138: Chapter 138 Blessings from the Gods and the Heavenly Dragon of Putuo

The creaking sound of the taut bowstring was particularly jarring on the deathly silent shore of Black Water Lake.

On the sharp arrowhead of the jiu he long bow, a cold glint flickered, pointing straight at the center of Prime Minister Kesenluo's brow.

As long as the old man in official robes made the slightest move, this arrow would pierce his skull without hesitation.

Facing this threat, which was enough to insta-kill any fragile class, the two young girls behind Prime Minister Kesenluo were already pale with fright, their bodies trembling like leaves in the wind.

However, Qin Ji's gaze passed over their pitiful faces, his eyes as clear and still as a stagnant pool.

"Prime Minister, put away this act of yours."

Qin Ji's fingers remained steadily hooked on the bowstring, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I am a man of integrity; don't think you can seduce me with beauty."

Although he spoke with righteous indignation, his mind was calculating rapidly.

In his past life on those short-video platforms, what kind of suggestive makeovers hadn't he seen?

These two so-called daughters of the Prime Minister might have some looks, but that was about it.

When it came to true allure, compared to the rabbit-eared, fox-eared, and cat-eared girls of the Orc race, they were simply like plain water compared to strong liquor.

Furthermore, in this world where data was king, women would only slow down the speed at which he drew his bow.

As long as his strength was sufficient, let alone two noble girls, even the high and mighty gods would have to obediently come down to massage his shoulders, and that arrogant Empress would have to warm his bed.

The foundation of everything lay in strength.

Without strength, even if these two women were gifted to him, they would be nothing more than liabilities who could betray him at any moment; with strength, the entire Star Kingdom would be his backyard.

"Lord Snow Emperor, I never intended to seduce you, merely to express my sincerity." Seeing Qin Ji unmoved, Prime Minister Kesenluo's eyes flashed with a strange look, and he immediately waved his hand to dismiss his two daughters, his face putting on that fake smile typical of politicians.

"If you want to express your sincerity, then bring out something practical."

Qin Ji slowly lowered the long bow, but the arrow did not return to the quiver; it remained hooked between his fingers. "Give me that [Pre-quest Scroll for the Blessing of the Gods] in your hand. That is the basis for our conversation."

The smile on Prime Minister Kesenluo's face stiffened slightly.

He had not expected Qin Ji to be so well-informed, knowing even that such a classified item was in his possession.

After a brief silence, Prime Minister Kesenluo nodded and took out a parchment scroll glowing with a faint golden light from his wide sleeves.

"Very well, I can give you the scroll now. However..." Prime Minister Kesenluo stared into Qin Ji's eyes and said word by word, "The content of the quest is that you must become the King of the Star Kingdom."

Qin Ji's eyes narrowed slightly; he did not rush to reach out and take it.

A quest scroll for the Blessing of the Gods in exchange for the throne of a kingdom?

This deal seemed profitable, but in reality, it was binding Qin Ji to their war chariot to oppose the current King, Abra.

"If that is the case, I cannot accept."

Qin Ji shook his head and waved a finger. "Or rather, one pre-quest scroll for the Blessing of the Gods is not enough to buy my life to fight for this throne."

"Big Brother Snow Emperor, this is the Blessing of the Gods; even within the temple, it is top-secret. I only have this one." Prime Minister Kesenluo frowned, seemingly defending his "poverty."

"You only have one."

Qin Ji's gaze suddenly moved past Prime Minister Kesenluo, casting toward the thick fog behind him, and his voice rose significantly. "But Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan, who has been hiding there watching the show, should have one, right? Isn't that so, Grand Marshal?"

As Qin Ji's words fell, the previously calm fog suddenly churned.

The sound of heavy armor clanking echoed as a burly figure slowly walked out of the mist.

The newcomer wore heavy armor and had a broadsword at his waist, leaving deep footprints in the damp soil with every step. It was the Grand Marshal of the Star Kingdom, who held military power, Lorraine Muyuan.

"I have always heard that Snow Emperor has keen perception, not only possessing superior strength but also a mind as cunning as a demon; now it seems, that is indeed the case."

Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan's voice was as deep as a bell, shaking the surrounding dead branches and leaves until they rustled down. He did not feel embarrassed about being discovered; instead, he looked at Qin Ji with an appreciative gaze.

After saying this, Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan flipped his wrist, and a golden light cut through the air, flying straight toward Qin Ji.

Slap.

Qin Ji raised his hand and steadily caught the flying object.

It was a parchment scroll identical to the one in Prime Minister Kesenluo's hand, with sacred runes flowing with light on its surface.

"As you wish, the Blessing of the Gods pre-quest scrolls held by myself and Prime Minister Kesenluo belong to you now." Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan said heartily, "As long as you can sit on that throne, we can afford this investment."

At the same time, Prime Minister Kesenluo also handed over the scroll in his hand.

Qin Ji held one scroll in each hand, and the System's notification sounded in his ears.

【Ding! Congratulations on triggering the unique hidden quest chain: Change of Royal Power.】

【Quest Requirement: Within one month, overthrow the rule of the current King, Abra, and become the new King of the Star Kingdom.】

【Quest Penalty: None.】

【Quest Reward: Blessing of the Gods +1 (from Prime Minister Kesenluo's scroll), Blessing of the Gods +1 (from Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan's scroll).】

Looking at the two golden reward descriptions on the quest panel, the corners of Qin Ji's mouth finally could not help but curl upward.

Two old foxes.

The reason they handed over their trump cards so readily, not even hesitating to push him onto the throne, was not only because they valued his hard strength as the "number one player on the server," but also because of a deeper reason—a misunderstanding.

They both thought that Qin Ji had released the sealed Goddess of Ice and Snow and had some sort of secret contractual relationship with that soon-to-be-resurrected deity. Even King Abra, in his repeated tolerance of him and by only issuing those harmless bounties, was based on this fear.

If they knew that the so-called "backer," the Goddess of Ice and Snow, had actually died at Qin Ji's hands long ago, and that he had even scattered her divinity, one wonders if these two powerful figures who dominated the court would be scared into a myocardial infarction on the spot.

"Since you are so sincere, then I will agree to your terms."

Qin Ji put the two scrolls into his backpack, his expression indifferent.

This deal was a guaranteed profit.

Not only did he get two Blessing of the Gods quests for free, but the matter of "becoming King" was already in his plans.

Once he became the King of the Star Kingdom, the benefits he could obtain were immeasurable.

Firstly, the task of the Black Robe Leader, who had been skulking around wanting to establish a regime in the Star Kingdom—as King, he could simply approve it with a stroke of a pen, without needing to engage in any schemes.

Secondly, and most importantly—the progress of collecting the Blessing of the Gods.

Qin Ji quickly took stock of his "investiture of the gods" in his mind.

Now, he had successfully obtained the blessings of five Eastern deities: Empress Houtu, the God of Wealth, the Matchmaker, the Fire God Zhurong, and the Grand Supreme Elder Lord.

According to the requirements of that hidden quest, to revive the Ancient Eastern Kingdom in this Western magical world, he had to collect the blessings of ten Eastern deities.

The progress bar was already halfway complete.

And the remaining five gaps currently had leads as well.

The first was the quest given to him by Luolin Muye, requiring him to not intervene in the kingdom's struggles for seven days. This was the simplest; he just needed to idle.

The second was given to him by the Third Princess Leona, to assist her in plotting to topple King Abra.

The third was issued by the Queen Fiodingyu, whom he had just killed, to slay King Abra.

The fourth and fifth were the two right in front of him, requiring him to become King.

Looking closely, although these five quests came from different sources, their core objective was surprisingly consistent—to kill or remove King Abra from power.

In other words, as long as he successfully usurped the throne, these five quests would likely be completed simultaneously!

If there were no unlucky cases of repeated deity blessings, as long as he pulled this off, the conditions for the revival of the Ancient Eastern Kingdom could be met instantly!

"Of course, the more of these good things, the better."

Qin Ji was not satisfied with just this. As far as he knew, the Saintess Qing Fuyun and King Abra must each have a pre-quest scroll for the Blessing of the Gods.

The one Luolin Muye gave him last time was his own private collection, not the King's. So the one in Abra's hands was still there.

However, getting the one in the King's hands would be a bit difficult. After all, according to Qin Ji's speculation, the fact that he killed the Goddess of Ice and Snow could not be hidden for long; Abra would soon know the truth, and by then, let alone giving him a scroll, not fighting him to the death would be a miracle.

As for Qing Fuyun...

Qin Ji had just slaughtered her mother, the Queen, and it was a server-wide announcement at that. If he ran over now to ask for a scroll, he would probably be plastered in the face with Holy Light by the Saintess.

"Therefore, only by becoming King and applying pressure or trading as the monarch of a country is the shortcut to obtaining the scroll in Qing Fuyun's hands."

Qin Ji was confident, a clear roadmap for usurpation already laid out in his mind.

"Gentlemen, await the good news."

Qin Ji nodded slightly to Prime Minister Kesenluo and Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan, effectively dismissing them.

The two looked at each other and said no more, their figures gradually fading into the mist. Since they had reached an agreement, they also needed to go back to mobilize resources and prepare for the upcoming coup.

With their departure, the shore of Black Water Lake returned to a deathly silence.

Only the faint sound of lake water lapping against the shore remained.

Qin Ji turned around, preparing to continue entering the dungeon to grind that unlucky Dragon Turtle.

Just at this moment.

"Amitabha."

A gentle and mellow voice rang out behind Qin Ji without warning.

The voice was not loud, but it seemed to possess a certain penetrating power, directly rippling through the heart, dispelling some of the surrounding cold mist.

Qin Ji's pupils shrank slightly, and he turned around abruptly.

Less than ten meters behind him, a figure had appeared out of nowhere.

It was a monk.

A bald monk wearing a real bright red kasaya, with burnt incense scars on his head, and a string of sandalwood prayer beads hanging around his neck. In this world of knights and magic filled with Western fantasy colors, this attire seemed out of place, yet it held an eerie sense of harmony.

Qin Ji's gaze swept over the top of the person's head.

He had not hidden his nickname.

【Heavenly Dragon of Putuo】

Upon seeing these four words, Qin Ji's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

"Divine-Grade hidden class, Buddhist Monk!"

Heavenly Dragon of Putuo.

This was a famous ID in his past life.

It was said that this person was an enlightened high monk in reality, and after entering the game, he had awakened the extremely rare "Buddhist Monk" hidden class. Although the specific talent effects had never been made public, he was proficient in the seventy-two arts of Buddhism; the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt were just the basics, and the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon was his signature move.

Relying on this hard skill, challenging enemies above his level in the game was as easy as eating and drinking for him.

Hearing Qin Ji call out his class background, the Heavenly Dragon of Putuo slightly opened his previously half-closed eyes, revealing a pair of eyes that seemed to see through everything.

"Benefactor is truly not simple. This poor monk has never revealed his class background in front of others, yet Benefactor was able to see through it at a glance."

The Heavenly Dragon of Putuo put his palms together and bowed slightly, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.

Qin Ji waved his hand, not dwelling on this question, but asked straightforwardly: "Great Master of Putuo, why are you not eating fast and chanting Buddha in your temple, but running to this desolate wilderness to find me?"

Regarding this person, the Heavenly Dragon of Putuo, Qin Ji's evaluation was very complicated.

Taoism emphasizes avoiding misfortune and seeking luck, but this monk was the master of that.

In the major events of his past life, wherever there were benefits, this bald donkey ran faster than a thief; wherever there was a certain-death situation, this bald donkey slipped away faster than an assassin.

If you said he was a bad person, he had never done anything harmful to nature or reason, and even in situations where he was absolutely sure and it didn't endanger himself, he had saved quite a few people along the way.

But it was precisely this extreme "rationality" and "slipperiness" that made many people love and hate him at the same time.

Now that this "slippery" monk had come to his door, Qin Ji had to raise his vigilance to the maximum.

The Heavenly Dragon of Putuo smiled slightly, the kind wrinkles on his face smoothing out. He did not answer directly, but turned the prayer beads in his hand, his gaze cast toward the location of the backpack where Qin Ji had just put away the scrolls.

"This poor monk observes that Benefactor's forehead is dark yet his face is glowing with red light; it is a sign of intertwined doom and fortune. I have come this time to bestow a stroke of serendipity upon Benefactor, and by the way... to form a good karma."

The afterglow of the setting sun pierced through the mist, sprinkling onto the shiny forehead of the Heavenly Dragon of Putuo, refracting a faint light that was not dazzling but impossible to ignore.

Qin Ji's fingers holding the long bow gently stroked the bow body, his purple-gold pupils reflecting the monk's figure, like a hawk scrutinizing its prey, coldly watching this uninvited guest.