Chapter 14 — Beyond the Milky Way: The Miner Who Became a God of War

In the days preparing for the fifth round, Bốc Vấn Sơn devoted all of his rare free time to continuing to decode the remaining data from Tinh Nhược's storage device, while also silently asking for more information about the Antiquities Archive from old relationships in the Abyss Arena's logistics staff network.

One evening, he came to the abandoned maintenance room with an unusually excited expression, clutching a stack of papers printed out from decoded data. "I've found something important," he said as soon as he entered, his voice shaking with emotion.

Lam Vũ and Tinh Nhược quickly gathered around him, their eyes full of expectation. "What did you find?" Lam Vũ asked.

Bốc Vấn Sơn spread the stack of papers on an old table, pointing to the completely decoded text. "This is part of the research diary of a scholar who worked in the Antiquities Archive many years ago, before he mysteriously disappeared. In it, he recorded details about an artifact called the Blood Seal of War God."

"What is its real use?" Tinh Nhược asked, her voice holding her breath.

"According to this scholar's notes," Bo Vấn Sơn continued, his voice low and heavy, "The War God Blood Seal is an ancient artifact, capable of temporarily 'borrowing' the power of the War God Force from those with real War God blood living anywhere in the galaxy, regardless of distance. But the price for that borrowing is the life force of the person being drained, gradually depleting their body."

Lam Vũ felt a cold current run down his spine when he heard those words. "So that means... every time Kha Bạch Vân uses the Blood Seal, he is draining the life force of someone with the blood of a true God of War somewhere?"

"Exactly," Bốc Vấn Sơn confirmed, his voice filled with indignation. "And that is why Kha Bạch Vân has maintained a youthful appearance for decades, despite his much older real age. He has no true Power of the War God of his own — he is only appropriating the strength and vitality of others to maintain his own false power."

"That's why he needs to constantly hunt down and eliminate those with true War God blood," Tinh Nhược said, piecing together the pieces of information. "Not only because they threaten the legitimacy of the Spirit Bone system, but because they are the source of power he needs to maintain his false existence."

"And that's also the reason why Tà Huy village was massacred," Lam Vũ said, his voice choked with indignation. "Not just to take over the Blood Seal, but to eliminate all potential sources of power that could oppose him, or worse, so that no one will discover this secret." Bốc Vấn Sơn nodded heavily. "The scholar who wrote this diary also noted that he had discovered the secret of the true origin of Kha Baiyun's power, and shortly thereafter he disappeared without a trace. I believe he was murdered by the Holy See to silence him."

All three people were silent for a long moment, the weight of the newly revealed truth weighing heavily on the atmosphere of the room. The leader of the entire galaxy, who was worshiped by billions of lives as the embodiment of godhood, turned out to be an impostor, living by usurping the lives and powers of innocent people.

"We have this document in hand," Tinh Nhược said, her voice filled with determination. "This is evidence that is enough to overthrow the entire legitimacy of the Holy See of Light, if we can publicize it widely at the right time."

“But we need more physical evidence,” Bốc Vấn Sơn warned. "The diary of a missing scholar could easily be denied by the Holy See, calling it a forged document or the product of a madman. We need to find the Blood Seal of the War God with our own eyes, or at least direct evidence of how it was and is being used."

Lam Vũ clenched his fists, a new and stronger determination than ever flared up in his heart. "Then I will enter the Archives of Antiquities, even if it costs me my life. I will find the Blood Seal, and will reveal this entire truth to the entire galaxy."

"We will do it together," Tinh Nhược affirmed, holding his hand tightly. "But you must follow the plan, step by step. If you continue to win in the Great Trial and reach the final round, your chances of reaching the Holy See's power center will be even greater."

That night, as the three parted ways, each carried a new burden — not just the duty to survive and prevail, but also the responsibility to expose one of the darkest secrets ever to exist in the history of the galaxy. Lam Vũ returned to the cabin, his mind reeling with the image of Kha Bạch Vân - the man who massacred an entire village, silently drained the life force of countless innocent people for decades, just to maintain a false cover of eternity and divinity.

Before leaving the maintenance room that night, Bốc Vấn Sơn also shared one more detail that made both Lam Vũ and Tinh Nhược speechless. “The scholar's diary mentions one more thing,” he said, his voice low and cautious. "He wrote that the Blood Seal cannot be used arbitrarily — each time the user borrows power, the user must determine the relative position of the target War God's blood. That means, since you appeared at the Great Trial and revealed your power, Kha Bạch Vân has likely determined that you are the next potential source of power he wants to usurp."

"You mean he not only wants to kill me to quell the threat," Lam Vũ said, his voice cold with terror, "but also wants to use the Blood Seal itself to drain my life force, turning me into the next victim like the people in Tà Huy Village?"

"That is the possibility I feared the most during the past sleepless nights," Bốc Vấn Sơn admitted, his voice trembling with both emotion and barely concealed fear. "If that's true, you not only face the risk of being directly assassinated like Kỳ Hàn Ngự tried to do in the icy maze, but also face a much more terrible risk — being captured alive to serve a cruel purpose, making yourself the next victim of the artifact that has claimed an entire village."

Tinh Nhược clenched her hands into fists, her eyes glowing with cold indignation. "All the more reason why we must quickly find the Blood Seal before he has a chance to use it again. If we can destroy or neutralize that artifact, we will not only save Lam Vũ, but also save countless other people of War God blood who are being hunted throughout the galaxy without even knowing it."

"But is it really safe to destroy it?" Lam Vũ asked, his voice full of concern. "If the Blood Seal is holding back some of the life force of the previous victims, who knows, perhaps destroying it hastily will cause some unforeseeable harm to those people, instead of freeing them?"

Bốc Vấn Sơn pondered for a long time before responding. "I don't know for sure, the scholar's diary doesn't mention that aspect in detail. This is a question we need to find an answer to before taking action, perhaps right at the Antiquities Archives, where more complete research documents may be kept." The three of them continued to discuss until late at night, considering each next step with the utmost caution possible, fully aware that any small mistake during this sensitive period could lead to irreversible consequences - not only for themselves, but also for other anonymous victims who are silently suffering the consequences of Kha Bạch Vân's bottomless ambition for power, scattered everywhere in this vast galaxy.

He looked down at his hands, clearly feeling the true War God's blood flowing through his veins, a legacy that his ancestors had paid with their lives to preserve. He promised himself that no matter how many dangers he faced, no matter how dark and full of blood and tears the road ahead was, he would never let that legacy, and the silent sacrifices of those who fell in Tà Huy Village in the past, become meaningless under the cruel hands of a divine impostor.