Chapter 266: The Blood Banner Medal, and the Whereabouts of the Other Treasure Map Fragments

"Bro, what’s happening?" Caleb saw the serious expression on Xander’s face and quickly asked.

Xander took a deep breath and whispered, "New intelligence: The entrances to the God-Slaying Lands in multiple countries were attacked by mysterious people of unknown origin on the same day."

"The God-Slaying Lands secret realm?" Caleb instantly frowned.

According to the Elephant Empire’s intelligence, the Floating City wouldn’t open for at least another month.

"Could this be the work of the Evil Demons Guild?" Caleb voiced his thought.

Emperor Xander shook his head. "It doesn’t seem likely. If the Evil Demons Guild wanted to enter the God-Slaying Lands, they could simply go through the secret realm entrance controlled by the Abyss Demon faction. There’s no need for them to do this."

"Besides, those mysterious people only needed to attack one entrance to get inside the God-Slaying Lands. Why attack multiple entrances at the same time?"

As he spoke, Xander had a sudden realization.

At that moment, Caleb’s expression also turned serious.

They looked at each other and said in unison, "They want to control the secret realm entrances!"

Just then, the golden lotus controlled by Robert slowly flew toward the front of the Elephant Empire palace.

Seeing this, Xander took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his expression.

He looked at Aiden and walked over without hesitation.

The golden lotus came to a slow stop.

Xander took a deep breath in front of all the contestants and the surrounding Elephant Empire citizens, then closed his eyes.

One second later, Xander’s eyes snapped open, and he shouted loudly:

"The Great Shaw Empire’s Aiden, eighteen years old, brave and mighty, with incredible combat power, turned the tide of battle single-handedly and washed away the shame of the Elephant Empire!"

"In my capacity as the Emperor of the Elephant Empire, I declare that Aiden shall receive the Elephant Empire’s Blood Banner Medal and be honored as a hero of the Elephant Empire forever!"

"Someone, bring the medal!"

Instantly, the whole place fell silent. Countless Elephant Empire citizens widened their eyes in shock.

Soon, Caleb walked out from the side. Holding a tray in his hands, he bent over and slowly approached Aiden.

At the same time, Emperor Xander of the Elephant Empire pulled out a short knife made of ivory.

Seeing this, Aiden looked confused, filled with questions.

He glanced back at the talented contestants from the Elephant Empire standing behind him.

That person looked at Aiden with envy in his eyes before whispering, "This is the most grand ceremony in our Elephant Empire."

As soon as he spoke, Aiden saw Emperor Xander walk over to Caleb. Xander took a white medal from the tray.

Slash!

The sharp ivory knife instantly cut through Xander’s palm.

Without flinching, Xander placed the white medal directly onto his bleeding wound.

"With the blood of the Elephant Empire Emperor, I grant this medal its highest honor and status!"

"Any citizen of the Elephant Empire who sees this medal, sees me, the Emperor, in person!" Xander shouted solemnly.

All the surrounding Elephant Empire citizens immediately bowed their heads and shouted in unison: "Seeing this medal is like seeing the Emperor in person!"

With a look of surprise, Xander slowly handed over the medal stained with royal blood to Aiden.

[Blood Banner Medal: Epic Rank, Special Item. Created using the blood of the Elephant Empire Emperor and the recognition of its citizens. Once equipped, it grants +10,000 HP and increases Movement Speed by 10%. Within Elephant Empire territory, Health Regen increases by 20% and Mana Regen increases by 20%. When the wearer’s HP drops below 50%, part of the HP from all Elephant Empire citizens within a 10km radius is transferred to the user. This effect can only be activated once. Additionally, wearing this medal allows the user to command a 100-person army instantly, with the authority to execute without prior approval!]

Aiden glanced at the Blood Banner Medal and froze for a moment.

Although the medal’s tier wasn’t very high—only Epic Rank—its effects were incredibly powerful.

Unfortunately, it seemed a shame that this item could only reach its full potential within the territory of the Elephant Empire.

"Take it. You deserve this," Emperor Xander said with a serious expression.

The surrounding Elephant Empire citizens looked at Aiden with hope in their eyes.

At this point, there was no point in refusing. Aiden didn’t hesitate; he simply fastened the medal onto his chest.

Seeing this, the citizens of the Elephant Empire erupted in joyful cheers.

...

At 9:00 PM, in the luxury hotel conference room where the contestants were staying...

Aiden sat in the front row, studying a woman with fiery red hair sitting before him.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Selene," Selene said in her usual cold tone. Her eyes matched the color of her hair.

All the talented contestants remained silent, fear flickering in their eyes. Before Selene arrived, Lord Robert had already warned them: she is a divine powerhouse.

"Alright, time is tight. I will have my people distribute your rewards shortly."

"I’m here to tell you what preparations you need to make before entering the Golden Great Wall."

Selene’s gaze paused briefly on Aiden.

She continued, "The Golden Great Wall is an extremely special place. Generally, only Great Venerables or divine powerhouses can stay there for long periods."

"However, a few high-level Reclassers or Venerables with immense potential can also stay for a while."

"But for someone like you, with a level only in the high fifties and insufficient soul strength, you need two days to acclimate at the intersection between the Golden Great Wall and Earth before entering."

Hearing this, Aiden immediately frowned.

He had planned to head to the Abyss before entering the Golden Great Wall. He intended to use his invitation to the Abyss Heartspire Auction to try and obtain a Second Class Scroll.

Now, Selene’s words had completely thrown off his plan.

Selene, being a divine powerhouse, instantly sensed Aiden’s subtle change in expression.

"What’s wrong? Do you have some other urgent matter you need to attend to?" Selene asked suddenly, her voice strangely calm.

The other Reclassers nearby turned their gaze toward Aiden.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Aiden slowly nodded and said:

"If we don’t acclimate beforehand and just jump straight into the Golden Great Wall, what happens?"

Selene answered coolly, "You’ll break down and lose your mind. Of course, this only happens if your soul strength isn’t enough. But if your soul strength..."

Just as Selene was speaking, a look of sudden tension appeared on Robert’s face.

He slapped his own head in frustration, filled with regret.

Selene immediately turned her gaze toward him.

Robert spoke quickly, "Lord, I forgot to tell you something."

"Earlier, when those faint drops of Force of Laws were falling, I had these contestants try to understand them."

Selene nodded. That arrangement was fine. Though it was extremely unlikely for any contestant to actually perceive the Force of Laws, it wasn’t impossible.

Then, she suddenly heard Robert say:

"Aiden didn’t just perceive the Force of Laws; his comprehension reached 3.78%."

"I already told Lord Bella about this. I meant to tell you just now, but I got busy and forgot."

Upon hearing this, Selene snapped her head around, her red eyes scanning Aiden up and down intently.

After taking a deep breath, she said slowly, "No wonder Teacher was so keen on you."

"You don’t need to acclimate beforehand. Just come with us into the Golden Great Wall."

Hearing this, Aiden nodded quickly.

Selene then gave the other contestants some final warnings before rushing off.

Meanwhile, Aiden finally got the one thing he had been craving most: the third fragment of the mysterious treasure map.

Nellie looked at the fragment in Aiden’s hand with obvious reluctance but said nothing.

"The Wycliffe Family must have another fragment of the mysterious treasure map, right?" Aiden asked, glancing at Nellie.

Nellie didn’t hesitate for a moment. She nodded immediately and replied:

"Yes, it’s there in our family’s treasure vault."

"The main reason I came out, aside from gaining some experience, was to find this fragment of the mysterious treasure map."

"But we already agreed that whoever contributes the most gets to choose their prize first."

"Captain, I won’t try to steal this from you, haha. Besides, I probably couldn’t win even if I tried," Nellie laughed.

After facing life and death on the front lines, she had finally understood a lot of things.

"But if I want to get that fragment from the Wycliffe Family... is there any hope?" Aiden asked, unable to hold back.

There were five fragments in total. He held three, the Wycliffe Family had one, and the last one’s location was unknown.

"There’s hope, but it’s going to be very hard."

"And besides the one piece held by the Wycliffe Family, I also know where the other one is," Nellie answered.

Aiden’s eyes lit up, and excitement flashed in his gaze before quickly fading away.

Maybe the fragment Nellie knew about was the very one he already possessed.

"Is it the fragment inside the Miko Temple?" Aiden asked.

Nellie paused, looking confused. "What Miko Temple?"

"The Wycliffe Family has been collecting information on the locations of the other fragments."

"Before we left, the Family Head mentioned that one fragment has always been located in the Abyss."

"I can’t remember the name of that city exactly. I didn’t pay much attention at the time, but let me think..."