analyzing it.

The title of High Priest had brought him this second consciousness.

The moment it appeared, Lu Ming understood its origin.

“So that’s how it is!” he murmured. Clearly, the High Priest title was no empty honor.

With a second consciousness, it was as if he had a second mind—able to think about different matters simultaneously, which made things much more convenient. Moreover, this second consciousness never needed rest and could keep working as long as he required.

“This is a good thing. Study the Priest’s Martial Art thoroughly—I’m going to take a nap,” Lu Ming yawned, then collapsed into bed and promptly fell asleep.

…

The next morning, Lu Ming woke up, and after a moment his face broke into a smile.

The second consciousness had studied the Priest’s Martial Art and fully integrated it into his memory.

Only now did Lu Ming realize how extraordinarily powerful this art was.

At its core, the Priest’s Martial Art consisted of only a few dozen basic moves, but the combinations were endless—almost infinite. Even after an entire night of analysis, the second consciousness had only scratched the surface.

But even that was enough to revolutionize Lu Ming’s understanding of martial arts.

He was himself a martial artist, trained since childhood, his skills and techniques already at a high level. Yet compared to this Priest’s Martial Art, his previous training was like a firefly before the full moon, an ant before a titan—utterly incomparable.

Only now did he understand why it was said that this martial art was specially created by the Dragon God for his High Priests to conquer the Land of Darkness. He didn’t know exactly what the Land of Darkness was, but if even the old dragon needed his priests to subjugate it, it was surely no ordinary place.

To have an entire martial art specially crafted for that purpose spoke volumes about its power—it was, after all, a divine skill.

After a quick wash, Lu Ming headed downstairs.

Yun Ketian and Qin Lan had spent the night curled up on the sofa. As Lu Ming came down, Qin Lan grumbled, “Boss, what took you so long? I’m starving.”

Lu Ming smiled, stepped over to her, and with a flick of his finger tapped her wrist.

With a thud, Qin Lan tumbled and landed on the floor.

Lu Ming roared with laughter.

Rubbing her sore backside, Qin Lan got up, face dark. “Looking for a fight?” she challenged.

“With you? That wouldn’t be a fight—it’d be a beating,” Lu Ming replied smugly.