The birth of a new Saint-level Overlord might not have been a big deal in Lin Hua Country, but among the Six Nations, it was absolutely a pivotal event.

Besides, the Dongli Kingdom had been making too many waves recently.

First, Su Ze had won both the individual and team championships in the exchange tournament between the top academies of the Six Nations. Then, in the Divine Dice, the few participants from Dongli had bested numerous major powers from Lin Hua Country to achieve the best results.

Not a single one of Dongli’s four Trialists had died. Su Ze had even become the final victor, and Mr. Ya had made it to the fifth round. It was safe to say that the Dongli Kingdom had scored an overwhelming victory.

And now, another new Saint-level Overlord had emerged from the Dongli Kingdom.

This shook the other five nations to their core. Dongli, the country that had always been at the bottom of the Six Nations, was showing ferocious momentum. Given just a little more time for Su Ze and its other geniuses to grow, the Dongli Kingdom would surely rise!

The Saint-level powerhouses from Luofan Country and Mu Country had the most complicated feelings of all. They knew that the two most outstanding geniuses from Dongli this time weren’t even natives. Mr. Ya had immigrated from Luofan Country, and Su Ze had fled from Mu Country.

In their own home countries, one had been hunted, and the other had been oppressed. Who would have thought they would shine so brilliantly after going to the Dongli Kingdom?

If word of this got out, their two countries would probably become a laughingstock.

"That’s enough!" Mr. Ji cut off their arguments. "The Divine Dice trial is over. Leave at once. Do not linger here."

Since Mr. Ji had spoken, the people from the Six Nations naturally didn’t dare say another word and obediently withdrew.

The Archbishop from the Evolution Divine Teachings shot Su Ze a look brimming with killing intent, but ultimately turned to leave. He knew that with Mr. Ji around, he wouldn’t get a chance to make a move against Su Ze.

Most of Mr. Ji’s attention had been on the Archbishop. When he saw him leave, Mr. Ji let out a small sigh of relief.

As for the remaining people from the various great families of Lin Hua Country, Su Ze had no particular feud with them, with the sole exception of the Tao Family.

The Tao Family’s Saint-level Overlord hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Su Ze, is it true that the two Trialists from my Tao Family died at your hands?"

"Yes," Su Ze admitted with a nod. "They wanted to kill me, so they should have been prepared to be killed by me."

"That’s because you murdered my family’s Tao Qian in the Blood Earth Forest! You killed a fellow countryman in the wild for personal gain! That act violated the laws of Lin Hua Country, so killing you would have just been delivering justice!"

"Don’t make baseless accusations without evidence." Su Ze wasn’t falling for it.

Wan Qizhi suddenly interjected, "This isn’t a courtroom. If the Tao Family believes Su Ze has committed a crime, they can go to a tribunal, submit their evidence, and sue him. However, Su Ze has earned my master’s admiration, so I trust he wouldn’t do such a thing. My master is an excellent judge of character. Perhaps there’s been some kind of misunderstanding."

By speaking up for Su Ze and specifically mentioning Chen Suifeng, Wan Qizhi was sending a clear message to the Tao Family and everyone else: Su Ze was someone Chen Suifeng had taken a liking to!

A Saint-level powerhouse from the Lin Family also chimed in from the side. "Isn’t it normal to kill a few people in the Divine Dice? Has there ever been a final victor of the Divine Dice whose hands weren’t stained with blood? How are you supposed to distinguish yourself from the other competitors if you don’t kill?"

"Past victors have killed far more people than him, and I don’t recall anyone making a fuss. Why is everyone spouting so much nonsense this time around?"

It was true. If Wan Qizhi or a genius from another great family had been the final victor instead of Su Ze, there would likely have been only congratulations and applause, not all these people looking to cause trouble.

In the end, it was all because Su Ze was from one of the Six Nations—from Dongli—and in the eyes of these major powers, Dongli was weak and easily bullied.

Wan Qizhi and the Lin Family, by speaking up for Su Ze one after another, were also showing him goodwill.

Everyone from the other great families understood. Su Ze’s outstanding performance had already prompted the Lin Family and Chen Suifeng to place their bets on him.

In fact, some of the other families present were also beginning to entertain the idea of recruiting Su Ze.

The Tao Family’s Saint-level Overlord looked furious after being shut down by the Lin Family and Wan Qizhi, but he ultimately swallowed his anger and said nothing more.

The Tao Family had been in decline for the past few decades, long having fallen from the ranks of Lin Hua Country’s top-tier families. The clan had several Saint-level Overlords but not a single Venerable Powerhouse.

In Lin Hua Country, families with a Venerable Powerhouse and those without were in completely different leagues. Without a Venerable Powerhouse to hold the fort, a family could not be considered top-tier.

Now, with the Lin Family and Chen Suifeng as his backers, and the Dongli Kingdom itself having multiple Overlords, it was impossible for the Tao Family to seek revenge against Su Ze.

It wasn’t just the Tao Family. With the Lin Family and Wan Qizhi stepping forward, everyone else backed down, and no one said another word.

"Everyone, be on your way," Mr. Ji said again.

Just as everyone was about to leave, a streak of cyan light tore across the distant sky, arriving before them in an instant.

It was an old man with salt-and-pepper hair. He looked unremarkable, yet there was an intimidating authority in his eyes that made it difficult to meet his gaze.

Upon seeing this old man, the members of the various great families all bowed in greeting. "Mr. Xiang."

Mr. Ji frowned. "Mr. Xiang, what are you doing here?"

This "Mr. Xiang" was none other than the Xiang Family’s Venerable Powerhouse, Xiang Hexing—Xiang Chuan’s grandfather.

From the crowd, the Xiang Family’s Saint-level Overlord stepped forward and seemed to say something to him via Spiritual Transmission.

Upon learning of Xiang Chuan’s death, this Overlord from the Xiang Family had relayed the news back to his clan, knowing how much Xiang Hexing had always doted on his grandson.

Xiang Hexing’s gaze swept over Su Ze, Mr. Ya, and Wan Qizhi in turn. "How did Xiang Chuan die?" he asked.

At the same time, Su Ze felt a terrifying Spiritual Pressure descend upon him, like a great mountain pressing down on his head, causing him to shiver uncontrollably with a bone-chilling cold...

Lying under such pressure was not easy; it would be simple to slip up and reveal a flaw.

Su Ze immediately activated Unyielding Will. The pressure on him instantly lessened, but he didn’t let it show, continuing to feign a look of fearful trembling.

Mr. Ya was trembling like a leaf in the wind, struggling just to keep himself from falling to his knees.

Wan Qizhi, however, had only turned pale. He was clearly faring much better than Mr. Ya.

’Su Ze didn’t believe Wan Qizhi’s resistance to the Spiritual Pressure was greater than his or Mr. Ya’s. It was obvious that Xiang Hexing was applying far less pressure on Wan Qizhi.’

’Old bastard, bullying the weak and fearing the strong...’ Su Ze cursed inwardly.

’If Xiang Hexing had treated all three of them the same, Su Ze wouldn’t have been this angry. But this old dog was clearly playing favorites.’

Seeing the state Su Ze and Mr. Ya were in, an anxious Mrs. Yun was about to step forward and protest, but Zhou Wenshan held her back.

Zhou Wenshan glanced at Mr. Ji, who was standing to the side.

Mr. Ji cleared his throat and sighed. "Mr. Xiang, the dead can’t be brought back to life. I understand how you feel, but life and death are determined by fate inside the Divine Dice. Please accept my condolences and try to move on."

Xiang Hexing nodded slightly. "Don’t worry, Mr. Je. I won’t make things difficult for you. I just want to understand what happened."

Wan Qizhi, who was under the least pressure, stepped forward voluntarily and repeated the story he and Su Ze had agreed upon beforehand.

Xiang Hexing remained noncommittal, turning his gaze to Mr. Ya. "Is what he said true?"

Under the immense pressure, Mr. Ya couldn’t even speak. He could only manage a strained nod.

Xiang Hexing’s gaze fell on Su Ze next. "Do you have anything to add?"

Putting on an act of barely holding himself up, Su Ze tremblingly pulled a Storage Ring from his pocket.

Xiang Hexing’s gaze paused when he saw the Storage Ring. Su Ze instantly felt the pressure on him lighten considerably. ’He must have withdrawn some of his Spiritual Pressure so I can speak,’ he realized.

He went along with it, feigning some relief and gasping for breath. "This is Xiang Chuan’s Storage Ring," he said. "I haven’t touched a single thing inside. Xiang Chuan and I had some minor friction, but it was far from what you’d call a grudge. I don’t want to make an enemy of a great family like the Xiang Family, nor would I dare."

"I made a point of bringing this Storage Ring out specifically to give it to the Xiang Family."

Xiang Hexing beckoned, and Xiang Chuan’s Storage Ring flew into his hand. He swept his Spiritual Power through it, said nothing more, then put the ring away and departed, once again transforming into a streak of cyan light.

Su Ze and the other two all breathed a sigh of relief.

’Now Su Ze was incredibly glad he hadn’t thrown away Xiang Chuan’s Storage Ring and had chosen to bring it out. Otherwise, it would have given Xiang Hexing another reason to be suspicious.’

’Xiang Chuan’s Storage Ring, along with its contents, was worth over a hundred billion. Normally, no one would throw away assets worth that much—unless they were the killer and had a guilty conscience.’

’Even so, Su Ze didn’t regret killing Xiang Chuan. It didn’t matter who killed him. As long as Xiang Chuan was dead, a scene like the one that just played out was inevitable.’

’As for whether Xiang Hexing actually believed their story, or how much of it he believed, Su Ze couldn’t be sure.’

’In any case, they had at least passed this immediate hurdle.’

The Xiang Family. Xiang Hexing... Su Ze silently committed the old bastard’s name to memory.

...

Fortunately, there were no further incidents. The various factions dispersed one by one.

Before leaving, Lin Luo of the Lin Family extended another invitation to Su Ze. "Mr. Su, you have to come visit me when you have time. This isn’t an attempt to recruit you; I just genuinely want to be your friend."

"I definitely will!" Su Ze said with a hint of regret. "Mr. Lin, it’s a shame you left the trial so early. With your strength, you definitely could have cleared the fourth round and gotten out in one piece."

Lin Luo just smiled and shook his head, showing no regret. "I’m the type who values his life. Rewards are secondary. It doesn’t matter if I get a little less; the important thing is to stay alive."

"My Lin Family lacks for nothing. Even if I miss out on one round’s worth of rewards, I’m still a genius of the Lin Family. That’s a whole lot better than ending up like Xiang Chuan, who lost his life."

"You have a wise perspective, Mr. Lin."

Different choices determined different fates. In the Divine Dice, knowing what to take and what to give up was crucial.

After also bidding farewell to Wan Qizhi, Su Ze and his group finally began their journey home.

Mr. Ji escorted their plane all the way out of Lin Hua Country and into the Dongli Kingdom’s airspace before finally turning back.

On the plane, Su Ze and Mr. Ya recounted their experiences in the Divine Dice trial. Mrs. Yun and Zhou Wenshan listened with rapt attention. As they got to the later parts, Zhang Tai and Li Yongguan also gathered around, curious to hear about the final three rounds.

As Su Ze recounted the entire trial, he also began to take stock of his own gains.

On this trip, both he and Mr. Ya had hit the jackpot!