DKIE CH47: The Astrologer

Luka looked like an arrow on a bowstring.

Quill Pen’s gaze lingered on him for a moment.

From the moment Berlanie had pointed out some things, Quill Pen had developed tens of thousands of complex judgments and emotions, but there was one thing he had never doubted.

No matter who it was, after spending a long time with Luka, it was hard not to be attracted.

Especially some lifeless souls.

Luka spoke, interrupting his reverie, “Speaking of which, you were the one who gave me the inspiration.”

“Hmm?”

“In the notes you organized, you mentioned the art of entering dreams in the front pages.”

The dreams of the strong were not only bizarre, but they would also think in their dreams.

Quill Pen saw through his thoughts at a glance, “Dreams can reflect the Demon King’s thoughts to the greatest extent. You both have the blood of atavism in your bodies. Entering dreams is not difficult. The difficulty is that you will be discovered immediately.”

Obviously, Luka knew that the Demon King’s focus was on himself and wanted to use dream entry to discover the other party’s schemes.

“What if the Demon King is distracted? For example, if he’s been more irritable and in a bad mood recently.”

“It’s difficult for the strong to have major mood swings,” Quill Pen calculated. “Even if there are, you’ll have at most three seconds.”

This also had to include the time to withdraw from the dream. The actual time to enter the dream would only be about one second.

Luka suddenly smiled, “Let’s give it a try.”

He had an idea. If it went smoothly, not only would he be able to find out the Demon King’s schemes, but he could also shift most of the focus.

Here it comes.

Once he put on that seemingly innocent smile, Quill Pen knew that Luka was about to cause trouble again.

Luka had always been a man of action.

This time, he did not make too many prior arrangements and only agreed to accept an interview with a newspaper that afternoon.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper almost fainted from excitement. Under the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of his colleagues, he personally went to conduct the interview.

Without a doubt, the entire interview revolved almost entirely around the topic of the Demon Ancestor, and Luka was quite cooperative.

[…The feeling the Demon Ancestor gave me was both of supreme majesty and of being unrestrained and free.]

[…The Demon Ancestor was a little surprised that my mother was a human and said ‘what a pity’ three times in a row.]

[He said that if she had been a demon, I would have been very powerful from birth. Of course, what was truly powerful was my father’s bloodline. Even the Demon Ancestor gave a slight praise.]

The entire interview report had about three thousand words. Luka interspersed a thousand words of description of his appearance and temperament, completely satisfying the public’s imagination of the Demon Ancestor.

The demon race had always valued bloodline theory. Even the newspaper president, after the fact, excitedly held the interview manuscript, read it hundreds of times, and was immersed in it, unable to extricate himself.

On the day of publication, there was no need for publicity.

All the newspapers on sale were sold out in seconds. There were even robbers who robbed newspapers in the streets and alleys.

The demons in the capital held a newspaper in their hands, wishing they could frame it. A large number of newspapers directly used teleportation arrays to sell them to other central cities at a high price.

Amidst countless discussions about the Demon Ancestor, the public began to focus on a crucial question.

“Iliad only inherited half of the Demon King’s bloodline and was able to activate the blood pool. What if a pure-blood demon gave birth to the Demon King’s heir?”

That was a bloodline that even the Demon Ancestor had affirmed!

Some reporter commented, “Perhaps the strongest bloodline will be born!”

The strongest bloodline. Just thinking of these words made countless demons’ hearts surge.

The common people just thought about it. Countless great families had already begun to try every means to place their relatives by the Demon King’s side. The princes and nobles were even more restless. Even some demon generals who had made significant achievements in war and were now entering their old age began to tearfully plead with the Demon King to consider their family members. Even if he didn’t marry them, it was fine to let them stay by his side and serve him.

The demonesses among the Blood Demon Guards were also deeply moved.

If they could really give birth to an atavist, the future would be promising.

The other princes almost broke their teeth.

The competition for the throne was already intense enough. If a few more brothers and sisters came along, would they still be able to live? The princely forces behind the princes all worked together to try their best to stop it.

The high-level circles were in a mess, fighting tooth and nail over the issue of reproduction every day.

Since ascending the throne, the Demon King had felt a headache for the first time.

The demon race’s fanaticism for atavists was ingrained in their bones.

Even as the Demon King, he couldn’t punish all these nobles for no reason.

In the palace, he coldly glanced at the posturing demonesses below and slowly uttered one word, “Scram.”

The strongest needed both parents to use their essential blood to conceive life. This would cause their own potential to decline. Although the impact could be ignored, the Demon King was very concerned.

“The little bird said chirp chirp chirp, has the Demon King given birth today…”

When Luka heard that the Demon King had kicked all the Blood Demon Guards out of the palace, he said with a smile, “The entire demon domain is treating the Demon King as a breeding tool.”

But the Demon King couldn’t refute it. He couldn’t say he was incapable.

As he spoke, Luka made a gesture of holding his heart like a beauty, “If the Demon King had castrated me at the beginning, he wouldn’t be forced now.”

There was once a family planning opportunity in front of the other party, but the Demon King did not cherish it.

There were fewer guards outside. The male demons had recently been transferred to guard the palace, and the demonesses were on early vacation. Hearing this, Quill Pen felt that the Demon King had done a lot of evil, and Luka had helped him offset it one by one.

What a good life.

Of course, Luka was not idle either. While gloating, he would try the art of entering dreams from time to time.

The Demon King would most likely choose to be quiet when he was troubled, but when exactly he would rest, whether it was now, or in two or three days, or even a week, was all up to luck.

He didn’t remember how many times he had tried. The frequency of Luka’s dream entry spell was almost as fast as his breathing.

On this day, the afternoon was still dim. Luka was flipping through his notes when he suddenly seemed to feel something, and his hand stopped.

Quill Pen looked over at the first moment.

The originally clear eyes were gradually losing focus, and the pupils were becoming blurry. Knowing that this was a sign of success, he quickly reminded in a low voice:

“Remember, you can’t stay in the dream for too long.”

Luka’s eyelids were already drooping. It was unclear if he had heard, but he had completely fallen asleep.

Under the art of entering dreams was another world.

It was like a red velvet thread guiding the direction.

The surroundings were filled with a white, misty fog. Luka used blood as a guide to ensure that the target of the dream entry would not be wrong.

At this moment, he had not yet successfully entered the dream and was strenuously melting the barrier in front of him, bit by bit. Again and again, when the barrier finally loosened, Luka held his breath and completely pushed open the door to the Demon King’s dream.

He only had a little over a second.

It was bone-chillingly cold. It was cold everywhere. Luka endured the urge to shiver and seized the time to observe his surroundings.

“That is…”

Luka seemed to see something strange and was secretly shocked.

In front, the tall figure standing with his back to him felt something was wrong and directly turned around.

There was nothing. A short, rapid gust of wind, mixed with snow, passed by.

The Demon King withdrew his sharp gaze, thinking to himself that he had really been a bit mentally exhausted recently.

…

When Luka withdrew from the dream world, his whole body was soaked in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the water.

He panted heavily, “That was close.”

Fortunately, he withdrew quickly. He was almost discovered.

A few small flames jumped around Luka. The temperature of the air rose, and his clothes were gradually drying.

Quill Pen sat beside Luka. Seeing the semi-transparent thin shirt, it was as if he was also affected by the fire element in his hand, and his body temperature rose with it.

Luka’s words brought him back to his senses, “I saw it.”

“It was a tree,” Luka said, shaking off the feeling of drowning and recalling the fleeting glimpse in the dream. “There was a boundless great tree rooted in the cold winter.”

He was sure that the scene in the dream did not take place in the demon domain. The demon domain did not have such a pure aura. The surroundings were pure white, and the giant tree radiated a sacred light.

That kind of white made him very uncomfortable.

Quill Pen listened carefully to Luka’s description, thought for a moment, and said, “What you saw is very likely the World Tree of the Holy Court.”

When Luka was a child, he had read about the magnificent description of the World Tree in Norse mythology, but there was definitely no Norse here.

He just didn’t know if the ‘same name’ would be related to gods.

Quill Pen: “The Holy Court originally relied on the World Tree to communicate with the will of the world. After the World Tree lost this authority, it was renamed the Tree of Life.”

No matter what the Demon King was planning, the Tree of Life was definitely a crucial part.

“My understanding of the Tree of Life is very limited, but there is one person who should know very well.”

“The Saint,” Luka almost instantly thought of the answer.

This coincided with a part of his plan. They both needed to visit the Saint.

Quill Pen nodded, “The renaming plan of the Tree of Life was also initiated by him.”

“…”

Luka suddenly felt that the Holy Court’s dislike of the Saint was probably far greater than its dislike of himself.

The trouble had been mostly resolved. Now was a good time to travel.

The Demon King was being pressured to reproduce. The other princes were focused on cutting off the Demon King’s romantic prospects. The relationship between Princess Mary and Alicia deteriorated rapidly, to the point that Luka even suspected that he had stumbled upon the truth with his nonsense.

As for those nobles, they were still immersed in the story of the Demon Ancestor.

As the one who had stirred up the storm, he had once again beautifully disappeared.

“Busy, everyone’s busy. It’s good to be busy.”

Luka picked up the small luggage that Quill Pen had packed overnight, slung it over his shoulder, and said excitedly like a thief, “Quill Pen, let’s go.”

Quill Pen: “…”

Put me in the storage ring.

That night, under the cover of darkness, the two of them changed teleportation arrays several times and safely crossed the border of the demon race.

Due to the strict control of the Holy City, Luka took a detour to the Boulder City first and asked the lord of the Boulder City for a letter of introduction to temporarily enter the Holy City.

Revisiting an old place always had a special flavor. What shocked him was that there were many more black-haired people on the streets.

Before leaving, Luka arranged a small gathering with some old friends.

Lilian made an exaggerated expression, “You’re so successful now. The news is everywhere. The final winner of the hunt, the successor of the Demon Ancestor… Now there are many people imitating your black hair.”

Luka had mentioned in the interview that black hair was also one of the symbols of atavism.

The human race and the demon race looked down on each other, but it didn’t affect them sometimes imitating the attire, weapons, or catchphrases of each other’s strong people.

“So that’s how it is.”

After the dinner, Luka looked at Cullen and said, “I’m in a hurry. We’ll meet again next time. I’ll give you the first draft of My Demon Father as soon as possible.”

“Okay,” Cullen said with a smile. “Be careful on the road.”

Lilian waved goodbye, “Remember to wish others a good journey!”

Luka, who was using the teleportation array, almost twisted his ankle.

There was no direct teleportation to the Holy City. He had to transfer several times.

On the way, Luka half-jokingly said to Quill Pen, “Why don’t you try having black hair too?”

Who knew Quill Pen was actually very interested in this suggestion? He cast a small spell, and his neat silver short hair instantly turned black.

Luka couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

To be honest, with a good-looking face, any hair color would suit. With black hair, Quill Pen’s overall color seemed to have deepened, making his skin look fairer and his temperament even colder.

They traveled day and night and arrived at the Holy City.

Relying on the handwritten letter from the lord of the Boulder City, Luka had a smooth journey.

But when he was about to go to the Holy Tower, he was stopped.

The guard looked at the letter but remained unmoved, “Do you think the Holy Tower is a place you can just go to?”

Luka frowned, “Then how can I go?”

There were no guards the last time he came.

The guard: “You can go after I report it.”

“…”

The report soon received a response. The guard nodded, “The Saint invites you in.”

You?

Luka did not want Quill Pen to be swaggering around under the Saint’s nose.

Quill Pen, on the other hand, was very calm, “Let’s go.”

Luka had never lacked strong people around him. Subconsciously, everyone was not surprised.

This was the second time he had entered the Holy Tower. Luka was already familiar with the path.

It was still that magical room that had been cut into a multi-dimensional space. The Saint was actually busy catching a ferret.

Luka stared at the galaxy-like three thousand silver threads. He remembered the Demon Ancestor’s bald head and couldn’t help but shed a tear of sympathy for the other party.

He muttered softly, “I wonder if the Human Ancestor has a lot of hair?”

Giving up on catching the ferret, the Saint sat by the chessboard as usual in a breath’s time, “A lot. Are you curious about this because the Demon Ancestor you saw was bald?”

Luka’s eyes widened. He could even guess this?

The Saint: “In the few remaining historical records of the Human Ancestor, he described his hair in great detail. I guess he was secretly satirizing someone.”

His smile was as gentle as ever. He did not ask about Quill Pen’s identity and invited them to sit down.

Just as Luka was about to sit down, he suddenly saw the ferret extend its paw. On it was a beautiful gem.

It gestured with its other paw, as if teasing a child, teasing Luka. The meaning was that if he caught it, the gem would be his.

Luka didn’t know how to respond.

The Saint: “Don’t bother. To catch this ferret, you need at least the spatial skills of the Demon King.”

Hearing this, Luka’s competitive spirit was aroused. He rolled up his sleeves, “I’ll try.”

The Saint tacitly agreed.

After walking less than a meter, Luka felt a 360-degree immersive feeling.

He forced himself to concentrate, cast a clear-sighted spell, and tried his best to step on the connection points of space with each step.

Seeing that Luka had successfully walked three meters, the Saint was a little surprised.

Quill Pen narrowed his eyes. Even at his peak, he had to stop with every step to dispel the discomfort of spatial jumping.

“What an enviable talent,” the Saint sighed softly. “Your tolerance for space is the strongest I have ever seen.”

There was only a thin line connecting the spaces. The sound transmission was a bit distorted.

Luka’s hearing was good. Hearing this, he was baffled.

What are you talking about?

He even got dizzy using a teleportation array.

As if knowing what he was thinking, Quill Pen shook his head, “The teleportation array itself has many flaws.”

Everyone would get dizzy using it. It’s just that the strong could resist it with their strength.

Luka thought about it and didn’t find it too strange. After all, he had experienced time travel once. Without some tolerance, he would have long since shattered.

Thinking of this, he was suddenly full of confidence and accelerated his pace, vowing to catch the ferret.

Step by step, Luka finally got behind the display cabinet. Just when it seemed he was about to succeed, the ferret suddenly threw the gem. Luka subconsciously went to catch it, and then the ferret ran away.

Luka’s eyelid twitched.

People really shouldn’t be greedy. His damn conditioned reflex.

The Saint’s unkind laughter came from the chessboard.

The ferret jumped back and patted his head.

Luka pursed his lips and walked over to sit down. He saw Quill Pen sitting quietly on the side, a smile in his eyes as well.

As his gaze swept over the chessboard, he remembered what Rio had said. How could the heavens and the earth and all things be calculated by a single game of chess?

The Saint asked with a smile, “Do you know what I pursue in chess?”

Luka: “Winning.”

The Saint shook his head, “Silly child, of course it’s that everyone doesn’t flip the chessboard.”

Otherwise, how could he have a good life?

Luka: “…”

You have truly mastered the essence of work.

“The hunt just ended, and you rushed to see me. It seems you have something urgent.”

Luka put away his somewhat unrestrained attitude from before, his gaze became serious, and he cut to the chase.

“I want to build a network.”

A good start was important. He threw out an unfamiliar word. After making sure the Saint was interested, he began to explain.

Luka first briefly explained the meaning of the network.

To successfully build a network, there must be a practical point. The dragon race had a small population and did not like to communicate with the outside world. The demon race was still in internal strife. The human race was the best choice.

In terms of creativity and inclusiveness, the human race far surpassed other races.

When Luka went on to explain the principles of the network in detail, the Saint did not speak, but his gaze had long since focused on Luka himself from the chessboard, falling into thought from time to time.

On the side, although Quill Pen had heard it once, he still listened with great interest.

It was only when Luka was halfway through his speech that the Saint would ask a couple of questions from time to time.

The ferret was not making a fuss now and was lying quietly on the side.

This exchange lasted for nearly an hour.

When it ended, the Saint’s tone was not the same as usual. After clapping his hands in admiration, he asked, “Such a good idea, you just told me like this. Don’t you think it’s a pity?”

He could foresee the value behind the network. The existing teleportation arrays and communication stones all had natural flaws. The network Luka spoke of could play a huge role in information transmission.

Most importantly, everyone could speak freely on it.

His intuition told the Saint that this was very important, but he hadn’t had time to think about the specific reasons since he had just heard this concept.

“I also borrowed the idea from a book. Besides…”

Luka said word by word, “I don’t want to work hard anymore.”

“…”

Actually, Luka had already thought about it deeply.

During the development of the network, it was impossible to keep it completely secret. Persuading an astrologer to divine for him was also a difficult matter.

Telling the Saint could perfectly solve all problems.

Anyway, he didn’t care who ultimately controlled the network. Luka was just waiting for the platform to be built to cultivate fans and absorb faith.

To build such a large platform by himself, who knew how long it would take.

Now that things had come to this, the Saint guessed Luka’s purpose for coming this time.

He took this matter very seriously and directly tore open a space crack:

“Come on, let’s go see the astrologer.”

The observatory was the tallest and most historic building in the entire Holy City besides the Holy Tower. The four walls were covered with mysterious star charts, and over ten thousand lightning rods were inserted on them.

Throughout the year, a large number of crows and white doves always hovered in the air at the same time.

The access control here was even stricter than that of the Holy Tower. Even high-level humans could only enter with an invitation from the master of the observatory.

At this moment, three figures emerged one after another from the space crack. The Saint directly said in a loud voice, “Old fellow, I’ve brought you an interesting person to see.”

After a long while, a hoarse voice came from inside, “Come in.”

The room was even colder.

The old man sitting cross-legged on the astrolabe had a graying beard, his hat was askew, and the color of his star robe was not the traditional black or white, but a dazzling array of colors.

“Fate blesses you. Your Excellency the Saint’s demeanor is as ever.”

“As ever” meant that there would not be too many changes in the short term. Only turmoil could breed infinite possibilities. Ordinary strong people would easily be disappointed after hearing this.

But the old man saw satisfaction on the Saint’s face.

The fine lines at the corner of his eyes twitched. Sure enough, he was still maintaining his usual pursuit of leisure.

The Saint got straight to the point, “Help him divine something.”

The old man’s gaze shifted and briefly lingered on Quill Pen. A long-lost doubt appeared in his eyes, “Strange, I can’t see your past.”

When he looked at Luka and carefully examined him, he said, “I can’t see your future clearly.”

Luka: “…”

Hearing a word from you is better than hearing a word from you. Are you sure you’re not a fraud?

__

Author’s note:

Luka’s Diary Guide:
Daily question, has the Demon King given birth?
The Demon Ancestor passed by and left a ‘like.’
…
Making some foreshadowing for the Tree of Life and space. The new map will not be set in the human domain. The astrologer will randomly drop fifty small red envelopes~