Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 288 Winged King

"Why is the aura of King Lin Yuan so weak?"

"Judging from this situation, the immortal divine body has probably been damaged by more than half."

"It was indeed a tragic scene; the injuries must have been severe. I've heard that King Lin Yuan and King Shi Jin are sworn brothers. Looking back, when the Star Tower sealed the stars from the world, they were inseparable, like shadows. It's said that King Shi Jin nearly fell into that chaotic and dangerous place, and King Lin Yuan was frantic with worry, almost going mad, nearly leaping in after him. Fortunately, Heaven protected King Shi Jin; a spatial exit suddenly appeared out of nowhere, allowing him to escape with his life."

"Such affection is what true friendship is all about! The lifespan of the strong is endless, and in the long river of time, loved ones often pass away first, making friendship all the more precious. The universe is vast and boundless, and venturing into it, conspiracies and schemes surge like undercurrents, emerging one after another. To be fortunate enough to make a few true friends who would share life and death is truly invaluable, and every friendship is worth protecting with one's life. The bond between King Lin Yuan and King Shi Jin is so deep that King Shi Jin must have been extremely anxious upon hearing the news and rushed here at top speed, which is why he was the first to arrive here."

"It is also possible that King Lin Yuan was the first to ask King Shi Jin for help, which is why King Shi Jin arrived first."

"They truly are friends who have been through thick and thin together."

"Only brothers who have been through thick and thin would risk their lives so recklessly."

The top players from the three teams were secretly communicating via telepathy.

Now that it was confirmed that the King of Killing Gold had forced the alien team to retreat and that the alien team had already escaped, everyone's tense demeanor instantly relaxed.

However, one person in the three teams was an exception: Winged King. His entire body was covered in dark blue scales that shimmered with a mysterious luster in the dim cosmic light, and the pair of transparent, cicada-wing-like wings on his back trembled slightly, as if sensing something.

"Remove the spatial blockade now!" Jiang Ye's face darkened, and he coldly shouted. He was waiting for these three teams to remove the spatial blockade so he could teleport away.

"Not urgent."

A cold voice rang out, and it was none other than Winged King, whose eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Jiang Ye's gaze swept over the Winged King, whose entire body was covered in dark blue scales, and detailed information about him instantly appeared in his mind.

The Winged King comes from an extremely special life form—the Phantom Winged Clan. This clan is extremely rare, numbering only a little over a thousand in the entire universe, making them a unique life form.

Their genetic makeup is at least 120 times stronger, which gives this race amazing talent and potential.

It should be known that the limit of a human King-level expert's divine body is 1 times the power of a World Lord, unless their bloodline and genes are altered. However, the limit of the Youhuan Spirit Wing Clan's King-level divine body is 12 million times the power of a World Lord. This is pure divine body power, without taking into account any amplitude secret techniques, etc.

In addition, this race possesses a unique innate technique called "Spiritual Detection," which is not simply a detection ability.

When he activates this secret technique, the pair of transparent, cicada-wing-like wings on his back will shimmer with a strange, eerie light, bringing the space within a hundred kilometers radius of him into his perception range.

Within this range, any object, whether a physical entity or an energy fluctuation, will present a unique "spiritual image" in his perception. This image not only allows him to clearly identify the object's location and shape, but also to perceive its internal energy flow and subtle structure.

Even the most concealed energy shields can be easily penetrated by "Spiritual Detection".

Previously, Jiang Ye used a miniature detector to conceal his presence. It was only when Winged King activated "Spiritual Sense Detection" that he detected the extremely faint energy fluctuations emitted by the detector and discovered the hiding place of Jiang Ye and the others.

At this moment, King Yijue was filled with doubts; he felt that something was strange about the matter.

Based on his understanding of King Lin Yuan, who was always cautious, the alien team that could injure him so badly must be extremely powerful. So why was the alien team so easily forced back by King Shi Jin when he and his teammates arrived? Moreover, he noticed the look in King Lin Yuan's eyes when he looked at King Shi Jin. It was not just gratitude, but also a look of almost awe, which made King Yi Jue suspect that there was another hidden story.

“King Shijin, I observe that King Linyuan is seriously injured. This alien team must be quite powerful. They might still be hiding nearby, attempting to wipe us out in one fell swoop. Let’s maintain the spatial blockade for a while longer, just in case.” King Yijue gave a seemingly reasonable explanation on the surface.

Jiang Ye's heart sank as he realized that the Winged King before him was unusual.

However, his face remained cold and aloof as he feigned displeasure and said, "Hmph, those alien races have already fled, don't waste any more time!"

With the strength Jiang Ye has shown so far, he is not afraid of these people in front of him. However, these alien races are, after all, on the side of humanity and serve humanity. Once the battle starts, the commotion will be too great and will definitely attract more powerful people, making the situation even more difficult to manage.

"Winged King, what's wrong?" Some of the other powerful figures in the three teams also noticed Winged King's unusual behavior. One of them, a tall and burly King-level expert with a metallic sheen, asked telepathically.

This person comes from a weak race in the secret realm of the universe—the Golden Cauldron Clan—and is named King Shuoyan. He and King Yijue belong to the same team and usually have a good relationship, but at this moment he can't figure out what King Yijue is up to.

King Yijue glanced at King Shuoyan and secretly transmitted his voice, "King Shuoyan, don't you think this matter is too strange? King Linyuan was seriously injured, yet the alien team, which possessed several treasures, retreated easily. And this King Shijin was still in the Star Tower a few months ago, yet he has appeared in the Morning Sand Starfield so timely. There must be something strange about this."

Shuoyan King frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and replied telepathically: "What you said seems reasonable, but is it appropriate to question the King of Killing Gold based on mere speculation? I know you are greedy for the King of Killing Gold's treasure, but the King of Killing Gold is renowned in the human camp and is also human. If we offend him for no reason, we may be in trouble."

King Yijue snorted inwardly, but he also knew that what King Shuoyan said was true.

He did indeed covet the treasure of the King of Killing Gold. With a life gene level as high as 120 times, he could fight against top powerhouses like the Seven Swords King and the Black-Shaving King without being at a disadvantage.

However, his reputation among the many powerful kings was far less than that of the Seven Swords King, the Black Shaving King, and others.

The reason for this is that he did not possess any powerful treasures. Relying solely on his own strength, how easy would it be to kill those powerful experts at the peak of the King level!

Therefore, King Yijue had an extremely strong desire for the precious treasure.

However, he also knew that King Shuoyan was right. The King Shijin in front of him belonged to the human camp, and killing each other within the same camp was tantamount to courting death.

Facing the human race, a pinnacle of power, the Ghost Winged Clan was utterly powerless to resist. The consequences of antagonizing the human race would be unimaginable.

Just as King Yijue was hesitating, Jiang Ye suddenly spoke up: "Since everyone is so cautious, then I shall take my leave first. King Linyuan is seriously injured and needs to find a safe place to heal as soon as possible." After saying that, he was about to leave with King Linyuan and King Anlei.

"Wait!" Seeing this, King Yijue could no longer care about anything else. He flashed forward and blocked Jiang Ye's path. "King Shijin, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Could it be that you have something to hide?"

Jiang Ye was furious, but he still suppressed his anger and said coldly, "King Yijue, what is your intention in stopping me time and time again? Don't think that I, King Shijin, am afraid of you!" The atmosphere around them instantly became tense, and the two sides were on the verge of a major battle.

Seeing the situation was turning sour, King Shuoyan quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Gentlemen, please don't act rashly. King Yijue, if you really have any doubts, you might as well speak them directly, and we can discuss them together. There's no need to make things so unpleasant. King Yijue's killing of King Jin was just out of caution, and he had no intention of offending anyone. I hope you can forgive him."

"Winged King, remove the spatial blockade."

"Yes, let's remove it."

The other teammates seemed to sense the tense atmosphere and tried to persuade Wing Jue Wang.

While the King of Slaughter might be coveted by some super-strong individuals, it's not something a peak-level King-level expert could easily covet. Moreover, the King of Slaughter belongs to the human faction, and the human faction explicitly forbids infighting.

Looking at this group of sycophants, King Yijue was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

Just as he was about to lift the spatial blockade, he suddenly stopped what he was doing, as if he had noticed something, and grinned coldly, "Haha, King of Gold Slayer, there must be quite a few super strong people from other factions watching you now! I really didn't expect you to show up here! It seems that your brotherhood with King Lin Yuan is really deep. However... you are too foolish to put yourself in a dangerous situation for King Lin Yuan."

"A dangerous situation?" A cold glint flashed in Jiang Ye's eyes as he looked at Winged King.

"Everyone!" King Yijue's expression turned grim. "This King Shijin... for some reason, I tried to send him a distress signal through the military system. You should know that many powerful figures are aware of King Shijin's virtual universe ID. Normally, even if he turns off the virtual universe receiving function, the military system would only prompt him to turn off the receiving function. But this time, the military system's feedback was... he has retired! He is not in the military system and cannot send a distress signal."

"Retire?"

"Retire?"

"The King of Gold Slayers has retired?"

"I'll give it a try too. I've really retired. I can't send a distress signal through the military system. The military system clearly indicates that the other party has retired." The three teams immediately erupted in chaos.

Although they had long known that the King of Killing Gold possessed enormous wealth and was very likely to have great treasures, they had not dared to have any improper thoughts before.

Firstly, they were wary of Jiang Ye's strength; secondly, and most importantly, it was strictly forbidden for members of the same faction to kill each other!

Now that they learned that the King of Gold Slayers had retired, everyone's minds started racing. One-on-one might not be enough to deal with the King of Gold Slayers, but what if they ganged up on him? In an instant, the atmosphere among the three teams changed drastically. They were no longer as friendly as before, but instead, they were filled with a hidden hostility towards Jiang Ye and his group.

"King Shi Jin risked his life to save me, and you still dare to attack him?" King Lin Yuan roared in fury, his voice like rolling thunder, echoing in the minds of many powerful figures in the three teams.

"Hmph! King Lin Yuan, this is none of your business."

"You've lost more than half of your divine power, and your strength is probably less than one-tenth of what it used to be! So you'd better be sensible."

"Yes, King Lin Yuan, with your current strength, you can't control the situation at all. Although we won't attack you, you should at least be sensible." The three teams looked at Jiang Ye with increasingly hostile eyes; the temptation of the treasure was not just empty words.

Just then, more than a dozen teams flew rapidly from all directions. It turned out that these teams were forced to teleport to the edge of the "spatial blockade" area before flying towards this location because the surrounding space was blocked.

Like sharks that have smelled blood, they rushed toward the scene.

Although these dozen or so teams were in flight, their detectors had already observed everything in this area.

"It's the King of Slaughtering Gold!"

"I never expected the King of Slaughter to be here!"

"Hmm? The King of Gold Slayer has retired and is no longer part of the military system, so he's no longer under the protection of any faction!"

Immediately, the area erupted in an uproar, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

This scene made Jiang Ye frown slightly, but he said, "King Lin Yuan, you should rest for now. Leave everything to me." He then directly put King Lin Yuan into his world ring.

Jiang Ye did this... and the three nearby teams didn't stop him, because they didn't want the battle to involve King Lin Yuan, since King Lin Yuan hadn't retired and still belonged to the human camp.
At that moment, they still thought that King Linyuan was still the same King Linyuan as before, but little did they know that in the short time it took for King Linyuan to arrive, he had already become Jiang Ye's servant.

"It's really interesting."

Jiang Ye glanced at the dozen or so teams that had arrived. "I didn't expect that even now, with my identity as the King of Killing Gold... people would still dare to offend me. It seems that I didn't establish my authority enough before."

Those who arrived at the earliest stage were definitely the strongest in the human camp of the "Morning Sand Starfield". There were more than a dozen new teams plus the previous three teams, totaling nearly a hundred strong people, including as many as forty peak soul masters and peak king level experts!
These powerful individuals are all exceptionally strong and have a certain reputation throughout the universe.

"The King of Gold Slayers has actually retired?"

"Tsk tsk, the King of Killing Gold was able to slaughter so many powerful people in the Star Tower... he must have some great treasures."

"Yes, according to the news from the mechanical faction, the Rift King claimed on his deathbed that the Gold-Slaying King possessed a domain treasure, but unfortunately, no one except the Rift King saw it. In addition, he repelled the Star Crystal King. At that time, most of the strongmen of the mechanical faction gave up. But recently, he has been slaughtering people in a row, so his strength has obviously increased dramatically. I guess he has a new treasure!"

"Everyone, that alien team has been forced back by the King of Killing Gold, and King Lin Yuan has also been rescued by the King of Killing Gold."

"That alien team is said to have several King-level experts and two powerful treasures, yet they were forced back by the King of Slaughtering Gold? This King of Slaughtering Gold... is too strong. He must possess more than one powerful treasure."

Nearly a hundred powerful figures from the human camp were all staring at the golden-armored, silver-robed youth in the center from all directions.

(End of this chapter)