36: Chapter 36 Listen to my advice

At this moment, his heartbeat accelerated slightly, and his heart was filled with anticipation. This was the only way out he could think of at present, and it could not afford any mistakes.

"Complete eradication? You're overthinking it!" Elder Qin nodded, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "The highest-grade purification supreme treasure in our military merit exchange office is an S-grade Jinghun Hall. Its effect is superb. Whenever evil energy invades the body or the sea of consciousness is dusted, once activated, it can completely cleanse it. Placing it in the divine kingdom only takes a few minutes a day to protect the believers in the divine kingdom from having their souls eroded by evil energy."

A glimmer of light instantly lit up in Lin Ye's eyes, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Elder Qin's next words directly dashed his hopes.

"It's a pity that this only S-grade building was directly requisitioned and transferred away by the Federal Management Office a few days ago."

"Requisitioned?" Lin Ye's expression tightened.

"That's right." Elder Qin put down the jade plaque in his hand and slowly explained, "The official authorities specifically named and requested it, saying it will be used as the ultimate grand prize for this session of the academy-wide martial arts competition, reserved for the final champion. This Jinghun Hall is the only one of its kind in the entire state."

Lin Ye's expression instantly sank.

The only supreme treasure capable of suppressing and purifying evil energy had actually become the champion reward of the martial arts competition.

A sense of oppression instantly surged into his heart, but he did not give up immediately and hurriedly pursued the question, "Then besides that, are there no other alternative treasures? Slightly lower grades are fine too."

Looking at his eager expression and knowing that he was truly troubled by evil energy, Elder Qin did not conceal anything and truthfully said, "There is still a B-grade building, as well as a few D-grade evil-expelling and mind-concentrating accessories."

The trace of hope that Lin Ye had just raised had not yet settled before it was completely shattered by Elder Qin's next sentence.

"But I advise you not to waste your military merits on exchanging for them."

Elder Qin's tone was serious, every word clear: "The B-grade formation and D-grade objects can only temporarily suppress the evil energy in your divine kingdom, briefly relieve the swelling pain and lethargy caused by the erosion of your sanity, and restore you to a normal state."

"Moreover, these are all methods that treat the symptoms rather than the root cause."

"The roots of the evil energy hidden deep within the meridians and the sea of consciousness of the divine kingdom's believers cannot be completely eliminated. Once the time limit expires, the evil energy will inevitably make a comeback. Furthermore, after repeated suppression, the residual evil energy will become increasingly stubborn and take deeper root, making it even harder to cure fundamentally later on."

Hearing these words, Lin Ye's fingertips unconsciously clenched tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white.

He could clearly perceive the surging evil energy within his body, and he understood that what Elder Qin said was definitely not false.

Temporary suppression was meaningless and would only plant even greater hidden dangers for himself, but the S-grade supreme treasure that could completely cure it happened to be the grand prize of the martial arts competition.

In an instant, an extremely firm thought suddenly took shape deep within his heart.

Wanting to survive, wanting to suppress and eradicate the evil energy, preserve his sanity, and not become a cripple——

He must take the championship of this session's martial arts competition!

With his mind made up, Lin Ye took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the complex emotions surging deep within his heart.

He knew that agonizing over it anymore at present was completely meaningless. There was only one path laid out before him: only by winning the championship of the martial arts competition and obtaining that S-grade building, Jinghun Hall, would he have a glimmer of survival.

"Thank you for informing me, Elder Qin. This junior understands, and will take his leave first."

Lin Ye cupped his hands slightly towards Elder Qin behind the counter, turned around, and prepared to leave the exchange hall.

But the moment his foot was just raised, an aged yet exceptionally solemn voice suddenly sounded from behind him, fixing him in place.

"Kid, stop right there."

Lin Ye's footsteps paused, and he turned back slightly with a hint of confusion in the depths of his eyes.

At this moment, Elder Qin no longer had his previous laziness and casualness. He straightened his body, his cloudy eyes staring fixedly at Lin Ye, his gaze filled with solemnity and even carrying a trace of imperceptible worry.

The atmosphere of the entire hall instantly became oppressive and heavy.

"Elder Qin, is there anything else you need?" Lin Ye asked out loud.

Elder Qin was silent for a few seconds, as if weighing his words, before slowly speaking after a long while, his voice low and hoarse: "Do you think that as long as you get that S-grade Jinghun Hall, you can completely eradicate the evil energy on the believers in your divine kingdom and ensure you have nothing to worry about when you ascend to the true god realm?"

Lin Ye's brows twitched, and he nodded frankly: "Is that not possible? Can the evil-cleansing effect of an S-grade building really not suppress the evil energy within my body?"

This was his only hope. If even an S-grade treasure was useless, he truly could not think of any other possibility for him to break the deadlock.

"It might not necessarily be able to suppress it."

Elder Qin shook his head, his tone extremely resolute, a single sentence directly shattering Lin Ye's last bit of confidence.

"The evil energy and evil spirits tainted by ordinary martial artists can naturally be easily eradicated by an S-grade formation. But yours is different; what is inside your body is the evil energy of a divine kingdom, and its nature is completely different."

Lin Ye's body shook slightly, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Seeming to see through his doubts, Elder Qin explained calmly: "When you came to exchange for supplies last time, I had already looked at your profile."

"I am not clear what kind of fortuitous encounter you actually possess to let the believers of the divine kingdom forcibly withstand the erosion of the divine kingdom's evil energy, and still maintain your sanity unlost until now."

Elder Qin looked at him with heavy eyes, his tone carrying a trace of dread: "But I must tell you a cruel fact: that S-grade Jinghun Hall most likely cannot stop your continuously surging divine kingdom evil energy at all."

"As your divine kingdom continues to grow and your believers become stronger and stronger, the concentration of evil energy in your divine kingdom will also wildly skyrocket accordingly. Ordinary S-grade purification supreme treasures can at best suppress it temporarily, completely unable to eradicate it thoroughly, and may even completely fail later on."

Lin Ye's heart sank abruptly, and a chill rushed straight to the top of his head along his spine.

The goal that he had managed to set with great difficulty was now actually sentenced as most likely ineffective.

Before he could digest this bad news, Elder Qin's voice sounded once more, carrying heavy admonition and warning.

"This old man has lived for hundreds of years, and it's not like I haven't seen geniuses who possess a divine kingdom and are tainted with evil energy."

"Once there was a stunningly talented prodigy whose foundation, talent, and divine kingdom stability were all about the same as yours now. The evil energy on his body was even several times gentler than your current level."

Speaking to this point, Elder Qin's tone became noticeably heavier, and a trace of emotional sighs and dread flashed in the depths of his eyes.

"Yet it was precisely such an peerless genius who, at the moment of charging into the true god realm, igniting the divine fire, and ascending to become a true god, had the evil energy accumulated over many years completely erupt, instantly devouring all of his sanity."

"He successfully ascended to the true god realm, and his strength skyrocketed to a horrifying degree, but he completely degenerated into a emotionless killing machine that knew neither good nor evil."

"He lost all self-awareness, leaving only killing instincts, and unconsciously slaughtered countless fellow sect members and city residents. In the end, it alarmed the upper echelons of the federal state, who gathered several top powerhouses to behead him."

Every word of these remarks was heavy, like a thunderclap, exploding deafeningly in the quiet hall.

Lin Ye's whole body was tense, his fingertips were ice-cold, and monstrous waves churned deep within his heart.

Predecessors stronger than him and with weaker evil energy ultimately met such a tragic end?

"Therefore, kid." Elder Qin gazed at him, his tone carrying sincere persuasion, "Take this old man's advice, and give up this path. This is good for you, and good for the people around you!"