"Huh?"
If he remembered correctly, the Weird Realm had indeed once been home to a powerful lost empire that had even attempted to slay a fallen god.
His mind raced, but Fang You's expression remained unchanged, projecting an air of 'Please, begin your speech.'
The First Prince clearly hadn't expected an answer from a denizen of Blue Star.
"Never heard of it? That's understandable. Even in our Fallen Star City, records of that lost empire are scarce, mere fragments."
He took a sip of tea, wetting his throat, and continued,
"Legend has it, a very long time ago, deep within the Weird Realm, there existed a powerful and prosperous empire – the Kandra Empire. The word 'Kandra' in their lost empire meant 'light.' They considered themselves children of light, and thus, we also refer to the lost Kandra Empire as the 'Radiant Empire.'"
"The Radiant Empire possessed immense power, boasting inherited techniques that reached the mythical realm. They also mastered highly advanced inscription technology... You've encountered many oases, haven't you? But the ritualistic technologies of these oases don't even compare to a fraction of ours in Fallen Star City, and even Fallen Star City pales in comparison to the lost Radiant ancient kingdom."
Perhaps sensing that a Blue Star person's knowledge was limited, he felt the need to be more direct and impactful.
The First Prince pondered, then added, "What is certain is that the Kandra Empire had no shortage of mythical beings. Moreover, it is speculated that at its peak, the Kandra Empire's territory may have spanned several times, even dozens of times, the area of a single great domain."
With the story reaching this point, Fang You decided to follow his lead and asked,
"An empire this powerful, why has no one heard of it?"
"Because this empire... perished."
"Perished?"
Fang You's face registered surprise, confusion, and bewilderment.
It was as if a novice, with no tangible perception of the Radiant Empire, was hearing this for the first time.
The shock might not have been as great as if several mythical beings had fallen, given the sheer distance in time. It was all just a story, and the leader of Blue Star likely harbored doubts about its authenticity.
The First Prince was not surprised.
He himself, however, was convinced of the truth of the legends. The more ruins he excavated, the more astounded he was by the might of the Kandra Empire.
He sighed, "The specific reason remains unknown. Our records in Fallen Star City only state that the Radiant Empire, Kandra, suffered a great calamity and then rapidly vanished. The entire Radiant Empire was lost."
"But what kind of great calamity it was, we, and many super-oases, have investigated, yet found no cause."
This explanation was as good as none!
At least this mentor knew that Kandra had perished due to a failed attempt to slay a fallen god.
However, without any apparent reason to recount the story of Kandra, what was the First Prince's objective?
Fang You feigned surprise and sighed, remaining silent, and watched the First Prince's performance.
As expected, the First Prince continued his act.
"In those days, led by the Radiant Empire, the dominant forces of various domains formed the 'Human Alliance,' with the purpose of mutual aid and joint defense against incursions from the fallen god faction."
"Later, the Radiant Empire and several other dominant forces perished. However, the Human Alliance persisted and gradually grew. Today, its members span all major regions of the Weird Realm..."
The Human Alliance did not impose many restrictions on its member factions, its purpose being cooperation and mutual benefit. It allowed members to call upon friends and allies when necessary to jointly counter the fallen god faction.
One could even say that only by joining the 'Human Alliance' could one ascend to the mainstream stage of the Weird Realm.
Well, the mainstream stage for human oasis factions.
At this point, the First Prince's tone shifted:
"However, not all factions can join the 'Human Alliance.' Officially recognized member nations must at least be 'Super-Oases.' Only super-oases can ensure long-term heritage and continuity. Our Fallen Star City is one such official member, and the sole official member in the entire Fallen Star Underground Great Domain."
"Given the strength and potential displayed by Blue Star, our Fallen Star City can act as your recommender, introducing you to the 'Human Alliance' as a candidate member."
"In the future, if your Blue Star can ascend to become a Super-Oasis and secure the recommendation of three official member nations, you will gain formal status within the Alliance and enjoy further benefits."
"What are your thoughts on this, Your Excellency?"
To be perfectly honest, this...
Was not particularly appealing.
At first glance, the Human Alliance seemed formidable, but upon closer consideration, it was a loose covenant. If a dominant force were to face a devastating attack from the fallen god faction, why would other forces be obligated to intervene? Why would they risk immense danger to confront the seemingly invincible fallen god faction?
Moreover, there were bound to be conflicts of interest between various super-oases; they couldn't all be harmonious and loving.
The First Prince omitted all of this.
As for why he wanted to recommend Blue Star? It was obvious. Fallen Star City would gain benefits, or perhaps they intended to cultivate Blue Star as part of their faction?
With insufficient clues, he couldn't draw any conclusions.
Pretending to contemplate deeply, Fang You asked after a pause, "Is the dominant force 'Xuye Zhi Xiang' also a member of the 'Human Alliance'?"
"Uh..."
This question caused the First Prince to falter. After a few seconds, he replied, "Xuye Zhi Xiang is indeed a member of the Alliance, but Xuye Zhi Xiang foolishly provoked the fallen god faction. This was not a normal situation. Under normal circumstances, we..."
"I understand now."
Fang You nodded.
He neither expressed longing nor outright refusal, instead employing evasive tactics.
He did so until the entourage from Fallen Star City departed.
He then turned to Xitina and asked, "Have you ever heard of the 'Human Alliance' before?"
She paused for a few seconds, then slowly nodded.
"I seem to have heard a little. However, I rarely get involved in the affairs of North Wind Island, so I'm not sure."
"I see..."
The existence of the 'Human Alliance' was likely not a fabrication; Fallen Star City had no need to weave a lie that could be easily exposed. However, it was clearly not as idyllic as the First Prince had described.
As for jointly resisting the fallen god faction? That might not be entirely false.
For instance, North Wind Island had been affected by a major battle involving the fallen god faction. If North Wind Island had been a member nation and was willing to pay the necessary price, perhaps it could have retained a sliver of hope amidst the devastation of the war.
If it were truly a loose and unconstrained alliance, Fang You believed the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
It could be simply understood that member nations would gain contact information for other factions, and any future cooperation, assistance, or pleas for help would be entirely up to them.
He would decide whether to join later.
For now, he had obtained information about the Human Alliance. If he could also obtain contact information for some of the other dominant forces for free, that would be even better.
...
...
At his invitation, Madam Wanshe and the group from Fallen Star City stayed at Blue Star for a while.
From Madam Wanshe, he finalized an 'agreement for high-grade medicinal materials cooperation.'
From Fallen Star City, he purchased a batch of peculiar artifacts and tools.
Afterward, Mentor Fang continued his simple yet fulfilling life.
Practicing skills, slaying strange evils, inspecting the defensive deployments of the base city, igniting the dawn, and...
Drawing cards!
The secret realm today was still filled with drifting white clouds, and warm golden light descended from the heavens, feeling pleasantly warm.
Fang You began drawing cards.
Since the end of the great battle, he had not only bestowed numerous rewards upon his own warriors but had also rewarded himself handsomely.
He had already drawn 6 times from the Super Card Pool, 20 times from the Advanced Card Pool, and 100 times from the Intermediate Card Pool.
Drawing from the Advanced and Intermediate Card Pools was to supplement mid-to-low level skill books and a batch of skill seeds.
It was a restocking effort.
These draws clearly indicated that the highest rarity was Legendary Gold, ordinary Gold, and no Crimson, which he had anticipated.
"Combined with what I've drawn before, this is already a 130-draw streak. If we count other card pools, it's at least 150 or 160 draws, and still no Crimson."
The description for the Super Card Pool on his panel stated: Small chance of Crimson.
How small was "small"? It wasn't specified.
Was there a guaranteed draw after a certain number of attempts? No, that wasn't mentioned either.
This was the first gacha game he had ever encountered! Oh, this was for real-life cheats? Then it was understandable.
Taking a deep breath, Fang You tapped the Super Card Pool again.
"Ding!"
The sound of Destiny Points being deducted reached his ears. The next moment, the calm lake rippled, and a crimson glow burst from the water's surface, streaking across the sky.
"It actually produced Crimson?"
"Obtained: Secret Realm Stone (Gold)"
"Obtained: Skill Cultivation Card (Gold)"
"Obtained: Skill Book 'Super Self-Healing' (Blue)"
"Obtained: Void Stone (Blue)"
...
"Obtained: Infinite Casket (Red)!"
—
"Infinite Casket: A special item possessing infinite energy. Please explore its specific functions yourself."
This description was even more perfunctory.
However, from the Gold tier onwards, many items had unknown functions, mostly materials. But at this level, even mere materials possessed extraordinary power.
And this Infinite Casket...
The object, resembling a Rubik's Cube, floated, emitting halos of light.
Fang You touched it lightly and vaguely sensed that the inside of the casket was like a black hole, capable of absorbing energy and releasing an endless, unlimited supply of energy.
This was highly unscientific.
But very occult.
"But how do I use it?"
"The Infinite Casket releases pure energy, similar to the energy of Strange Crystals. This is not connected to life energy."
He began to experiment, first by treating the Infinite Casket as a high-spec 'Angel's Tear,' putting himself into an 'infinite mana bar' mode, and going all out.
He quickly discovered that this idea was not feasible.
Moreover, even if he entered 'infinite mana bar' mode, his combat power would not significantly increase – an infinite mana bar did not equate to infinite firepower, and skill casting required a brief recovery period.
His current combat style leaned more towards 'accumulate → unleash ultimate,' and his stamina was not as poor as it used to be.
Three seconds was impossible.
At least ten seconds!
"However, if used on the Strange Crystal Cannon, it could provide infinite power. But the cannon's bombardment also requires cooling, and firing too frequently could cause the entire cannon to break down. In simple terms, other configurations cannot keep up."
"Wait, in that case..."
"The Infinite Casket is a perfect match for the war weapon Shallow Red."
The great battle a few days ago had consumed 500,000 Strange Crystals for Shallow Red alone; it was too expensive. It was time for Shallow Red to evolve.