Three minutes were counted down in the premonition.
As expected, this time, he would die in this final side hall.
"What is in that side hall?"
Memories obtained from the Fourth Prince quickly flashed through his mind as he sought information related to it.
[This side hall is not large and is inconspicuous among many buildings. You explore the side hall, and after two minutes, you find that it doesn't appear to be a mysterious place; it's just the residence of an ordinary clan elder.]
[You feel strange and, just as you are about to continue exploring, a spiritual-level elder suddenly opens the door to the side hall and walks in. The elder discovers you and immediately questions how you got in.]
[Recognizing the elder from the Fourth Prince's memories, this is an elder named Zhu Shengyi, one of the many clan elders in the palace, and also the owner of this side hall.]
[Instead of answering the elder, you use your soul power to try to subdue the elder and obtain the secrets of this side hall.]
[To your surprise, the elder, who seemed to be at the spiritual level, suddenly unleashed the strength of a king the moment he noticed your attack. You immediately realized something was wrong and tried to end the fight quickly.]
[However, your battle was detected by other powerful beings in no time. In the blink of an eye, three ancestral masters of the Daxuan royal family appeared.]
[Upon seeing the strength you displayed, which far exceeded what the Fourth Prince should have, the three ancestral masters instantly deduced that you were not the Fourth Prince and all attacked you.]
[Three minutes later, you died.]
"A regular clan elder, yet possessing the strength of a king!"
Looking at the premonition information, Suzann was surprised.
At this moment, he also found the memory of that clan elder from the Fourth Prince's recollection.
In the Fourth Prince's memories, there were many clan elders in the palace. These elders had held high positions in the past but had now retired from worldly affairs due to their advanced age.
"An elderly man who appears to be at the spiritual level but possesses the strength of a king. There is definitely something wrong!"
Looking at the information on the panel, Suzann's eyes narrowed.
Clearly, either this elder named Zhu Shengyi had an issue, or there was something wrong with this side hall. Suzann leaned more towards the latter.
In this world, the bloodlines of monsters were strictly controlled by major powers. It was impossible to secretly cultivate to the king level without the approval of the respective power.
"Continue the premonition."
He still had premonition opportunities left, and Suzann didn't hesitate to use them again.
Three minutes later...
"You attempt to enter the side hall but are stopped by the elder in charge, a man named Zhu Shengyi. You don't give up and wait for the elder to leave secretly."
"Half an hour later, the elder departs, and you return to the side hall. However, the main door is locked, so you use the Heavenly Shift technique to enter."
"Inside the side hall, you don't waste time and quickly search for any differences. After searching for about an incense stick's worth of time, you finally find an issue."
"You discover a hidden passage underneath a cabinet in the side hall."
"A passage? That's definitely something unusual!"
Suzann became intrigued and continued reading.
"This is a carefully constructed passage paved with bluestone, leading downward. After one minute, you reach the end of the passage, where a thick stone door stands before you."
"There doesn't appear to be any way to open the stone door, and you're unsure how to proceed without drawing attention. So, you use the Heavenly Shift technique once more."
"Passing through the stone door, you find yourself in a narrow corridor. Three minutes later, you reach the end of the corridor, where another stone door awaits you."
"Standing in front of the stone door, you examine it closely. Suddenly, a withered arm pierces through the stone door, grabbing your throat without giving you a chance to react."
"You died."
"What's going on?"
"There's a peak king-level presence behind that stone door?"
Suzann was astonished.
To be able to kill him without giving him a chance to react, it would require at least a peak king-level strength.
In the Daxuan Royal Palace, there were indeed many king-level beings, and the elders he had seen earlier were likely king-level.
But a peak king-level existence, apart from the Paper Puppet Monster, he had not encountered one yet.
Now, a mysterious one had suddenly appeared, leaving him surprised.
"Strange, according to the premonition, that person should have been trapped in there. However, with that person's strength, he should not have been trapped so easily."
Wanting to trap a peak king-level being was not a simple matter.
Not every place was like the Prison of Heaven and Earth.
Curious, he looked at the last premonition opportunity. Without hesitation, he used it again.
Three minutes later...
"You reach the end of the corridor. A stone door appears before you. Without hesitation, you use the Heavenly Shift technique to pass through the door successfully."
"You find yourself in a small stone chamber. The moment you enter, a withered hand grabs you."
"You died."
"Before your death, you see a mysterious old man with withered skin and disheveled hair standing in front of you in the dark stone chamber."
"From him, you sense a suffocating pressure, far beyond what a king-level martial artist could possess. At the same time, you notice something strange about the old man's aura; it's like that of a dead person, completely devoid of vitality."
"As expected, you were killed again."
However, the final information in the premonition made his pupils contract.
"The pressure from the old man is not something a king-level could have?"
"Could it be imperial-level?"
Suzann was deeply shocked.
Imperial-level! Another imperial-level!
After reaching the Profound level, his four-star mission naturally corresponded to the imperial level. When he first saw the four-star mission to explore the royal palace, he had assumed the difficulty lay in the Tai Temple.
After all, there seemed to be a ritualistic monster in the Tai Temple that resembled an imperial-level being.
But now, it seemed that the Ritualistic Monster was just one of them!
"It's no wonder this power was established by the Great Xuan Empire; its foundation is truly unfathomable!"
Suzann's expression became solemn.
He was also curious about who this old man was.
One thing was certain: the old man was not someone imprisoned by the Daxuan Kingdom. With the strength of an imperial-level martial artist, he couldn't be held captive by the Daxuan Kingdom.
"The premonition said the old man doesn't seem like a living person. What's going on?"
Suzann found it strange.
If he wasn't a living person, did that mean he was dead?
However, the old man clearly hadn't died, which made it even more peculiar.
Suddenly, he thought of something.
"Corpse Puppet Monster!"
"Could that old guy be a Corpse Puppet Monster?"
Suzann thought back to the creatures he had seen in the Divine Ruins.
In the Divine Ruins, there were many beings whose souls had been devoured, leaving only their physical shells. These beings turned into Corpse Puppet Monsters—powerful but devoid of any thoughts or consciousness, like walking corpses.
The presence of a Corpse Puppet Monster in the Daxuan Kingdom didn't seem impossible.
"If it's a Corpse Puppet Monster, then it's acceptable. But if it's something else, that could be troublesome."
Corpse Puppet Monsters, despite their strength, lacked intelligence. He had tricks to deceive them, as he had used the Shape-shifting Technique to fool them back in the Divine Ruins.
Now, with his Thousand Transformations even more powerful, deceiving them should be even easier.
He glanced at the premonition.
Today's premonition attempts were already used up.
That was easily resolved.
He switched to Zhang Yang's character, spending 160 points of demonic energy to boost Zhang Yang's Dragon Turtle bloodline to the Great Perfection stage.
The number of premonition attempts increased to 75.
"Let's try it again."
He began the premonition once more.
This time, he intended to use Thousand Transformations to take on the appearance of a Corpse Puppet Monster.
However, to his dismay, just like the previous attempt, it only consumed one premonition attempt, and he was killed by the old man again.
"It's not a Corpse Puppet Monster?"
"Then what could it be?"
Thousand Transformations hadn't fooled the old man. There was no doubt that the old man wasn't a thoughtless Corpse Puppet Monster.
"No wonder it's a four-star mission. It seems that completing the mission to explore the palace won't be easy."
Suzann shook his head in disappointment and decided not to continue with the premonitions. He left the area.
With Thousand Transformations, he moved effortlessly, leaving the palace behind.
"Where have you been, young master?"
In the inn, when Chen Ying saw Suzann, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Suzann had been missing since he left the Wang family yesterday. Fortunately, she had witnessed his strength, so she wasn't too worried.
"Nothing much, just took a stroll in the palace," Suzann replied calmly.
"The palace?" Chen Ying was surprised, then curious. "Young master, is the palace interesting?"
Suzann replied with a touch of irritation, "What's interesting about it? It's very dangerous. There are even Imperial-level old monsters there!"
"Imperial-level?" Chen Ying was stunned, then realized and couldn't help but exclaim, "The Daxuan royal family has Imperial-level powerhouses, but they wouldn't harm you, would they?"
Chen Ying started to worry again.
If not for Suzann, she might never have had the chance to see a King-level expert, let alone an Imperial-level one.
"Don't worry, the Imperial-level won't harm me," Suzann reassured her calmly.
With that said, he looked at the scorching sun outside.
The sun was already high in the sky, indicating that it was around 8 o'clock in the evening in real time.
The Twelve Constellations Palace opened once again.
Just like yesterday, Suzann's consciousness descended into his avatar, entering the Twelve Constellations Palace simultaneously.
On the battlefield, there were still ten thousand players on each side, and the number of constellation guardians defending each side remained at three.
However, what caught everyone's attention this time was that all three guardians on each side were players.
Besides that, the most eye-catching change was the appearance of two towering figures in the battlefield, larger than the constellation guardians.
"I am Hasel, the Constellation Master of the Aries Constellation Palace. You are all warriors of my Aries Constellation Palace, and today, I shall lead you to kill all who dare to invade!"
...
"Constellation Master? I haven't even hunted the constellation guardians yet, how can there be Constellation Masters now?"
"Mid-Xuan level, this Constellation Master is at the Mid-Xuan level."
Almost simultaneously, the Constellation Masters of the Aries and Pisces Palaces shouted, causing all the players to turn pale in shock.
Suzann, on the other hand, lit up with excitement.
This was the fourth day of the event, and he had finally encountered beings of higher realms.
He glanced at the panel but was disappointed to find that, just like before, the score remained at 20,000 points.
"Is it still a maximum of 20,000 points per battle?"
Suzann felt somewhat disappointed. He had assumed that as he entered higher-level battlefields, his points would continuously increase. Now it seemed that wasn't the case.
He couldn't be sure whether the subsequent battlefields would provide more points or not.
"If I want to earn more points, I'll have to start with these Constellation Masters. I wonder how many extra points I can get for killing them."
His gaze fell upon the towering figures that were larger than the Constellation Guardians.
The battle began, and Suzann wasted no time. He aimed for a swift victory. With his current strength, there was no significant difference between Mid-Xuan level and Peak Spirit level opponents.
In the instant the battle began, he killed the Constellation Master.
"Congratulations! You are the first player in the Twelve Constellations to kill a Constellation Master. You have obtained one Constellation Artifact."
"Congratulations! By killing the Pisces Constellation Master, your rank has increased to Constellation Master. Your current level: Constellation Master. This battle rewards an additional 30% in points."
"30%! Not bad," Suzann nodded in satisfaction.
Although the total points remained unchanged, the additional points earned from killing the Constellation Master were significant. Thirty percent of twenty thousand points was six thousand points, which was quite substantial.
Calculating it this way, he would likely earn around twenty-five thousand points this time.
Ignoring the shocked exclamations of the surrounding players, he looked at the Constellation Artifact left behind by the Pisces Constellation Master.
As expected, it was another Pisces Bracelet, now upgraded to a Fine-quality item.
The 5% increase had become 10%, which was acceptable.
"10% should be quite useful."
He removed the inferior bracelet from his hand and replaced it with the Fine-quality one. Then, he continued to take action.
As he killed his opponents, the world chat once again displayed an announcement. However, this time, unlike yesterday, the players were not the only ones reacting with astonishment; the top players from various states fell silent.
"Can a Mid-Xuan level player kill instantly?"
The top players from various states wore grim expressions, especially Ludi and Kaser, who now truly understood the gap between themselves and Suzann.
Over ten minutes later, all the players from the Pisces Constellation Palace in the battlefield had been dealt with, and Suzann exited the battlefield.
Following the usual routine, he left the royal city and found a secluded place to continue practicing the Great Sun Golden Body Sutra in the game.
This was the fourth time he had practiced the Great Sun Golden Body Sutra in the game.
With a cost of 50 points of demonic energy and a 3% progress boost from practicing, he managed to break through half of the first level of the Great Sun Golden Body Sutra, reaching 53% completion.
However, he only had 26 points of demonic energy left.
As the moon rose and the sun set, with the evening sun fading away, Suzann finally concluded his day of training.
The points reward from the Twelve Constellations Palace had already been credited to him, and the missions had refreshed. His premonition attempts had also been replenished.
As expected, Zhang Yang and Lang Shisan had both earned over 25,000 points, while Wang Nan had earned over 23,000 points.
"Opening the fifth-tier shop requires 100,000 points. I'm only a little over 24,000 points short, which should be enough by tomorrow."
Lang Shisan and Zhang Yang had both reached over 75,000 points, putting them far ahead on the leaderboard.
In comparison, the fourth-ranked player, Kaser, had earned a considerable number of points in the past two days, but his total was just over 30,000, lagging far behind.
"Today's missions should be similar to yesterday's. I wonder if any special missions have been refreshed."
"The Baptism of the Soul is about to begin. I wonder if 75 premonition attempts will be enough to find a solution." (End of this chapter)