Chapter243

If only Emory could stay by her side forever. She truly desired his abilities. Unfortunately, everyone has their own path to follow.

He had his own matters to attend to, and she didn't want to use force to keep someone against their will.

Forget it. She would think about it later. Who knows, maybe she would come across another person with many faces in the future and succeed in keeping them.

Elara pushed aside her thoughts about the many-faced person and Emory. When she thought of the "Dark Sky Hall" and the "Divine Attendant Palace," she really wanted to ask Mr. Yu what those forces were. But although Mr. Yu was now her ally and had always been friendly, Elara didn't want to reveal how ignorant she was.

In everything, she needed to keep some things hidden.

For anyone outside her closest circle, hiding things that could be used against her had become second nature.

So after thinking for two seconds, Elara frowned slightly and asked from a different angle:

"Can divine vein blessings in this world still be bought with a large sum of money?"

After all, Mr. Yu already knew from her letters that she didn't understand divine vein blessings.

And divine vein blessings in this world were mysterious by nature. It was normal for her not to understand. Mr. Yu hadn't shown any strange reaction in his last reply.

As expected, Mr. Yu nodded naturally. "Yes." He answered, then picked up a piece of pastry from the table, and said while eating:

"Although divine vein blessings are priceless treasures for any country fortunate enough to awaken them, not all divine vein arts are powerful. There are already many awakened divine vein arts in this world. Each one has different forms, effects, and usage methods. Not every divine vein blessing is incredibly powerful or magical. For example, I once heard of a country whose divine vein blessing was just a piece of skin that looked completely ordinary."

Mr. Yu opened his fair, well-defined palm and gestured:

"That piece of skin was about the size of a palm. Aside from being abnormally tough, it wouldn't break under fire, blades, or rain. It was basically useless. Even craftsmen gave up trying to make anything from it because it couldn't be cut."

"Besides that piece of skin, the country never awakened another divine vein blessing. That indestructible divine skin was eventually taken by the Divine Attendant Palace. After giving that country a corresponding blessing and protection, there was no follow-up."

"For another example, a southern country had a divine vein blessing that was a pill. But this pill was strange. Once someone swallowed it, it would turn into water and leak out from some part of their body. It had no other effect. That country also sold it to another curious nation for a large amount of money."

"And then there was a country in the east-central region whose divine vein blessing was a fruit tree. The fruits it bore were very unusual, with a halo in the center, looking like sacred fruit. But after people ate them, they didn't gain long life. At most, they could only heal minor wounds and pains. Even regular old doctors were more effective."

"The ruler of that country eventually sold the fruit under the name of divine fruit at high prices all over the continent. I heard they made a lot of money. We might even see that kind of divine fruit at the Hundred Nations Banquet this time."

Elara: Ridiculous. But if it were her, she would've done the same.

"Besides that, there are many other strange and mostly useless divine vein blessings. Things like a piece of clothing, a stone, a weirdly shaped sculpture, an unreadable symbol, a strange divine sound, and so on."

"In short, divine vein blessings come in all forms. For those that aren't useful, countries usually treat them as luxury trade goods or directly offer them to the Divine Attendant Palace in exchange for blessings or protection."

Although Mr. Yu had written about divine vein blessings before, he never described them in detail. So Elara only now realized that not all divine vein blessings in this world were frighteningly powerful.

Some divine vein blessings were actually confusing and seemingly useless things.

She was indeed a little surprised. But since that's the case, her earlier guesses that divine vein blessings might come from some ancient advanced culture that had been destroyed or from time travelers of the future now seemed even more possible.

"I see." Elara gently rotated the teacup in her hand as she quickly absorbed the information she had never known before, while listening to Mr. Yu continue:

"Even though most divine vein blessings aren't very useful, many countries that haven't awakened them still pray for the chance."

Mr. Yu sighed quietly at this point. A hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes.

Elara suddenly recalled that Dahlia was also a country that had not awakened a divine vein blessing.

No, among the many countries and forces she had come into contact with, aside from major forces like Hidden Loft, only the Carnation Kingdom had clearly awakened divine vein blessings.

After sighing in silence, Mr. Yu continued, "After all, while there are many divine vein blessings in this world, only a few countries have truly awakened divine arts. If a country awakens one, it means their rule is recognized by the gods. It means they are the rightful rulers. It gives their leaders more confidence and makes the people believe in them even more."

"Also, even an ordinary divine vein art can be sold at a high price for huge profits or offered to the Divine Attendant Palace in exchange for blessings or protection. There are always people curious about divine veins in this world."

"Powerful divine vein blessings are rare, but not impossible to obtain. Once a country or force gets one, their future will soar to new heights."

"For example, the three top-tier nations currently ruling the continent and the other top forces. Or the great sects in history that once caused great upheavals like the ever-changing Many-Faced Sect or the Blood Robe Tower that now has branches across the continent. Many of the strong countries today have risen because they possess powerful divine vein blessings."

The Thousand Faces Sect and the Blood Garment Tower, which once used Lord Gregory's token to try and kill her, both have divine vein blessings?

Elara lifted her teacup and took a sip of water, silently remembering this information.

"In short, divine vein blessings are still highly sought after by all nations. Even the most ordinary ones are fought over by many countries."

Elara listened while absorbing the information, and at the same time thought of the tree in her mind.

That strange tree growing deep in her consciousness might also count as one of the awakened divine vein blessings.

But for now, Elara hadn't discovered what use that tree had. Aside from the map she got the first time, the tree remained quietly rooted in her mind.

She didn't even know what that map pointed to.

The System's world map couldn't show much because she hadn't visited many places. She couldn't locate the area represented by the map.

And in reality, Elara had never seen any place that looked similar to the one shown on the map.

Elara frowned slightly again. Why did it feel like the more she learned from Mr. Yu, the more confused she became?

Divine vein blessings, the map, the Dark Sky Hall, the Divine Attendant Palace, the upcoming Hundred Nations Banquet, and other things like the Heavenly Work Pavilion and Hidden Loft she had encountered before were all important forces she barely understood.

Mr. Yu definitely knew more about these forces than she did. He knew many things she didn't.

But she had already asked him too many questions today. It wouldn't be appropriate to ask more.

Besides, the System could also do a basic scan of the forces she had learned about.

After thinking for a moment, Elara decided to stop the conversation with Mr. Yu for today. She needed to organize the information and let the System look into those forces to get a basic understanding before making further decisions.

Just then, as Elara looked at Mr. Yu without speaking, Gonyin's voice came from outside the door.

"Your Highness, the night is deep."

Mr. Yu paused the movement of his fan, turned to glance at the moonlight over the three bamboos outside the window, put down the teacup still in his hand, and stood up with an apologetic smile at Elara.

"Apologies, today I finally saw White Three in my territory. Our countries are tied together in many matters, and I talked too long and forgot the time, disturbing your rest."

Elara also stood up. "It's not a problem. Important things should be discussed promptly."

Mr. Yu smiled. "The main topics have mostly been covered just now. As for the matters regarding the Hundred Nations Banquet, I'll come find you tomorrow. Since White Three rarely visits Dahlia, take a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, I'll show you around the counties of Dahlia as we talk."

"Alright."

After Mr. Yu left, Elara looked at the bright moonlight outside. She didn't go to sleep. Instead, she called out to the System in her mind and pulled up all the nation force panels involved in this incident, including those from Salvia and others.

[Nations]

[Nation Rank: Third-class large nation]

[Ruler's Gender: Mainly male (male-dominant)]

[Political System: Ancient feudal system (similar)]

[Military Power: Upper third-class]

[Economic Strength: Third-class large]

[Population: Third-class large]

[Territory Area: About 754,000 square kilometers]

[Geographical Location: Mostly in the southwest-central-north region of the continent]

[National Status: A relatively weak force among third-class large nations. Its economy is acceptable, but its military and territory size fall short. The nation has little autonomy. The emperor's power is often overridden by orders from the suzerain state. Many national affairs are controlled by the suzerain, and it has frequent dealings with neighboring nations under the same suzerain.]

[Key Figures: Salvia's appointed ambassador, royal family members of various nations, major clans…]

[Major Forces: Salvia's appointed ambassador, royal family members of various nations, major clans…]

[Dependent State: Jian Kingdom (third-class small nation)]

[Suzerain: Salvia (second-class nation)]

[More Information: To be explored]

Elara studied the "National Status" section of the various nations closely. It seemed that even though these countries relied on Salvia and showed off their power, they were not doing well internally.

If the emperor's power couldn't even stand against a single order from the suzerain state, how was this different from being a puppet nation?