Chapter 217: The Truth Eye
The moment the stone gate of the Imperial Dungeon sealed behind him, Tony felt the outside world disappear completely.
Before him stretched an enormous underground chamber so vast that it resembled an ancient temple carved directly into the heart of a mountain. At the center of the chamber stood nine tall pillars arranged in a perfect circle.
Each pillar was wider than a city tower and covered with countless marks that looked less like written characters and more like wounds left behind by a terrifying sword.
As Tony approached, he quickly realized those weren’t ordinary carvings. Every sentence had been written using sword intent. Every character carried a sharpness that seemed capable of cutting into the soul. The closer he moved toward the nearest pillar, the stronger the pressure became. It felt as though an ancient existence was silently observing him from beyond time itself.
Tony slowly raised his head and began reading. The first pillar contained neither a cultivation technique nor a martial art. Instead, it told a story. It spoke about an Azure Dragon who had abandoned its beastly body and transformed into a human. Unlike ordinary beasts, this dragon possessed extraordinary wisdom. It traveled the world for thousands of years, observing every race, every kingdom, every battle, and every secret hidden beneath the heavens.
Eventually, after reaching the limits of the mortal world, it prepared to ascend toward the higher realms. Yet before leaving, it created a final inheritance. Not a sword technique. Not a fist art. Not a movement technique. It created a method of observation. A method of truth. A method capable of stripping away false appearances. That inheritance was called the Truth Eye.
The deeper Tony read, the brighter his eyes became. The Truth Eye possessed no direct offensive power. It couldn’t destroy mountains. It couldn’t split rivers. It couldn’t increase cultivation. Yet its abilities were terrifying.
One who mastered the Truth Eye could identify poison hidden inside food. One could see impurities hidden within medicinal pills. One could distinguish treasure from ordinary stone. One could see concealed formations, hidden traps, disguised cultivation, disguised appearances, and countless deceptions. At its highest level, it could supposedly observe the truth behind all things. The final lines carved into the pillar carried a sentence that immediately captured Tony’s attention.
"The strongest weapon is not strength. The strongest weapon is seeing what others cannot." Tony stood silently for a long time before finally smiling. For a villain, this inheritance sounded almost unfair.
Without wasting another moment, Tony sat cross-legged in the center of the nine pillars. The instructions spread across all nine monuments rather than a single one. Every pillar contained a portion of the cultivation method. Every pillar guided a different pathway of aura circulation. Every pillar represented a different stage of enlightenment.
Tony slowly closed his eyes and began following the first circulation route. His aura moved carefully through unfamiliar pathways while countless ancient insights flooded his mind. Hours passed. Then days passed. The concept of time gradually disappeared as Tony immersed himself completely within the inheritance left behind by the Azure Dragon.
***
Outside the dungeon, however, time continued moving forward.
The Magistrate never left.
Like a statue carved from stone, he remained positioned outside the entrance of the Imperial Dungeon while holding his sword. Every passing day only deepened the hatred hidden within his eyes.
The royal guards assigned to protect the dungeon had already grown accustomed to his presence. Some even began placing chairs nearby for him. Yet no matter how many days passed, he never left. He watched the entrance. He waited.
Not far away stood the Clark Family Patriarch, who seemed to enjoy the situation far more than he should. The old man occupied a comfortable pavilion built specifically for visiting nobles and spent most of his time drinking tea while observing the Magistrate’s suffering. Occasionally their eyes would meet. Occasionally neither would speak. Occasionally the Patriarch would simply raise his tea cup and smile. Every time it happened, the Magistrate looked as though he wanted to kill someone.
Back inside the Dream Realm, Lily and Kevin Ten never emerged from their cultivation chambers. Neither of them cared about the political chaos unfolding outside. The Dream Realm could collapse tomorrow. It could collapse next week. Nobody knew. Every second carried value. Every book carried opportunity.
Lily devoted herself completely to mastering the Ice Spear Arrow Technique while Kevin disappeared into the ocean of sword manuals hidden within the Clark Family library. Servants occasionally delivered food outside their rooms. Sometimes the food remained untouched for an entire day. The two had become obsessed. Knowledge was the only treasure they could truly carry back into reality.
As weeks continued passing inside the Dream Realm, many participants gradually reached the final stages of their personal journeys.
The bald monk remained within the ancient city, continuing his role as a wandering preacher. Every morning he stood before crowds and spoke about peace. Every afternoon he discussed enlightenment. Every evening he secretly gathered information about opportunities, inheritances, and hidden locations.
The contradiction amused even himself. He preached detachment while secretly longing for power. He preached peace while planning future battles. Yet one thing remained unchanged. The memory of Tony Clark continued lingering in his mind. The Imperial Coin. The Imperial Edicts. The opportunities hidden around Tony. All of them tempted him endlessly.
Elsewhere, Elsa had transformed into a nightmare within the Dream Realm. Unlike most participants who wasted time adapting to their new identities, she understood the rules far better than almost anyone.
The Demonic Sea Tribe princess gradually gathered more surviving tribe members around herself. One by one, isolated human participants disappeared. Some died mysteriously. Some vanished completely. Some never even realized they were being hunted.
Elsa moved through the ancient world like a predator. Yet despite all her confidence, one irritation remained. Tony Clark had escaped her reach. Every report she received only increased her frustration. The fellow seemed to attract opportunities everywhere he went. The more she learned about him, the more determined she became to settle the matter personally.
Emma Rock continued operating from the shadows of the Sky Family. Unlike others, she spent very little time pursuing opportunities. Most of her attention remained focused on observing the lifestyle of ancient people. The more she watched, the more conflicted she became. Sometimes she wanted to kill herself to see whether the dream realm ends on its own.
Across the Dream Realm, countless other geniuses walked their own paths. Some became nobles. Some became merchants. Some became warriors. Some became beggars. Some discovered opportunities beyond imagination. Others died without accomplishing anything. Such was the nature of the World Tree’s test. Nobody walked the same road. Nobody received the same fate.
And above all of them, beyond the cities, beyond the mountains, beyond the rivers, the Dream Realm itself seemed to be changing. Strange cracks occasionally appeared within the sky. Ancient winds began blowing across distant lands. The Dream Realm was approaching its conclusion.
The test was entering its final phase.
And deep within the Imperial Dungeon, seated beneath the gaze of nine ancient pillars, Tony Clark remained completely unaware of the chaos unfolding elsewhere as he continued pursuing the inheritance of the Azure Dragon. Yet with every passing day, the aura flowing through his eyes became brighter. Sharper. More dangerous.
The Truth Eye was awakening!
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Tq guys!
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