This Skill was, without a doubt, the source of all his power.

It was because of this Skill that he could ignore the volatile attributes of all kinds of Energy and directly convert it into his own Evolution Points.

’System, use all remaining Evolution Points to upgrade the God-devouring Needle!’ Chu Sheng commanded inwardly without a second thought.

[Ding! 100,000 Evolution Points consumed. God-devouring Needle upgraded to LV31!]

[Ding! 200,000 Evolution Points consumed. God-devouring Needle upgraded to LV32!]

[Ding! 300,000 Evolution Points consumed. God-devouring Needle upgraded to LV33!]

’Damn, every level up from now on is going to cost an extra hundred thousand Evolution Points!’

At the same time, however, the boost from each level-up was also significant!

In the blink of an eye, 800,000 Evolution Points vanished.

Chu Sheng felt an intense, tingling sensation spread from his proboscis.

The proboscis—already thinner than an embroidery needle and shimmering with a dark golden light—had now become completely transparent!

It was as if it didn’t exist in this Space at all!

He could even feel that, if he so wished, this transparent proboscis could ignore any Array, any Barrier, and even the obstruction of Space itself, piercing directly into the Energy core of any object!

Moreover, its Speed and efficiency at absorbing Energy had increased by more than threefold... Still, ’it’s a far cry from the Level 99 version I briefly experienced,’ he thought with a hint of regret. The gap was just too vast.

’But this is more than enough!’

Feeling the terrifying devouring power emanating from his proboscis, Chu Sheng smiled in satisfaction.

"Woohoo! Epic buffet, Lord Mosquito is coming for you!"

He pushed the Formless Myriad Phenomena to its absolute limit, his entire body transforming into an imperceptible, flowing shadow. Soundlessly, he crept toward the structure below—the very center of power in the Sakura Country.

* * *

「Above the eastern deep-sea region of the Sakura Country.」

This was the very place where Qin Yuan of the Qin Family, an Emperor Realm expert, had once suppressed the Sakura Ancient God—or to be more precise, an incarnation of the Sakura Ancient God.

But with Qin Yuan having abandoned his mission of suppression, this once suffocatingly oppressive stretch of sky now appeared deceptively calm.

Two figures hovered high in the sky, their auras a stark contrast to those of Great Xia’s Martial Artists. They lacked the tyrannical fluctuations of Qi Blood, possessing instead a tranquility that seemed to merge with the very laws of the world.

One was a tall, handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes. He wore an immaculate white suit, and his every gesture exuded the aristocratic air of a nobleman who had stepped right out of a medieval oil painting.

The other was slightly older, with silver hair combed immaculately. He wore a gentle smile and held an ornate, Gemstone-inlaid Magic Staff.

They were none other than two mid-rank Saints from Northern Europe: Andrei and Chris.

In the Northern European Cultivation System, an Emperor Realm expert was known as a Saint. An Emperor Realm Middle Stage practitioner, therefore, was a mid-rank Saint.

The two of them had been dispatched here in accordance with an ancient pact of the "Global God-Slaying Alliance" to assist Qin Yuan in suppressing the incarnation of the Sakura Ancient God.

Facing them, Feng Wuji and Lin Yuehua wore grim expressions.

"You two are leaving now?" Feng Wuji asked, sloshing the wine gourd in his hand. His voice was laced with restrained dissatisfaction.

"Senior Qin Yuan just left, and the pressure on this defensive line has increased dramatically. Your leaving at such a critical juncture... I’m afraid that isn’t appropriate, is it?"

A flawless, apologetic smile graced Andrei’s face. He gave a slight bow, a perfect gesture of noble etiquette.

"General Feng, General Lin, please forgive our abruptness."

"The truth is, a few urgent situations have recently arisen back in Northern Europe. Our Holy Hall has received word that the Ancient God incarnations emerging from the Extreme North Divine Domain have become exceptionally active."

"The Holy Hall is short-staffed, and we must return at once to protect our homeland."

His words were earnest and his reasoning sounded irrefutable, as if they truly had no other choice.

"Indeed," Chris chimed in gently from the side. "We would very much like to stay and help our friends from Great Xia, but the pact is also quite clear: when our nation’s security is under severe threat, we have the right to prioritize our own defense."

"Besides, with the two of you generals holding the fort here against the Sakura Ancient God, I’m sure there won’t be any major trouble for the time being."

The two of them went back and forth, their story perfectly airtight.

But Feng Wuji and Lin Yuehua saw right through it.

’Excuses!’

’It’s all just excuses!’

It was true that Ancient Gods were causing trouble in Northern Europe, but the situation was nowhere near dire enough to require two mid-rank Saints to rush back in such a frantic hurry.

’Those two are just plain scared!’

When Qin Yuan was here, he was a Late Stage Emperor Realm expert. He alone was enough to suppress the five Emperor Realm Middle Stage Ancient God incarnations of the Sakura Country.

To put it bluntly, with him around, these two were just along for the ride. There was no real danger, and they could still get the credit for upholding the pact.

But now, Qin Yuan was gone!

If the five Emperor Realm experts from the Sakura Country were to go berserk and charge out without regard for the consequences, how could two mere mid-rank Saints possibly stop them?

They would have to risk their own lives and fight desperately!

These two from Northern Europe were cunning; they had no intention of shedding their own blood for Great Xia’s sake.

Lin Yuehua could feel her anger becoming difficult to contain.

Her normally cool and detached face was now covered in a layer of frost.

"Saints, don’t you think this is a bit dishonorable?"

"To uphold our end of the pact, Great Xia sent a Late Stage Emperor Realm expert—one of our own—to Northern Europe to help you suppress the Ancient Gods emerging from the Extreme North Divine Domain!"

"A Late Stage Emperor Realm expert! Do you have any idea what kind of power that is? All of Great Xia only has two or three such individuals! We have shown such immense sincerity, and now, when Great Xia’s eastern gateway is in peril, you two are just going to wash your hands of it and leave?"

"Is this the credibility of your Northern European Holy Hall? In your eyes, is the pact of the Global God-Slaying Alliance just a piece of scrap paper you can discard at will?"

Lin Yuehua’s words were sharp and merciless.

But instead of anger, Andrei and Chris simply exchanged a look and couldn’t help but laugh.

Their smiles held an obvious hint of amusement and... mockery.

"Oh, General Lin, please don’t be angry."

Andrei spread his hands elegantly. The smile on his face remained, but his tone became laden with meaning.

"The Late Stage Emperor Realm expert you mentioned... that would be the ancestor of your Capital City’s Xia Family, correct? We are, of course, aware of the great help he has provided Northern Europe, and we are very, very grateful to him..."

"However..."

His tone shifted, a glint of mockery flashing in his azure eyes.

"According to our sources, this ancestor of the Xia Family was offended by the upper echelons of Great Xia, wasn’t he? We heard... it was over protecting a Mosquito Beast?"

"We don’t know the specifics, but we’ve heard from the Holy Hall that... this Great Emperor’s mood seems quite unstable at the moment, yes?"

"They say that after he returned to Northern Europe, his attitude toward suppressing the Ancient Gods has become extremely uncooperative. He’s even showing signs of going on strike."

The moment he said this, the expressions on Lin Yuehua and Feng Wuji’s faces became utterly grim.

Their worst fears had come to pass.

And what’s more, this conflict, which should have been an internal affair among Great Xia’s leadership, had been exposed to the Northern Europeans so quickly!

It was tantamount to airing their dirty laundry on the international stage...

Chris picked up the conversation at the perfect moment, letting out a helpless sigh.

"General Lin, just think about it. If the Xia Family’s Great Emperor really does go on strike, a massive gap will instantly open in our Northern European defensive line. The level of danger there is far greater than what you face here."

"Our returning now is to protect our own country and people, which is entirely within the provisions of the pact. It’s perfectly reasonable."

"Exactly," Andrei said with a grin, offering a very ’thoughtful’ suggestion. "Of course, we’re not completely disregarding our ally’s feelings."

"If you really feel the pressure from the Sakura Country is too great, you could simply ask the Xia Family’s ancestor to return from Northern Europe and have him guard this place instead!"

"That way, although our defensive line in Northern Europe would be in peril, your Great Xia’s eastern gate would be impregnable, wouldn’t it?"

These words were a blatant, vicious psychological blow.

Feng Wuji and Lin Yuehua’s fists clenched instantly.

How could they not realize the others were mocking them?

’Call the Xia Family ancestor back?’

’In the past, the Xia Family ancestor would have been only too happy to return.’

’But now... that was no longer certain.’

’In fact, it was highly likely he wouldn’t want to come back!’

In the end, it all boiled down to the incident with the mosquito destroying the Qin Family, which had left the ancestors of the Top Three Families deeply dissatisfied.

As long as that mosquito lived, they had the perfect excuse to refuse Great Xia’s summons.

These two from Northern Europe had clearly seen the internal strife within Great Xia, which is why they dared to so brazenly tear up the pact and desert their posts.