CHAPTER 631: Value

Han Shuo wasn't alone; even Edwin and Belinda, who were standing not far away, could see the obvious change in the Six-Horned Tribal King's face. They were puzzled as to how the few colourful stones in Han Shuo's hand could suddenly cause the normally emotionless Six-Horned Tribe King to become so agitated.

Han Shuo smiled as he watched the gleam in the Sixth- Horn Tribal King's eyes. He was rather amused by the tribe king at that moment. "So, what do you say? Is there anything of use to you?" Han Shuo asked teasingly.

"It seems so!" the six-horned tribal king replied bluntly. Immediately after that, with great difficulty, the six-horned tribe king shifted his gaze from Han Shuo's palm and stared at his face in silence for a few seconds before asking, "Those, those words you just said, are they real?"

"What words?" Han Shuo tried to clarify even though he already knew the answer.

"Words about compensating me!" the Six Horned Tribe King said as he looked at Han Shuo with deadly seriousness. His voice sounded somewhat urgent. His behaviour at this moment seemed very different from how he had behaved in the past.

"Of course. Tell me, which of these can best compensate for the losses you suffered last time?" The crystals in his hand were all from the Void. Han Shuo could recognise some of them, but some of them, Han Shuo didn't even know what their function was. However, since these crystals were obtained from the Void, they must have been items left behind by these deceased gods. Items carried around by gods were rarely anything ordinary; Han Shuo was certain of that.

Normally quick to react, the six-horned tribe king became hesitant as Han Shuo spoke. There were tiny speckles jumping around in his eyes, deeply focused on Han Shuo's palm. He seemed to be contemplating a big problem. Based on his performance so far, Han Shuo was certain that there were at least a few crystals that were of great interest to the six-horned tribe king.

The two five-horned aliens standing behind the six-horned tribe king were motionless. They seemed to have fallen into a daze, their gaze fixed firmly on Han Shuo's palm. It seemed that they were also deeply shaken. After a long, long time, the Six Horned Tribe King finally came to a decision. He held out his hand, pointing to a goose-egg sized stone with a green glow, and said firmly, "This is it!

Han Shuo stared blankly for a moment, carefully examining the greenish stone. Each and every stone in his palm had some fluctuation of energy waves within it that Han Shuo could detect. And yet, Han Shuo had no idea what the function of the misty green stone was. Han Shuo was intrigued to see that the Six Horned Tribe King seemed very excited as he pointed at the stone.

If you can tell me the function of this stone, I will give it to you," Han Shuo said after thinking for a moment.

"Green Oceandew Crystal. For people of my race, this crystal could extend the reach of our souls. It's very precious!" the six-horned tribe king hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Take it. Whatever debt there may be between us is now cancelled. If I ever hear you call me 'petty thief' again, I will gladly beat the crap out of you!" Han Shuo remembered the name of the stone. He simply handed over the stone he had no use for.

The Six Horned Tribal King trembled slightly as he received the misty green stone from Han Shuo. After carefully putting it away, he closed his eyes for a moment. Then, as soon as he opened his eyes, he assured Han Shuo, "Fine! I will make no further mention of this!"

Edwin and Belinda, who had seemed rather nervous the whole time, finally heaved a sigh of relief at that moment. As long as there was no conflict between Han Shuo and the Six-Horned Tribal King, the Pope of the Church of Calamity would not blame them. Their goal was to make Han Shuo feel comfortable and at home. Seeing that the tension between Han Shuo and the Six-Horned Tribal King had greatly eased, their mood naturally relaxed.

"Alright, we will never talk about it again. Now, I would like to know why you did not come to me when I provoked you?" Han Shuo asked, as he had always felt that the Six-Horned Tribal King's absence at the Shrine of Ice earlier had been truly unfortunate.

"When I stumbled through that place, I was attacked by those people. That's why I got stuck here." The Six Horned Tribe King's explanation had confirmed Han Shuo's hypothesis.

"So that was indeed the case," Han Shuo nodded and muttered.

Han Shuo had learned everything he needed to know from the Six-Horned Tribal King. Given the presence of this tribal king in this establishment, he must have made some sort of deal with the Church of Calamity. To Han Shuo, the Six-Horned Tribal King was currently just another character he could beat to a pulp if he wanted to, and Han Shuo did not consider him a threat at all.

"Let's go, take me to my quarters. I want to rest," after stretching his body, Han Shuo looked at the extremely respectful Edwin and Belinda standing beside him and calmly instructed them.

They were deeply afraid that a conflict might arise between Han Shuo and the Six Horned Tribal King. They could not be more eager for Han Shuo to leave this place. They bowed humbly and hurriedly showed him the way.

Han Shuo did not know what the Church of Calamity had planned for him next. Edwin and Belinda led him to a spacious chamber not far from the Six-Horned Tribal King. Unlike the crude chamber of the Six-Horned Tribe King, Han Shuo's chamber was lavish and complete with every amenity he could need. In fact, Han Shuo was under the impression that he was staying in a glorious palace.

After dismissing Edwin and Belinda, Han Shuo did not linger in the comfortable surroundings. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the bed, conveniently deploying an isolation barrier that would give him absolute privacy, and withdrew the Holy Grail he had received from the Pope of Light.

"You finally thought to look for me," immediately after Han Shuo had grabbed the Holy Grail, the very unfortunate Cultivator of the Edict of Space trapped inside sent a message to Han Shuo.

"Oh, I have been a bit busy lately. I almost forgot about your existence," Han Shuo replied apologetically, getting straight to the point, "Were you aware that the Overgod of Destruction and the Overgod of Death had joined forces?"

"Of course. In order to obtain even more powerful divine energies, the two Overgods mobilised their subordinates to wreak havoc on every material plane they could get their hands on. It has never stopped. Everyone knows. Why are you asking me this?" asked the soul inside the Holy Grail, clearly confused.

"How much do you know about the Overgods of Death and Destruction?" Han Shuo continued to ask.

The soul within the Holy Grail was silent for a moment before it replied, "I cannot judge the Overgods based on my feelings. Beings of such a level are beyond our comprehension. But based on the rumours, these two Overgods are extremely fierce and selfish. They have no qualms about doing anything that benefits them. They also seek revenge for the smallest of grievances and are very protective of their subjects, even when they are in the wrong. They have extensive influence over all the major material planes. Apart from the other few Overgods, no one would dare provoke them."

Han Shuo thought for a moment and finally decided to tell him the current circumstances. Since this soul was trapped in the Holy Grail, Han Shuo believed that he wouldn't be able to play any tricks. As a god cultivating in the Edict of Space, who had travelled through all the major material planes, Han Shuo reasoned that he should have extraordinary foresight. Therefore, Han Shuo asked for his opinion.

After a brief silence, Han Shuo explained his current situation to the soul within the Holy Grail. After Han Shuo finished, the soul inside the Grail remained silent, as if pondering over what Han Shuo had told him. But after some time, he replied, "Well, from what you say, you basically have no second choice. There are always grievances between the Overgods, so the high-level material planes have never seen peace. Given your current strength, you are not only incapable of protecting this continent alone, you may even be in great danger. Your decision can be considered wise. Temporarily aligning yourself with a greater power until you are strong enough is definitely a way out. Besides, the Overgods of Death and Destruction are notorious for defending their subordinates even when they are in the wrong. If you could gain their trust and favour, not only would your safety be largely assured, but you might even gain a myriad of benefits!"

"So you're saying there will be no problem with my method?" Han Shuo asked.

"There's no problem with the method, but there's one thing you need to be aware of - although the two Overgods are extremely protective of their subordinates, they only behave this way towards those who show potential or ability. The experts under them have the same mentality. No matter who you make a deal with, you have to prove your worth within a short period of time, to make them feel that you are worthy of being taken under their wing. If they do not consider you worthy, they will not look after you and you will be nothing more than expendable cannon fodder," the soul within the Holy Grail paused for a moment before warning Han Shuo, giving him a clue as to how the high and mighty worked.

Han Shuo nodded his head heavily after listening. After taking his time to slowly digest the words, Han Shuo smiled and relayed, "I think I understand what you mean now. One more thing, we've known each other for so long, but I still don't know your name."

"McKinley," replied the voice inside the Grail.

"Pleasure. I'm Han Shuo. Well, I need some time to digest all this. Goodbye for now. I'll look for you if I run into anything." Before McKinley could answer, Han Shuo put the Holy Grail away and thought for a long time about his decision.

Just like the Cemetery of Death, neither sunlight nor moonlight could enter the underground facility. Time didn't seem to exist down there. Han Shuo felt that he had only been in his head for a short time before Wolf and Burt Zili came to invite him away.

"His Holiness the Pope has informed the Cardinals of your arrival. They are waiting for you in the main hall. We are here to invite and escort Your Lordship," Wolf said as he left. After a short pause when he saw that no one was around, Wolf hesitated for a moment before he snitched to Han Shuo, "The eldest cardinal in the church seems displeased with your arrival. He was the only other being in the Church as powerful as the Pope. He cultivates the magic of necromancy. He is lobbying the Cardinals to demand that you hand over the Skeletal Staff or be stripped of it, saying that all of your achievements have depended on it".

"Oh? Interesting. Well, we'll see about that!" Han Shuo sneered.

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