Imperial Crown.

Chapter 596 Raven's Caution

However, Raven's mental energy was completely exhausted at this moment. Naturally, the Eye of Truth could not continue. The golden light in his eyes gradually faded, which also prevented him from immediately absorbing the energy from the Netherworld Silk Flower.

According to Anuo, the greatest function of the Netherworld Silk Flower is to help cultivators who practice both martial arts and magic power to blend their internal martial arts and magic power, thereby generating martial arts and magic essence. However, after everything that has happened, Lei Wen still harbors some doubts about her words. Who knows if this witch is simply using the Netherworld Silk Flower as a carefully crafted lie because she needs it to advance to the sixth rank?
Regardless, absorbing a fifth-tier magical plant will ultimately improve one's cultivation. Taking the risk is worthwhile. Moreover, given the current dire situation, Raven is willing to seize even the slightest opportunity to increase his strength. He will not let it slip by easily.

"Hiss!" "With my current abilities, wouldn't I be able to go straight to Ferdinand's side and behead him?!"

Raven suddenly realized a possibility. He could use his Void Eye to spy on Ferdinand, and if the situation was favorable, he could teleport himself there and catch Ferdinand off guard! If Ferdinand died, Raven's current crisis would be resolved by at least 4%! No! Even half or 5%! And he wouldn't need to run to Slaver's Bay and "fight guerrilla warfare in the mountains."

Inside the room, Raven lit a spice called [Comet Tail Incense]. This was a spice that Petty had refined and upgraded from the previous spice [Phantom Flame Incense]. Its quality was comparable to second-tier spices, and it was in no way inferior to [Enchanted Lemongrass]. However, for Raven, who was at the fifth tier, it was still somewhat insufficient, at most allowing him to calm his mind. It did not increase Raven's meditation speed. Raven's real reliance, on the other hand, was on the fourth-tier magic crystals in his left and right hands. These were spoils brought back from the expedition to the Orc Empire. Originally, he had reached an agreement with Chuchulinga to purchase a large number of magic crystals to sell on the Deep Blue platform. However, after falling out with Habs, the Deep Blue platform seemed to have frozen his account. Similar to the operation on Douyin in his previous life, he could post videos that he could watch himself without any problems, but others could not see them at all. It was extremely disgusting. Not only was it restricting Raven from purchasing various high-level magical materials, but even when Raven posted messages to sell magic crystals, no one paid any attention. What's even more infuriating is that the private communication magic circle Monroe once gave him is now completely unresponsive, no matter how hard he tries to communicate. It's as if it's dead.

Mental strength and magical power are inextricably linked. To use an imperfect analogy—it's like a computer mainframe and a monitor. The magical vortex is like the computer mainframe, while the silver mental energy cluster is like the monitor. Both are indispensable for operation. That's why Raven needs to absorb magical power from the magic crystal to stimulate the rapid recovery of his mental strength. At this moment, Raven is silently meditating in his room, pondering the possibility of beheading Ferdinand. Previously, he worried that his fourth-tier martial soul would be detected by the sixth-tier Ferdinand. Now, having absorbed the spatial laws, this problem is naturally solved. It can be said that Raven's martial soul was perfectly capable of monitoring fifth-tier individuals. Now, after absorbing the spatial laws, his concealment ability is greatly enhanced, making it absolutely reliable for spying on sixth-tier individuals. The reason he was able to spy on the sixth-tier Silver Mane without being discovered before was because Silver Mane was not only injured but also extremely nervous! Furthermore, he mostly hid in open areas in the wild. Raven's martial soul was also better able to conceal itself. Ferdinand, however, is different. Leaving aside the fact that he would undoubtedly carry an enchanted artifact inscribed with laws—a world-suppressing divine weapon—the fact that he usually resides in a small, confined room is also a concern. Even if Raven's martial spirit is well concealed, he is still only at the fourth rank, and at such close range, there's no guarantee he won't be discovered. In that case, it would only alert the enemy, rendering the plan pointless. Besides, Raven's martial spirit was previously shattered by the Elf Empress; once bitten, twice shy. It's the same principle.

"He." "Could never be my match."

Carefully considering every detail and contemplating every possible scenario in his mind, Raven reached a clear conclusion. If he could truly appear beside Ferdinand, Raven was 80% confident he could kill the sixth-tier Ferdinand! However, doing so also carried immense risks. First, a battle between Raven and Ferdinand would inevitably be a protracted and fierce fight, and if he were surrounded, things would be dire. In the end, Raven himself might very well be the one to die. Second, although the Void Extreme Divine Eye had evolved again, allowing him to physically traverse space, could he return? Was there a cooldown period? If danger arose and he couldn't return, then this function would be useless. For now, Raven could only wait until his mental energy recovered and experiment a few more times before drawing a conclusion.

A night passed. With the powerful enhancement of two fourth-tier magic crystals, Raven's mental strength fully recovered. After dismissing Lingling, who was delivering food at the door, Raven summoned his Martial Soul again, but this time he deliberately concealed it in the void a meter away from him. Then, Raven activated his Eye of Truth, instantly seeing his Martial Soul through the void. As his internal battle qi surged, the crimson tentacles at the edge of his blood-red eyes suddenly retracted, enveloping the entire eye! Forming a shape resembling a jellyfish. Above was a large, encased eyeball, and below were intertwined, slightly swaying crimson tentacles. "Swoosh!" A crack appeared in the void, and in the blink of an eye, Raven disappeared from the bed, only to fall out through the crack in the void. The entire process was silent, colorless, and swift. It was filled with a chilling, eerie power! It was a power tailor-made for assassination! The only noise was the fluctuation caused by the tearing of the void.

Standing still, Raven carefully examined his body. His mental energy consumption wasn't high, not even as much as using the Eye of Truth. His internal battle qi consumption was about ten percent. Completely acceptable. Aside from the slight discomfort he felt using this power for the first time, everything else was practically perfect.

The next moment, Raven set his spirit on Denise's side. Denise had already returned to the new Eagle Fortress in Snow Maple Territory. She was currently dealing with relocation matters. There were simply too many things to take, and Denise was extremely busy. Five-year-old Melovie was playing on the table. Raven watched silently for a while, then projected his spirit towards Petty. However, coincidentally, Petty was using the toilet in the washroom at that moment. In order not to frighten her, Raven had no choice but to silently withdraw his spirit. After thinking it over, only Lingling was the most suitable. After all, there were only Raven and her in the entire Holo Fortress. Raven's image of Lingling appeared in his mind, and then he activated his spirit again. He immediately saw Lingling sitting at the dining table on the second floor, with a plate that had just been brought down in front of her. On the plate were mushroom soup, white bread, a piece of beef, half an ear of corn... as well as refreshing cucumber and a small bowl of nourishing rice porridge... Lingling was now frowning, staring blankly at the plate in front of her. Her little face was full of sullen expression. "Was it because I didn't cook it well?" After a short while, Lingling muttered to herself, then looked around, picked up a spoon like a thief, and carefully put a spoonful into her mouth. She smacked her lips and nodded her head approvingly, "It tastes pretty good!"

Meanwhile, Raven, having witnessed everything unfold, had silently appeared behind the little goblin. However, a closer look revealed that Raven wasn't standing on the ground, but rather hovering in the void not far above it. After all, although Raven hadn't broken through to the sixth rank of the Transcendent Realm, he was already a fifth-rank mage! He could also fly. Therefore, each time he emerged from the void rift, he only needed to maintain a flying posture to avoid the "staggering" feeling he had just experienced.

With a sharp "crack," Raven's left hand, like a steel clamp, gripped the little goblin's nape, lifting her into the air. "Ahhh!" Lingling screamed in panic, completely unaware of what was happening. "Speak!" "Have you ever stolen my food before?!" Raven demanded coldly.

"Master??" Lingling finally realized that it was Raven who had grabbed her, and she hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Master!" "I'll never do it again!" "I just secretly ate a bite," "No, no," "It wasn't really stealing, I just wanted to taste it!"

"If you dare make me eat your 'pre-made food' again, I'll kill you!" Raven landed on the ground and put down the order in his hand. Looking at the scabs on her head, he didn't want to make things too difficult for her, so he just threatened her fiercely.

“Master, what is pre-cooked food?” Lingling asked, clutching the back of her neck with both hands, looking still shaken.

"Don't ask." Raven glanced at her indifferently. "Make me a new one." "Don't even think about cutting corners. Heat it up for two minutes and then bring it back to me!" "My eyes are my ruler!" "Understand?"

"Yes, yes," Lingling nodded hurriedly. Then she walked to the plate and said with a pitiful look, "But Master, we don't want these anymore. It's such a waste to throw them away. Can I eat them?"

Raven nodded expressionlessly. Then he walked towards the first floor. He suddenly discovered a major drawback of his martial spirit. That was, when there was no one to spy on, his martial spirit could only appear in the area he could see. It couldn't appear anywhere at will. For example, just now, in his room on the third floor, he couldn't set his martial spirit on the second or first floor.

Arriving in the spacious first-floor lobby, Raven positioned his Martial Soul at a distance of about four or five meters before attempting to teleport again. He needed to verify the reliability of the Martial Soul teleportation. He then suddenly appeared behind Lingling, startling the little goblin so much it collapsed to the ground. After verifying it seven or eight times, Raven finally felt relieved. It seemed the power of the Martial Soul teleportation disregarded distance, consuming only about ten percent of his Battle Qi each time. Moreover, there was no cooldown period for teleporting the physical body. As long as his Battle Qi was sufficient, he could teleport continuously without waiting for a full Kun Shi (two and a half hours) to teleport again.

"Tsk," "Still too dangerous." After verifying the effectiveness of his Martial Soul's teleportation multiple times, Raven felt more at ease. But after much deliberation, he shook his head and abandoned the idea of ​​directly beheading Ferdinand. This wasn't cowardice or fear, but a caution ingrained in his bones. Just like before, he cautiously screened out all possible hidden dangers after his Martial Soul evolved. For example, when he devoured the Law, Raven cautiously verified whether the inscriptions on the Law were indeed Chinese characters. However, this time Raven saw clearly that it was all just his overthinking. The Law wasn't Chinese characters, but an ancient script from the Middles Continent, transformed into Chinese characters that Raven could understand by the Eye of Truth. That was all. It seemed to have nothing to do with cultivation.

Raven sat cross-legged on the bed, ceasing his thoughts, and began to recover his internal battle qi. If the magic vortex is hidden in the Niwan Palace, the upper dantian, and spiritual power is hidden between the eyebrows, then the life seed of battle qi resides in the lower dantian. At this moment, Raven's battle qi seed shone like a gem with many facets. Around it swirled various elemental battle qi points: steel, storm, fire, nature, and azure waves… Among them, the most conspicuous were drops of crimson battle qi, resembling drops of blood. This was the 'blood element' to which Raven's constitution was most compatible. Like the affinity for magical elements, battle qi cultivation also has an affinity for different elements. Therefore, although there are many extraordinary beings, each battle qi cultivator has a different affinity for battle qi elements and attributes. Although the battle qi absorbed by extraordinary beings has no elemental distinction, it will exhibit different attributes once the corresponding combat techniques are used. This was especially true for Raven. He usually cultivates his battle qi and magic power by devouring demonic cores, resulting in a highly complex and varied elemental composition of battle qi within his body. However, if he wishes to transform his battle qi into ultimate destructive power, the simplest and most convenient way is to cultivate bloody combat techniques.

Time passed day by day. Raven cultivated for five consecutive days. However, his internal battle qi was still not fully replenished. He had only replenished about 80%. This wasn't even cultivation; it was merely making up for the battle qi he had previously expended. From this, one can see just how tedious, boring, difficult, and obscure cultivation truly is.

"Tuk Tuk"

A knock came at the door, and a young voice rang out from outside, "Master," "Knight Conchi greets you."

"Understood." Raven cleared the room of everything in front of him and said in a deep voice.

After tidying himself up a bit, Raven went to the conference room on the first floor and saw Kang Qi standing there nervously, waiting for him.

“Knight Conchi.” “My friend, it’s been a long time.”

Raven greeted him, "Have a seat."

When Conch saw Raven, a fleeting look of surprise crossed his eyes, clearly astonished by Raven's white hair, which seemed even older than his own. He dared not sit down, remaining standing, his hands raised high as he awkwardly said, "Your Excellency, Marquis." "You are the governor of Snowmaple County." "The master of this territory." "The great godfather who upholds justice for us!" "Conch sincerely admires and worships you." "Believe me, ever since you brought justice to my daughter, Conch has been waiting for an opportunity to serve you." "And now," "summoned by you," "I have finally had this opportunity." "Heaven has eyes," "The Lord of Light has favored me," "Mamma mia~" he exclaimed, kneeling on one knee with fervent devotion, "Conch swears to follow your guidance to the death." "To be loyal to your family." "To carry out your will." "I swear this with my heart."

Conchi was originally a knight under Sereva. Years ago, his daughter was violently abused by the three sons of another knight, Witt. Instead of upholding justice, Sereva sided with Knight Witt. Left with no other option, Conchi left the territory of Teda and traveled to Raven Castle, then under Baron, to beg Raven for justice. Naturally, Raven sent Eric and Simon, among others, to seek justice for Conchi. However, just over two years later, at the tournament, Conchi defeated Witt in a direct confrontation, avenging his grievances.

"Alright, alright," Raven helped him up. "I called you here today because I have something very important to tell you." "Lord Conchi," "To be honest," "the current situation is not good for me." "I need someone, a stranger who can't be found to have much connection with me, to enter Venice City in the North Sea Province and provide me with reliable information and intelligence."

“I am willing to give my life for the Marquis.” Conchi nodded immediately. He then glanced at Raven, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Please speak," Raven said with a warm smile.

“I brought my daughter,” Conchi said somewhat embarrassedly, “but she has always wanted to meet her benefactor. He is outside the castle right now.”

Raven sighed inwardly, patted Conchi on the shoulder, and then gestured with his eyes for Lingling to bring the person in.

A short while later, a girl in a beautiful dress walked in. Her looks were comparable to Patty's, though she lacked Patty's air of regal elegance. The girl walked shyly to Raven's side, reached out her delicate white hands, took Raven's hands in her own, gently kissed them, and said in a trembling voice:
"God father"

……

(End of this chapter)