Afterward, Paul left. He had to return to the carriage side and go back with them.
As for Dan Feng, he didn't pay any attention to Paul. After telling Paul "caution," he began to zone out—but in reality, he had entered the Learning Insights space.
It was the same familiar scene, as if time had never passed.
High Elder "Dan Feng" still stood there motionless, exactly the same as during the last Learning Insights session—he hadn't moved at all.
"You've come?" High Elder "Dan Feng's" voice was ice-cold, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, but the meaning was unmistakable: he was asking whether Dan Feng had already prepared himself to face this duel.
Dan Feng showed no weakness. His gaze locked tightly onto High Elder "Dan Feng" as he declared loudly, "I've come! And I'm ready!"
Before his words even finished, he swiftly summoned Cloud-Piercer.
Immediately after, Dan Feng stepped across the water surface without hesitation, charging toward High Elder "Dan Feng" like an arrow loosed from a bow.
He knew full well that he currently had no chance of winning this confrontation, so he was no longer fixated on victory.
At this moment, the only desire in his heart was to comprehend the essence of the Imbibitor Lunae spear technique from this High Elder "Dan Feng."
However, High Elder "Dan Feng" was not affected by Dan Feng's momentum in the slightest.
He simply stood quietly in place, like an unshakable statue, silently watching Dan Feng approach step by step.
Just as Dan Feng was about to reach High Elder "Dan Feng," the latter slowly raised his right hand.
In an instant, a massive torrent of water surged forth like raging waves, instantly enveloping both Dan Feng and himself.
The water came so suddenly that Dan Feng had no time to react at all.
He only felt as if he had been brutally suppressed by an enormous force—his body completely lost control, and even standing up became extraordinarily difficult.
This was not ordinary water; it was a powerful force created by High Elder "Dan Feng" using imaginary energy.
Faced with such an attack, Dan Feng realized that his own strength was still far from sufficient—he simply could not contend with it.
"Watch closely. Today, I will teach you the Cloud Chant Technique. When paired with spear technique, it will bring a qualitative leap."
High Elder "Dan Feng" silently raised his hand, and the water flow was manipulated by him into numerous long spears.
These water spears condensed from all directions, just like Red A's Unlimited Blade Works, and each one carried vast imaginary energy.
"The Cloud Chant Technique—also known as Water Control. Once you cultivate it to a certain level, you can conceal your form and even manipulate every place where water flows," High Elder "Dan Feng" said slowly.
"Do you understand?"
As Dan Feng listened, he felt something surging into his mind.
"This isn't spear technique training?"
"The Cloud Chant Technique is also an important part of spear technique." With those words, High Elder "Dan Feng" swept his hand grandly, and countless water spears pierced through Dan Feng.
His consciousness returned to his body, his mind not fully clear.
High Elder "Dan Feng" had essentially forcibly imparted the Cloud Chant Technique to Dan Feng, which now made Dan Feng's head ache intensely.
...
When the banquet ended, the knight order began ushering people out. Dan Feng and Roxy Migurdia successfully reunited with Bloody Kant.
"Teacher? Did they say anything in the palace?" Roxy Migurdia looked at Bloody Kant curiously and asked.
Bloody Kant shook her head and said, "Nothing much—just the usual polite talk among nobles, flattery, and presenting gifts to the new prince."
"Sounds really boring."
"Little Roxy is right; it really was very boring." Bloody Kant fully agreed with that statement. If not for her countess title, she genuinely wouldn't have wanted to go.
With this countess status, she could accomplish many things in the Asura Kingdom.
...
Meanwhile, on Darius's side, his consciousness suddenly arrived in a pure white space.
There were no objects or decorations here—only endless white. The entire world was covered in this single color.
Just as Darius felt lost and confused, a pure white humanoid mosaic appeared before him without any warning.
The mosaic's body outline was blurred and indistinct, but its voice was exceptionally clear.
"Hey, I say, you should have pulled the Water God over to our side too, right?" The mosaic's tone was full of mockery, making it very uncomfortable to hear—almost infuriating.
Yet upon hearing this voice, Darius reacted as if he had heard the voice of a deity.
His body trembled violently, and then without hesitation, he crawled to the feet of the humanoid mosaic.
Darius's actions appeared somewhat humble. Kneeling on the ground, he said respectfully, "Lord Human God, I have successfully pulled that old hag Water God to our side as you instructed." His tone carried a hint of smugness, as if he was very satisfied with his achievement.
The humanoid mosaic seemed quite pleased with Darius's performance. It nodded and said, "Mm~ Very good, very good. You've done excellently. Next, you must continue to assist Grabell Zafin Asura properly and help him smoothly ascend to the throne of the Asura Kingdom."
Hearing this, Darius felt a surge of joy in his heart.
He had originally planned to help the First Prince vie for the throne in the future anyway, so he quickly responded, "Yes, Lord Human God! I will definitely give it my all to help the First Prince obtain the throne!"
The Human God seemed very satisfied with Darius's attitude. It raised a single finger and began detailing what it wanted Darius to do.
Darius listened with full concentration, afraid of missing even a single word.
Finally, after the Human God finished stating all its requirements, Darius's originally sagging cheeks suddenly broke into an ugly smile. That smile contained both a thirst for power and anticipation for the future.
This Darius had once lost his memory by chance. When his life had hung by a thread, it was the Human God who had intervened to save him. The amnesiac Darius had followed everything the Human God said and successfully survived. From that moment, he had become a loyal believer of the Human God.
"Good that you understand. My intention, you see, is to help you. In doing so, you—who assist the First Prince to the throne—will also obtain supreme glory and wealth in the Asura Kingdom."
"Lord Human God is truly too kind!" Darius's ugly face was instantly moved to tears by these words from the Human God.
"This is what I should do. After all, I am the god of humans." Though the Human God said this, the fact that it had used future sight earlier yet still couldn't clearly see that person's future left it somewhat puzzled.
Because through Darius's vision, it had seen a blurry figure and sensed an unusual soul, so it had employed future sight.
Its future sight could peer into fate and future trajectories. It relied on this to contact people while they were dreaming and offer suggestions.
However, the suggestions the Human God proposed were always designed to serve its own goals. Once the contacted person fully believed in it, they became a faithful apostle of the Human God.
The Human God's ultimate goal was to become the sole true god of this six-faced world. The only current obstacle was the Dragon God Orsted. The tasks it assigned to its apostles were all aimed at depleting the Dragon God's mana.
Due to a curse, the Dragon God's mana recovery speed was one thousand times slower than that of an ordinary person.
The Human God was playing a grand game of chess against the Dragon God—unaware that a variable had already entered the board ahead of time.