"Don't swear!"

A flash of lightning struck. I collapsed weakly into Yingning’s arms, forced to nod in submission to this dark force.

The mysterious voice seemed unaware of our little scene, continuing its tale: "In that battle, eight hundred Saint Stage warriors and three thousand Prospective Saints of my Divine Clan perished, along with hundreds of millions of our kin… Though our losses were far lighter than those of the Human and Demon Clans, we—who could have stayed neutral—paid a heavy price. We acted with utmost righteousness. Even I was sealed here by that demon fox… If you understand the Divine Clan’s sacrifice, come down. Pull the sword from the stone beside me. The Divine Clan will eternally remember your kindness. And this Divine Sword? Yours to keep."

"You’re full of shit!" x2

"Hmph." The mysterious man snorted coldly, falling silent.

"You speak first or shall I?" The heroic female voice cut through the air, icy with hatred.

"After you," replied the bewitching feminine voice.

"Very well… Adventurer, don’t believe a word this liar says! Do you know what role the Divine Clan truly played in that battle? It was no honorable one!"

This quest was complicated… Each faction had its own version of the truth.

But the more complex the quest, the richer the reward! In games, effort always matched payoff.

"Half-god ascension? A lie! Not even a half-god could defeat all Saint Stage warriors united… Clearly, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was just a pawn! Someone manipulated the chaos, aiding her slaughter from the shadows! In that war, the Demon Clan started the chaos, the Human Race suffered most, and the Demon Realm remained sealed away… So who truly profited?"

Her voice trembled with heart-wrenching fury: "You know how the Divine Clan gains power… Bloodline!"

"The truth? The Divine Clan conspired with the Demon Clan to open the Main Gate to the Demon Realm! The Demon Clan sought to elevate their Nine-Tailed Fox to godhood. The Divine Clan craved the Ancient God blood stored in the Demon Realm! They planned to use the Demon Clan’s blood sacrifice to breach the gate, drain the Demon Realm’s power to strengthen themselves, then reseal it once empty… Heh. They overestimated their strength. Things spiraled out of control!"

"The gate shattered. Their feeble Divine Clan couldn’t contain it! A land already scarred by the fox’s rampage was plunged into chaos again by the Demon invasion. Only when the three races united did we barely save our roots! And make no mistake… the Human Race was the most innocent, the hardest hit! All because of the selfishness of the Demon and Divine Clans!"

"Human Adventurer down there! Pull the Stone Sword beside me! I’ll take you as my personal disciple! I’ll guarantee your ascension to Saint Stage! I’ll teach you every combat skill I possess! Unlike the deceitful Divine Clan’s empty promises of gratitude, I swear on my Saint Stage honor—we Humans never break our word!"

*Saint Stage!*

Yingning’s face flickered with temptation. Saint Stage meant level 180 and beyond!

Game lore stated fewer than ten Saint Stage beings existed across all three races on the entire Adel Continent. Yet here, three seemed hidden before us!

Fast-tracking to Saint Stage meant Yingning would never struggle with class advancement before level 180. Bottlenecks that stalled others for weeks? For her, they’d be mere window paper—pierced with a touch!

With enough EXP, she could rocket from rookie Warrior straight to Saint Warrior!

Yingning nearly leapt into the Great Pit to grab the sword. I yanked her sleeve: "Wait. There’s still one more."

"Hahahaha! Divine Clan? Human Race? Ungrateful curs! Would our noble Highness Sheng ever ally with gods? Absurd! Utterly absurd!"

The bewitching voice turned fiercely proud, laced with a hint of barely perceptible grievance: "Highness Sheng is the most peace-loving, diplomatic Demon King in our history. Her Fox Clan has always been the Think Tank stabilizing the Demon Clan—the social butterflies, the ambassadors! Many won the Annual Adel Peace Prize, the Annual Adel Continent Development Award, the Annual Adel Outstanding Female Diplomat Award—even the Adel Science Prize, Adel Literature Prize, and Adel Best Actress Award! They are our pride!"

"These two only speak of events before the gate opened. They avoid the war against the Demon invasion! Why? What are they hiding? Do you know where Highness Sheng went after the gate shattered? Do you know why the Demon Clan—the terror of Adel—now crumbles so easily? Why they’re mere training dummies for Adventurers today?"

Her voice swelled with pride: "Because of Highness Sheng! With a body tempered in the Divine Transformation realm, she charged alone through the Demon Gate! Stormed the Demon Realm! Crushed every Saint Stage and Demigod demon there!"

"Human Warrior down there—and the little demon beside you, though I can’t see you clearly—if either pulls the sword beside me, I’ll gift her a full set of Divine Artifacts!"

[Hidden Lore: The Mysterious Voice’s Tale Completed.]

[Lore Continuation Unlocked: Follow the Lore prompt to make your choice. (Choose wisely—this will shape your quest path, completion rate, and final rewards.)]