Chapter 528: A Secret’s Price

“Help me kill Yinglong! I know you’ve got it in you!”

The very first message that caught his eye was that sentence.

Glancing at the message from Blood Nightingale, Yenir’s eyes flashed with something unusual as he instinctively asked:

“Where are you? Didn’t Yinglong kill you? Have you been captured?”

He didn’t directly answer Blood Nightingale’s question.

To Yenir, it seemed likely that Blood Nightingale had been taken by Yinglong—she might not even know who was trying to reach her.

In his mind, once Yinglong realized he had been duped, any normal person would have recalled the oddities in the dungeon.

That meant that Blood Nightingale, of all people, was almost certainly under suspicion.

“Sort of, but I’m okay for now!”

“Yenir! You promised me! How can you be so heartless!”

“I handed over the materials, and you even took the Legendary Suit, didn’t you?! I even slept with you!”

“You heartless bastard! What a scumbag!”

A stream of messages followed—just plain text, devoid of tone—yet Yenir couldn’t help but feel a sudden twinge of awkwardness.

Still, he remained indifferent to being berated by Blood Nightingale.

For the sake of all humanity, his sacrifice was justified! Besides, who cares if I hooked up with Blood Nightingale!

But as he read her impassioned reply, Yenir suddenly realized that, surprisingly, that damn woman was still safe and hadn’t been controlled.

Otherwise…

“Daring to confess that I slept with you… if Yinglong, burning with resentment, comes after you, you’re in deep trouble.”

“If Yinglong finds out he’s been cuckolded, he’ll probably kill Blood Nightingale at once. Who could stand that…”

One had to admit—Blood Nightingale was smart.

Behind her animated, wounded rant, she made her predicament all too clear.

She was using their shared past to leverage him, hoping that Yenir, with even a scrap of conscience, might relent.

But…

“Oh.”

No more words were wasted.

After Yenir simply uttered “Oh,” he planned to cut off the connection.

Conscience? Emotions?

Sorry, but in his heart there was only all of humanity—and the greater good of the nation!

What are women? They only slow him down when drawing his sword!

Perhaps she hadn’t expected Yenir to be so ruthless. On the other end, Blood Nightingale was clearly taken aback.

Seconds later, a message loaded with sorrow and anger arrived:

“Yinglong is now investigating clues! I’ve been locked up by him—I’m their prime suspect!”

“I’m still safe for now; he hasn’t pinned me down yet!”

“Yenir, do you really have the heart to let me die? We’ve fought side by side—and I’ve given everything I could. I admit there was some misunderstanding at first, but I’ve always been the one suffering!”

“You know how ruthless Yinglong can be. If he finds out I deceived him…”

Inside a heavily guarded room within the Bloodshadow Safe Zone, Blood Nightingale’s face turned pale, and her messages began to tremble.

There was no doubt she was both ruthless and determined.

Yet the despair of waiting for death was unbearable.

Especially since she knew all too well what fate awaited her.

After Yenir swindled the materials and snatched away her Legendary Suit, Yinglong’s fury was no longer something that could be easily soothed.

To put it bluntly, she’d be lucky even if she were tortured to death…

Gazing at the Spirit Energy Chain in her hand, she sorrowfully realized she didn’t even have the means to end her own life.

At that point, the only one who could save her was Yenir—who could even take down the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch!!

However, a second later, a message from Yenir came through swiftly.

“Heartless.”

Damn it!!

Seeing the terse two-word message from Yenir, Blood Nightingale felt as if she were about to spit blood.

That bastard was, as always, a bastard! Not a scrap of conscience in him!

Gritting her teeth and having braced herself mentally, she managed to keep her composure.

Taking a deep breath as if steeling herself, Blood Nightingale sent one final message.

“I know Yinglong’s weakness! His real weakness!”

“Kill Yinglong, and you’ll snag a colossal secret from him!”

“Aren’t you always curious why Yinglong seems devoid of spirit energy?! What if I told you he possesses an artifact that can instantly convert spirit energy into physical power—would you believe it?!”

“He isn’t truly Peak Third-Stage at all! He’s just a fake! His innate talent is terrible! His entire combat strength comes solely from converting spirit energy into physical power!”

Panting heavily.

After revealing the most valuable secret she held, Blood Nightingale silently clenched her fists, as though wagering everything.

She believed that any Awakener reading this message would immediately grasp its immense value!

And sure enough.

On the other end, Yenir nonchalantly skimmed through Blood Nightingale’s messages until his pupils suddenly contracted.

“Instant conversion of power?!”

“Yinglong isn’t truly Peak Third-Stage at all?!”

“What are you talking about? From what I saw in the dungeon, although Yinglong may not even compare to Fang Hao, his combat prowess is nothing to scoff at.”

He had always suspected that Yinglong was hiding his true potential; his real strength had never been fully revealed. Even when he unleashed his full might, he chose to take down the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch rather than risk an instant kill on Yinglong!

But now it seemed impossible that someone this formidable wasn’t truly Peak Third-Stage?!

“Converting spirit energy into physical power… Isn’t that the same effect as the Ling An Ring I acquired back then?!”

“No, it’s a bit more one-dimensional, but it appears to have a much higher conversion rate?!”

Yenir subconsciously glanced at the Space Ring in his hand.

The attribute conversion effect of the Ling An Ring was something he rarely got to use. Either the enemy was too weak, and he could dispatch them effortlessly, or too strong, forcing him to rely on the system’s relentless Sword Technique.

At Third-Stage, converting ten points of attributes gave him a boost, but it wasn’t a game-changer.

So he hadn’t really been too concerned about it.

Still, Yenir knew that when used effectively, this conversion could yield astonishing results—in the trials, he clinched first place solely by converting attributes!

“It can force a Third-Stage Advanced Awakener to leap into Peak Third-Stage…”

“This conversion ratio… could it really be one-to-one?!”

“Based on my spirit energy, there’s no way I’m any weaker than Yinglong!”

“If that’s the case, does it mean I could now achieve Peak Third-Stage power? Or is it purely from physical attributes?!”

Taking a deep breath and fully grasping the secret’s worth, Yenir’s expression grew somber.

He knew full well his true nature was Willpower Type—his willpower far exceeded that of his peers! But for now, he could only use it for Mental Shock and to launch his skills.

In essence, it didn’t significantly boost his combat power.

No choice—this was the inherent flaw of a Willpower-Type Awakener.

Except that he knew willpower was the key to reaching Fourth Stage; otherwise, it barely mattered.

But…

What if he could channel that unused willpower into raw strength?

Yenir couldn’t help but glance at his innate talent.

Mind Storm…

Theoretically, he could double his willpower attributes…

Within three seconds, he could achieve a 100% willpower boost and gain abilities like Mind Disruption and Mental Shock…

His breathing grew increasingly rapid.

And that wasn’t all—Yenir’s mind raced with even more possibilities…

“If once I achieve Peak Third-Stage and then convert my willpower, could I possibly… bypass Fourth Stage entirely? Could I become Fourth Stage ahead of schedule?”