Chapter 288 - 252: The Situation is Even Worse Than Imagined

"Mr. Fen... What did he find out?" Su Ze asked hurriedly.

"He found a more detailed list—a list of everyone who has ever taken first place in the Divine Dice trials, from the very first appearance of the Dice until now!" Liou Wenxin said. "He also found information on the Divine Dice from the Sovereign Country’s database, including records of humanity’s early explorations of the Dice."

"Any discoveries?"

"Mr. Chen found someone on that list you would never expect."

"The Pope of the Evolution Divine Teachings!"

Su Ze’s heart skipped a beat. It was unexpected, but after a moment’s thought, it seemed perfectly logical.

’If the Sovereign of Lin Hua Continent and the Pope of the Evolution Divine Teachings have both been corrupted by aliens, and they’re working together, then it would explain why Lin Hua Country turns a blind eye to the Evolution Divine Teachings running amok on the continent.’

But this realization also brought a sense of powerlessness. ’Both the Sovereign of Lin Hua Continent and the Pope of the Evolution Divine Teachings were legendary-tier powerhouses, the pinnacle of humanity’s combat strength on Blue Star. Yet both might be under the control of extraterrestrial life. Is there any hope left for Lin Hua Continent?’

"Don’t be too pessimistic. The Sovereign and the Pope aren’t necessarily on the same side; it’s just possible they have some connection," Liou Wenxin advised. "Besides, Lin Hua Country has more than one legendary-tier powerhouse. They can’t just do whatever they want."

Su Ze thought for a moment and asked, "When did the Pope enter the Divine Dice? And is it confirmed that he obtained a Bloodline Crystal?"

Liou Wenxin nodded. "The current Pope entered the Divine Dice over three hundred years ago, a few decades before the Sovereign, Jiang Pingle. At the time, he admitted to receiving the Bloodline Crystal as a reward."

"The Divine Dice was first discovered over six hundred years ago, and the Evolution Divine Teachings was founded over five hundred years ago. The Teachings performed a great service by assisting the Lin Hua Army near the end of the Evolution War, so after Lin Hua Country was founded, they were permitted to proselytize on the Lin Hua Continent. And starting four hundred years ago, they began receiving an allocation of slots for the Divine Dice from Lin Hua Country."

"The current Pope is the only person from the Evolution Divine Teachings on record to have obtained a Bloodline Crystal. Although the Teachings have received slots for the Divine Dice trials every time since, they’ve never taken first place again."

Su Ze asked again, "Then before the Pope, what other major figures took first place in the Divine Dice trials?"

Although Chen Suifeng hadn’t given Liou Wenxin any physical or digital documents, merely letting her glance at the list, Liou Wenxin possessed skills like "Super-Capacity Brain" and "Rapid Memorization." She had a virtually perfect memory.

She shook her head. "The good news is that when the Divine Dice first appeared, humans were still locked in a bitter struggle with mutated beasts and had no fixed settlements. Moreover, the overall evolutionary level of life on Blue Star was far lower than it is now. Almost all the Butterfly Stage powerhouses were fighting on the front lines, so when the Divine Dice opened the first two times, no one entered at all."

"For a long time after that, people didn’t understand the Divine Dice that had so suddenly appeared. They didn’t know what it was for, nor were they aware that only those at the Butterfly Stage could enter. Fear of the unknown, combined with the fact that Butterfly Stage experts were the high-end combatants of the era, meant they wouldn’t take such a risk lightly. As a result, no one was ever organized to enter the Divine Dice trials."

"It wasn’t until after the Evolution War ended and Lin Hua Country was founded that they finally began to study the Divine Dice. After several attempts, they confirmed that only Butterfly Stage evolvers could enter. So, they began sending in some Butterfly Stage evolvers who had committed capital crimes, some of the Corrupted, and elderly Butterfly Stage individuals who didn’t have long to live."

"However, because not enough people went in, the Divine Dice trials couldn’t be initiated. Everyone who entered was simply sent back out after a period of time."

Su Ze understood this. The last time the Divine Dice opened, it had also required forty-five people. To recklessly send over forty Butterfly Stage individuals on an adventure into something completely unknown would have taken immense resolve.

Liou Wenxin continued, "It wasn’t until about four hundred and fifty years ago that Lin Hua Country finally gathered forty-five Butterfly Stage individuals—all of them old, weak, sick, disabled, or death row criminals. That was the first time the Divine Dice trials were truly initiated."

"In that trial, some people made it out of the first two rounds. But by the end of the third round, it was a total wipeout..."

’Even now, when the Divine Dice trials are filled with elites from various factions, plenty of people still die inside. A group of the old, weak, sick, and disabled would never have been able to survive to the end.’

’As for the criminals, they were already sentenced to death, so they would have certainly tried to survive a few more rounds inside. It’s no surprise they ultimately died in there.’

As Liou Wenxin continued her account, Su Ze began to get a general picture of what happened next.

After that experience, Lin Hua Country finally understood that the Divine Dice was a place that "gives rewards for passing tests."

In the years that followed, whenever the Divine Dice opened, Lin Hua Country began to recruit candidates. At the time, they put out a call for Butterfly Stage powerhouses from all over Lin Hua Continent to volunteer. Because there was no strict selection process, the strength and talent of the Trialists were uneven.

For the first thirty years, no one managed to pass all six rounds of trials. But as more and more people received generous rewards from the Dice, an increasing number of people eagerly signed up. Many famous geniuses also wanted to try their luck.

With too many applicants and not enough slots, Lin Hua Country had no choice but to select the most powerful or talented elites. This raised the overall quality of the Trialists significantly, and finally, someone succeeded in clearing all six rounds of trials for the first time.

Later on, as the fame of the Divine Dice grew and competition for slots became more intense, it evolved into the model we see today.

Liou Wenxin said, "The current Pope was the first person to publicly declare that he’d received a Bloodline Crystal as a reward. That was also the first time people on the Lin Hua Continent learned that such a thing existed... As for the few who cleared the six trials before the Pope, it’s unknown whether they received Bloodline Crystals. In any case, they are all dead. None of them survive today."

After hearing all this, Su Ze felt the situation was slightly better than he had imagined. At least it wasn’t worse.

’In other words, among those who could have been corrupted by alien life, the strongest and the oldest are the current Pope and the current Sovereign of Lin Hua Country.’

’Although I don’t know what the aliens are plotting, it probably isn’t something as simple as ruling Blue Star or destroying it. Otherwise, they could have done so long ago.’

’Since they’re choosing to lie low for now, it means the time isn’t ripe, and their scheme hasn’t succeeded. That means humanity on Blue Star still has time.’

’Besides, even if the Lin Hua Continent falls, there’s still the Snowfield Continent and the Flame Emperor Continent.’

’Those two continents have legendary-tier powerhouses as well.’

But Liou Wenxin’s next words threw a bucket of cold water on him. "I only learned from my recent exchange with people from the Snowfield and Flame Emperor Continents that they each have their own Divine Dice, too."

’What the fuck!’

’Needless to say, if nothing unexpected happened, those two continents have probably been infiltrated so thoroughly they’re like sieves.’

’Looked at this way, there isn’t a single safe haven on the vast Blue Star.’

’The situation is even worse than I imagined.’

’With my current strength, saving the world isn’t something I need to worry about yet. I’ve already told Chen Suifeng, who is stronger than me. Until I surpass him, I’ll let him handle the worrying.’

Su Ze reined in his thoughts, deciding to focus on improving his strength for now and put everything else aside.

He changed the subject. "How was the conference with those ’outlanders’? What’s their level of evolution like?"

Liou Wenxin’s expression turned a little strange. She sighed. "The Snowfield Continent is okay. They aren’t especially advanced, but we are definitely complementary. There are many things we can learn from their research. But the Flame Emperor Continent... it’s hard to put into words!"

’Niges have outstanding athletic talent, so naturally they have shortcomings in other areas.’ Su Ze wasn’t surprised by this.

"The Flame Emperor Continent’s level of evolution is still in a relatively primitive stage. They lack all sorts of common evolutionary medicines that we have on Lin Hua Continent. Most people can only rely on natural remedies to aid their evolution. However, they have developed a very interesting evolutionary path, which they call ’Gu’."

"Gu Insects?" Su Ze asked in surprise.

"It’s not the Gu Skills and such from our legends. It’s a special method that binds parasites to evolvers. The evolvers host various parasites inside their bodies, forming a symbiotic relationship with them."

"The evolvers provide the parasites with nutrients and various Evolutionary Materials, evolving alongside them. In return, the parasites provide various forms of feedback. The evolver can borrow the parasite’s abilities to help in battle, and some parasites can even help the evolver digest extracts, heal injuries, and so on."

"They call these parasites that are symbiotic with evolvers ’Gu’," Liou Wenxin explained.

Then, Liou Wenxin showed Su Ze a few photos of black people from the Flame Emperor Continent showing off the "Gu" in their bodies.

There were people with mutated horsehair worms parasitizing their bodies, some with mutated roundworms, and even some with fist-sized mites living on them...

The wildest one was an older woman who opened her mouth to reveal she didn’t even have a tongue. Its place had been taken by a parasite called a tongue-eating louse. It’s a type of marine parasite that originally only infested fish, but after evolving, it could even parasitize humans.

The tongue-eating louse has to eat the host’s tongue, after which it replaces the tongue and forms a symbiotic relationship with the host.

Su Ze thought, ’Holy hell. That’s a real eye-opener!’

’Who could possibly stand this "black technology" from these black bros? No matter how useful it was, Su Ze would never try it.’

Liou Wenxin said, "However, during the conference, a unique training method from the Snowfield Continent gave me some inspiration. I believe I’ll be able to develop an upgraded version of the Swan Dance soon."

"That’s great. I was just about to absorb a fifth-tier extract. With an enhanced version of the Swan Dance, it should save me a lot of time digesting it."

"Are you confident?" Liou Wenxin asked, a little worried.

"Ninety percent certain. How about I come to your lab for another test to see the success rate?" Su Ze’s physique had improved tremendously in the Divine Dice; he was quite confident.

"Okay, let’s go now. You can only attempt it if the success rate is over seventy percent!"