World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

Chapter 345: At the height of one's power or success

In water, he's a grandmaster; out of water, he's just a fake!

This one's eyes are really sharp.

Du Ge sighed inwardly, but he believed the imperial teacher had truly defected.

Linyang City was over ten miles from Yangjiang. The imperial teacher's natural path was adept at concealment. If he really came to assassinate, it would be hard to defend against him without sensing his presence.

However.

The Qinglan Sword Saint, a grandmaster of swordsmanship, was truly terrifying. His martial arts were not restricted by terrain...

...

"Imperial Teacher, are there any tips for comprehending the grandmaster realm?" Feeling a surge of crisis, Du Ge clasped his hands towards the imperial teacher and humbly asked, "Please, do not hesitate to enlighten me."

"Focus." The imperial teacher looked at Du Ge and suddenly smiled, shaking his head. "Imperial Teacher, these days I've been studying the Heavenly Demon... In fact, every Heavenly Demon has the potential to become a grandmaster."

That's it!

Keywords!

The path to becoming a grandmaster in this world was very similar to keywords.

If we replace Cao Lin and the imperial teacher's martial arts with keywords, then Cao Lin's keyword would be slaughter, while the imperial teacher's would be nature.

Their martial arts were equivalent to advanced skills derived from keywords.

Is this the world's rule?

Following this logic, his path to becoming a grandmaster wouldn't be the way of water, but loyalty or trend.

By perfecting these two aspects, he would one day become a grandmaster. If he then derived one or two offensive or defensive skills, his grandmaster would be far superior to the natives...

However.

Deriving martial arts from loyalty and trend might not be easy.

Keywords like slaughter and bravery are easier to comprehend!

So, Wu Chang might find it easier to become a grandmaster than him...

Indeed.

The Alien Star Battlefield has never been fair.

Who knows which keyword would have an advantage in a specific Alien Star Battlefield!

Understanding the secret to becoming a grandmaster, Du Ge no longer dwelled on the issue. Instead, he brought the topic back: "Imperial Teacher, what do you think of the Heavenly Demon?"

"A bunch of death warriors," the imperial teacher replied.

MBD!

Right on point!

Du Ge chuckled and said, "The name Demon Star, was that spread by you, Imperial Teacher?"

The imperial teacher smiled, "Imperial Teacher, you are indeed a Demon Star. I'm not the only one skilled in star-gazing; others can see it too."

Du Ge asked, "Is the celestial secret you mentioned really unspeakable?"

The imperial teacher shook his head, "It cannot be revealed."

Du Ge asked, "What happens if it's revealed?"

The imperial teacher smiled without speaking.

Du Ge glanced at him and asked, "You came from the capital, how do you view the prime minister?"

"A manipulative schemer. My critique of him is that he has a short life," the imperial teacher replied.

"And what about Zhang Yizhi by my side?" Du Ge asked, still pondering the imperial teacher's description of the skill "A single move affects the whole situation." He needed to confirm if the imperial teacher could truly see through the derived skills of Alien Star warriors.

If he could, it would be a great help to him.

But his apparent keyword was loyalty, making it difficult to speak directly to the imperial teacher.

"Imperial Teacher, I'm not a celestial being," the imperial teacher saw through Du Ge's thoughts and shook his head helplessly. "I can interpret star signs and observe facial features and the aura of natural fusion up close, but I can't see through ordinary people."

Du Ge wanted to say more, but the imperial teacher interrupted him, reminding him with a wry smile, "Imperial Teacher, you should go treat Cao Lin. You've left him unattended for so long. Even if I persuade him to stay, he might still hold a grudge against you."

Damn!

Cao Lin's injury!

Du Ge suddenly realized and quickly returned to treat Cao Lin's wounds, shouting from afar, "Imperial Teacher, please wait a moment. Let me heal General Cao first, then we can have a candlelit discussion about the world's affairs."

...

After treating Cao Lin and arranging for his care, Du Ge took the imperial teacher to meet Luo Shuang.

The imperial teacher of Chongming Kingdom defected voluntarily, making Luo Shuang overjoyed. She solemnly appointed Chen Su as the imperial teacher of Qingwu Kingdom, though his status was below Du Ge's.

That night.

Du Ge discussed the next strategic plans with the imperial teacher and explored some martial arts topics by the Yangjiang River.

Without using the Power of Poseidon, Du Ge was no match for the imperial teacher.

Once Du Ge harnessed the power of water, the imperial teacher had no choice but to flee; otherwise, he would be as defenseless as Cao Lin.

The imperial teacher's natural path also had an affinity for water, but Du Ge's Power of Poseidon could easily sever his connection to the water flow and even mislead him...

Of course.

Du Ge did not use the powerful seven-orifice touch on the imperial teacher who had voluntarily defected.

However.

After various tests and sincere exchanges, Du Ge temporarily believed the imperial teacher had truly defected...

...

The next day.

The Linyang Daily published the process of the Battle of Yangjiang and announced on the front page the defection of the imperial teacher of Chongming Kingdom and the God of War, Cao Lin, causing an uproar in Linyang City.

The imperial teacher was right. With his endorsement, the Fourth Princess's reputation soared like a rocket, and many who had opposed Luo Shuang now saw her as legitimate.

That day.

Du Ge and the imperial teacher visited Langping Pass.

The imperial teacher persuaded Wei Tingjiang to surrender shortly after leaving the pass.

...

In just three days.

Dongling Pass, Langping Pass, and Yutang Pass, the southern gates of Chongming Kingdom, all fell into Du Ge's hands.

After incorporating Wei Tingjiang's eighty thousand soldiers and Cao Lin's thirty thousand troops, Du Ge's forces now numbered over one hundred and thirty thousand. Along with the three grandmasters—Cao Lin, the imperial teacher, and Du Ge—and the four generals—Wei Tingjiang, Huangfu Xing, Gao Yanping, and Gou Heyu...

Luo Shuang finally had the capital to contend with Chongming Kingdom.

...

When the news of Cao Lin's defeat and the imperial teacher's defection reached the capital of Chongming Kingdom.

Emperor Gu Shichun of Chongming was dumbfounded.

He sat on the dragon throne, unable to recover for a long time.

He couldn't believe that the imperial teacher, whom he had always trusted the most, had voluntarily defected.

Moreover, unlike Cao Lin, who was forced to defect after being defeated by Leng Shi, the imperial teacher defected voluntarily!

The imperial teacher's defection was a huge blow to Emperor Chongming...

At this moment, he even suspected that the imperial teacher, like the prime minister, had been possessed by the Heavenly Demon!

Otherwise, why would he do such a foolish thing?

Chongming Kingdom was vast and resourceful. Could it not compare to a fallen princess?

Or did the imperial teacher see that his fate was sealed and chose to serve a new master?

Thinking back, the imperial teacher had mentioned more than once that the emperor stars were dim...

He must have harbored the intention to defect back then!

But if the emperor stars were dim, shouldn't he have tried his best to support him and suppress the Demon Star?

Unforgivable!

I don't believe in fate!

I'll show you what it means to defy destiny!

Emperor Chongming clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. With red eyes, he looked at Shi Pingchuan and Pei Ma'er below, his voice hoarse, "Prime Ministers, with the imperial teacher's defection, I can only rely on you now."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will not fail you," Shi Pingchuan quickly said.

"Nor will I fail you, Your Majesty," Pei Ma'er stepped forward. "To be honest, Your Majesty, I have already recruited three celestial beings. They each have supernatural powers. Give me some time to train them, and defeating Leng Shi will be no problem."

"Thank you, Pei," Emperor Chongming nodded to Pei Ma'er. "Shi, have you recruited any Heavenly Demons?"

"I have not," Shi Pingchuan said awkwardly.

Not only had he failed to recruit any allies, but even his original allies had been poached by Du Ge.

Seeing the Linyang Daily report, "Zhang Yizhi's clever stratagem lured the enemy, and He Xu bravely captured Cao Lin," he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

So, Du Ge's charm is that great!

Sent you to deliver a message, and you defected. What about the rapport we built over a month?

We were working so well together, and you just turned to someone else. Aren't you afraid of losing attributes?

However, Shi Pingchuan didn't take Zhang Yizhi too seriously. On the day Du Ge fought Cao Lin, his mental power was inexplicably rewarded with thirty thousand.

This was unprecedented in the Simulation Field, boosting his confidence.

Pei Ma'er is nothing!

His keyword didn't require cooperation, and now that his identity as a Heavenly Demon was revealed.

With Emperor Chongming's support, if he could take down Pei Ma'er and his recruits, he might be able to challenge Du Ge alone. Even if he couldn't, if he ever faced Du Ge in close combat and realized he couldn't win, he could always defect like Zhang Yizhi. After all, he had already hinted at it, giving himself an out.

But for now, he couldn't let Emperor Chongming lose faith in him. He glanced at Pei Ma'er and said, "Your Majesty, although I haven't recruited any Heavenly Demons, I have gained some insights into the path of the grandmaster. I expect that soon, I will step into the grandmaster realm, and then killing Du Ge will be as easy as taking something out of a bag..."

Little did he know.

Pei Ma'er had already set his sights on Shi Pingchuan, his confidence also stemming from a sudden surge in mental power.