Storm of Gods

Chapter 198 Inspiration from Divine Relics
Barty opened his eyes and found himself once again in the magnificent Zodiac compass, with its beautiful starry sky, twinkling stars, and round table.

The place is bright but not dazzling, like a paradise.

Such ornate chairs and tables would incur severe punishment if Rahu touched them, such as having his hand cut off.

In the starry sky, twelve constellations are rotating. By using your spirit to sense one of the constellations, you can call upon other members. Of course, the other party needs to respond for the call to be successful; otherwise, the call cannot be completed.

Looking at these zodiac signs, Barty finally chose Mr. Gemini. Ms. Aries... the pressure was too much for him to handle. Mr. Cancer didn't like being approached by others. Mr. Taurus and Mr. Gemini seemed more suitable, and he felt that Mr. Gemini was closer in age to him.

Li Xin was training with Simmons when he suddenly sensed the call of the astrolabe... It seemed like it had been there yesterday, but he was too busy to remember. Now it was calling again, which might mean something urgent had happened.

"Young Master Simmons, you guys keep practicing, I'm going to relax a bit." He said, making a squatting gesture.

The toilets at the Order Academy were quite good, and they even provided water for washing one's bottom. Of course, Li Xin didn't actually go to the toilet. Instead, he found a room, locked the door, took out the spirit ointment, and sprinkled a formation on the ground. Although the Order Academy wasn't exactly unsafe, it was better to be safe than sorry. After finishing, he sat down inside.

The next moment, it responded to the call of the zodiac star chart.

Barty waited very patiently, though a little nervous, but Mr. Gemini had reminded him that the one being called also needed time to prepare.

With a burst of light, Li Xin appeared on Gemini's high-backed chair. Li Xin looked at Mr. Leo in front of him and was slightly taken aback, thinking it was Ms. Aries.

"Hello, Mr. Lion, what can I do for you?" Li Xin said.

Barty quickly stood up. "Excuse me, Mr. Gemini, I tried to call you."

Li Xin knew that the lion had probably gone through a fierce internal struggle, so he smiled and said, "Thank you for your trust. How are you feeling?"

"I was panicked, but I couldn't control my desires."

Li Xin nodded. "It seems you've already made your decision."

“Yes, Mr. Gemini, I believe this is not an illusion, not a fall from grace. I want to find a way out of the Misty Continent,” Barty said. “Not for myself, but for the people of Dipo City.”

"This is a good thing, but we need to think long-term and ensure safety first. Although your divine relic brought you back to life once, it doesn't mean there will be a second time. Moreover, from your description, the rules of Dipo City are very strict, so we must be careful. As long as you are alive, there will be plenty of opportunities."

“Okay, Mr. Gemini, but I can’t go back to the city right now. Without the city’s call, I might have to stay in the lighthouse until I die. If I sneak back, it will implicate a lot of people,” Barty said. He really had no other choice.

“Let’s think of a solution together. There are always more solutions than problems. How are you doing right now?” Li Xin asked.

“Aside from the increasingly intense delirium, everything else is fine,” Barty said.

"How do you usually deal with delirium?" Li Xinzhen had no experience with this. Pain could be endured, but tempting delirium was much more troublesome to listen to.

“Our training involves focusing your attention on a specific object and letting your mind go blank,” Batty said.

That's one way. Li Xin tapped the table. He had never experienced delirium, nor did he know what method could resist it, and he didn't know the source of the delirium. Barty said it was a curse from God, but that was too broad.

dong dong dong...

As the rhythmic tapping continued, a sudden inspiration struck Li Xin. "Mr. Lion, I have an idea that might alleviate the intrusion of the delirium."

Barty was just saying it casually, and upon hearing this, he paused, seemingly trying to clear his head.

This is a problem that Diva City has been unable to solve for thousands of years. It is a punishment from the supreme will, and even the Three Gods are helpless against it.

"Mr. Lion, do you have any wood there?"

"Wood?" Barty was taken aback. "There's Yin Wind Wood, lots of it."

"That's fine. I'll call you when I'm done," Li Xin said. He had just remembered the name of the lion's divine relic, the Great Compassionate Dakini Blade that could see life and death, and then he thought of the wooden fish. There might be some connection between them.

Batty stood up and bowed.

Li Xin waved his hand, "We're all friends from the Roundtable, so helping each other is only right. I can't guarantee it will work, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try. If there's nothing else, we can meet again next time. I still have some things to take care of."

"Okay, Mr. Gemini."

"See you next time, Mr. Leo." Li Xin's consciousness sank, and he leaned back in his chair, disappearing from the zodiac constellation.

Barty followed the example of the Geminis, leaning back, and then with a slow movement, when he opened his eyes he was back in the lighthouse.

Looking at the burning torch and the still dim fog beyond the lighthouse, Barty grinned broadly; he had never felt so hopeful about life.

. . .

"Where's Li Xin? Did he just disappear?" Locke yelled. "Haha, I told you he'd felt the pressure I was putting on him. Lancer, you better watch out. I feel like the vice-captain's position is getting closer and closer to me." "Bullshit! I can take you down with one hand!" Lancer retorted, but he was genuinely a little scared. Locke's improvement was the fastest among them, and he seemed to have completely matched Li Xin's style—purely reckless and relentless, with a visible improvement.

"Who's yelling? Little Red Roll, is that you? Are you ready?" Li Xin came out and was pleased to see the spirited crowd. He loved this kind of enthusiasm. Back in Black Rose, he could never get them motivated; everything just felt awkward.

"Of course I'm ready. I feel like I was too careless last time. If I had dodged that sweeping attack and then landed a punch to your chest, you might not have been able to block it!" Locke said confidently.

Celia and the others couldn't help but laugh, and they didn't want to tease Locke, but Locke didn't care about other people's opinions at all.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let me see what new tricks you've come up with!" Li Xin rubbed his hands together. "Lanser, you get ready too, you're second."

"I'm not his style. I want a one-on-one fight. The rest of us will take you on one-on-one!" Lancer said sternly.

Among the group, apart from Simmons and Locke, the others were struggling. They had always trained "hard," but this sudden increase in intensity, while initially sustained by passion and ambition, had now led to some self-doubt.

Will this level of intensity really be effective for me? Will it really allow me to stand out in the Battle of Glory? Is the gap between me and the Knight Academy already insurmountable?

Celia is a relatively clear-headed type, but she doesn't appear as calm as she seems. Deep down, she considers herself extraordinary and knows that Li Xin went easy on her during the sparring match, but her confidence is still somewhat shaken.

Li Xin's main approach is not to force things; he responds to whatever attitude the opponent has. He puts in considerable effort in his sparring with Xiao Hongjuan, trying his best to point out the problems in her combat. Xiao Hongjuan may seem straightforward and a bit slow in the eyes of his companions, but in reality, he has excellent combat talent and is extremely focused. Among everyone, the one who has made the most progress is not Simmons, but him.

Of course, Li Xin didn't know how much of a role the fake embryo played. These hidden treasures might come into play unexpectedly, and there was really no way around it.

After the fight outside was over, Li Xin returned inside, and Celia followed him in, closing the door behind her. Simmons was still leaning against the wall, doubting whether he could even hold out until his duel with Didia. He had heard that Didia had also been in seclusion preparing recently, and it seemed that he had thought things through.

"Brother Li, isn't this intensity a bit too much? I feel like everyone's fighting spirit is starting to falter," Celia said with some concern. "The same goes for Simmons. Will he be able to recover during the duel?"

Li Xin looked at Simmons, who paused for a moment, then looked at Celia. He had been so focused on getting himself sorted out lately that he hadn't really paid attention to the team's condition. "Is something wrong?"

“I feel that apart from Locke, who is quite excited, everyone else seems to lack confidence,” Celia said. She herself felt that the spells were completely useless and began to doubt herself.

Simmons looked at Li Xin, who thought for a moment and said, "The decision is yours."

"Should we reduce the intensity?" Celia suggested.

Simmons shook his head slightly. "Sorry, Brother Li, we were a bit pathetic. We shouted slogans loudly, but we couldn't keep up when the intensity increased slightly. The Order Academy still has a considerable gap with the Knight Academy in this regard."

Celia frowned. "Simmons, everyone is working really hard."

“Celtis, do you have some misunderstanding about competition? The Knight Academy does have good-for-nothings like Anthony. Do you know that he chose to give up and fall into depravity because he couldn't withstand the Knight Academy's cruel training? Our Knight Order is the strongest in Dao Yuan, and this isn't just self-praise.” Simmons sighed. “The Order Academy hasn't produced any results for so many years. Haven't you thought about where the problem lies?”

“Resources, self-discipline, and intense pressure are all fundamental. The Order Academy is much more lenient than the Knight Academy,” Simmons said. “From confidence to self-doubt, and then back to building confidence, this process takes countless repetitions to cultivate a mature warrior. We are still far from that level. At this level, we’re aiming for the top eight? We’ll probably be eliminated in the first round. When we think we’re very talented, smart, or even forward-thinking, we’ve already fallen behind.”

Celia's face burned; she knew Simmons was talking about her.

“Celia, in our family, you are very smart and talented, but you have a fatal flaw: you have seen too little and experienced even less,” Simmons said. “Before entering the Fortress, I was the same, but circumstances can quickly change a person.”

Those who couldn't change themselves are all dead.

The Knight Academy has extremely strict recruitment standards. Once you're in, it's not over yet. The harsh rules make many people uncomfortable. Anthony is neither the first nor the last. Moreover, false strength cannot cover up the truth. Even though he is a member of the Nasser family, the final result is that he has not achieved anything and has not achieved the honor he wanted. Is Anthony really useless?

At that time, he had already crushed all the other academies. Although he retained his position as captain, he was no match for the Knight Academy. The Nasser family was just a last fig leaf, and he eventually lost his position as heir because Didia was stronger.

Some people are like this: once they lose hope, they choose to fall into depravity, and once they fall into depravity, the abyss is their final destination.

Simmons explained it very clearly, but many things are incomprehensible to those who haven't experienced them. Fortunately, Celia is a smart person, and she knows that Simmons is right.

"Brother Li, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have questioned you." Celia readily admitted her mistake.

Li Xin waved his hand, "It's nothing. What you said makes sense. I'll be careful about the intensity. The current training is mostly psychological, not physical yet."

Self-doubt is a hurdle for many smart people. Like Locke, who is a bit stubborn and full of enthusiasm, he often lacks this quality. Simmons, on the other hand, is smart and talented enough to have overcome this hurdle long ago. As a captain, the worst thing is to lack vision and misjudge the situation.

The intensity of Li Xin's sparring with him gradually increased every day, resulting in minor injuries, but none of them were bone-breaking. This required extremely precise control, and he knew very well that only a very few people could do it. So far, he probably couldn't beat Didia, at least not from Li Xin.

Li Xin understood this, and so did Simmons. That's why Simmons focused all his energy on training and thinking. The reason Li Xin trained outside was to give him space for independent thinking. Combat was only one aspect; personal understanding was more important.

It all depends on the person. Li Xin believed that Simmons knew what to do; that's how it is when dealing with smart people.

Do you know that this means you've succeeded?

In fact, knowing eliminates 90% of people, but doing eliminates 99% of those who know.

(End of this chapter)