The Veridian Palace was a monument to the ages, a sprawling expanse of ivory stone and floating gardens that seemed to hum with the residual mana of the Celestine lineage.

Within the heart of this fortress, in a study wreathed in the scent of ancient parchment, King Anohara sat in absolute silence. His physical form was as still as a statue, but behind his closed lids, a cosmic revolution was taking place.

The 9th talent, the Jade Gaze of Bewitchment, had finally settled into the spiritual architecture of his soul. It was no longer a foreign entity; it had become a gear in a grand, divine machine.

“Nine talents,” Anohara whispered, his voice vibrating with a low, harmonic resonance. “Let the stabilization complete. Once the foundation is solid, I will seek the tenth.”

A small, predatory smile touched his lips as he summoned his system panel. The blue holographic screen flickered to life, displaying the terrifying reality of his evolution.

[Talent Name: All-Seeing King]

[Grade: SS-Grade]

[Description: A unique, composite talent forged through the Synthesis of Ten distinct laws.]

[Core Ability: The Infinite Iris : An ever-growing ocular law that expands in direct proportion to the user’s experience. As User observes the world, his eyes learn. They grow in distance, clarity, and the ability to perceive hidden energies. The more the user sees, the more the user can see, creating a perpetual cycle of visual ascension.]

[Eagle’s Eye : Grants the perspective of a celestial predator. The user can shift his vision to a Bird’s Eye view, observing the terrain from high above. The base sight distance is magnified by a factor of ten.]

[Truth-Seeker’s Pupil : The ultimate lie-detector. Any attempt to deceive the user’s gaze, whether through verbal manipulation, physical shapeshifting, or the masking of true intent, manifests as a crimson distortion in user’s vision.]

[Structural Deconstruction : Bypasses the Skin of reality. The user perceives the inherent flaws and stress points in any object, formation, or soul-knot within his line of sight. To the user, every invincible shield has a crack.]

[Multi-Threaded Sight : Allows the user to simultaneously observe and analyze 1,000 distinct visual feeds without mental fatigue.]

[Time-Stasis Sight : A high-cost temporal law. The user can decelerate the perception of time within his sight. At the cost of massive mana consumption, the user can turn a lightning-fast strike into a crawling snail’s pace.]

[Distance Distortion : The bridge of the void. By bending the spatial laws between the pupils and the target, the user can look through any distant point in the multiverse as if he were standing there. Greater distances require greater mana output.]

[Aura Detection : Sensory mapping. Detects the faint traces of pressure, bloodlust, and elemental aura within the area of base sight, making stealth an impossibility against the user.]

[Mind-Controlling Gaze : Allows The user to bridge the gap between sight and soul. By locking eyes with a being, the user can dive into their memories, uncover their deepest motives, and, if user’s will is stronger, command their very body and soul.]

[Jade Gaze of Bewitchment : A passive and active law that bends the minds of those who look upon the user. Even without direct eye contact, User’s presence emits a Charm-Aura that subtly aligns the thoughts of those around him to his will. This influence is contagious; those bewitched will project the same aura when speaking of the user to others.]

“Too much to scroll through,” Anohara said with a dry, hollow chuckle.

He leaned back in his chair, the golden light of the afternoon sun playing across his face.

These nine talents weren’t merely a collection of random powers; they were the result of a lifelong obsession.

Anohara was not a traditional warrior. He didn’t crave the heaviest sword or the most destructive spell. He craved Information.

His innate talent, the Infinite Iris, had been the spark. From birth, he could see things others ignored, the names of spirits, the faint glow of auras.

But the day he received permission from the God Emperor to use the fusion ability of Demigod Mire, the path to godhood had opened wide.

He had started with Eagle’s Eye, using it to look further than any mortal, which in turn fed his innate talent, forcing it to grow at a faster pace.

Then, inspired by how Thea maintained the harmony of the City of Gods by seeing the truth behind every crime, he hunted the Truth-Seeker’s Pupil. It was this eye that allowed him to purge the corruption from Veridia, turning it into the heart of his empire.

Knowing he lacked the raw physical power of his ancestors like Anaske, he sought Structural Deconstruction to ensure that any blow he did strike would be fatal.

But the growth was still too slow. He felt like a man trying to empty an ocean with a spoon.

That was when he found Multi-Threaded Sight. Suddenly, he wasn’t looking at one thing; he was looking at a thousand. By observing a thousand places simultaneously, his innate talent processed information at an exponential rate.

Combined with Time-Stasis Sight, he could slow down the most complex mana-flows to study them, effectively compressing years of learning into seconds.

To handle the logistics of an empire spanning 20 billion worlds, he integrated Distance Distortion, allowing him to visit any world in a heartbeat.

And as the crime rates spiked following the withdrawal of the Demigods, he captured two high-tier criminals, stripping them of Aura Detection and Mind-Controlling Gaze.

Finally, there was Esmira. Her Jade Gaze was the crown jewel of his current collection, adding a layer of mass influence that turned his empire into a living, breathing cult of loyalty.

“Heh… I still have a long way to go,” Anohara whispered, closing his eyes.

“This list is merely the preface. The real story begins when I can fuse thousands of such powerful talents into one.”

Just as Anohara was about to close his eyes to look around his territory, A hurried, frantic knocking shattered the silence of the study.

“Enter, Minister Xavius,” Anohara said, his eyes still closed. Through his Aura Detection, he could feel the frantic beating of the Elf’s heart and the scent of adrenaline.

The doors burst open. Xavius, the High Minister of Veridia, stumbled in, his elven ears twitching with an agitation that bordered on shock.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty… something cataclysmic has happened in the Jade Empire!” Xavius gasped, gripping the edge of a mahogany table just to stay upright.

“Oh? Do tell,” Anohara said casually, his voice like silk.

“The Jade Empress… Esmira… she’s back! She emerged from her seclusion not few minutes ago!” Xavius said, forgetting to breathe for a second.

“And the first thing she did was call a global press conference on the Forum. She… she confessed, Sire! She admitted to manipulating the entire news cycle, fabricating the scandals against the Cosmic Empire, and purposefully sowing discord because she feared our growth!”

Anohara finally opened his eyes. His pupils remained calm, but a flicker of amusement danced within them.

“And that wasn’t all,” Xavius continued, his voice cracking. “She publicly issued a formal apology to you, Sire. And then… she announced that the entire Jade Empire, all hundred thousand worlds, is petitioning to join the Cosmic Empire as a vassal Empire. She wants to come under our flag!”

Xavius nearly choked on his own spit as he delivered the news. To the Minister, this was a miracle, a victory won without a single drop of blood.

“What a good girl she is,” Anohara said with a small, knowing smile. “I suppose my nightly discussion left a lasting impression.”

“Sire?” Xavius blinked, confused.

“Nothing, Xavius. It’s a brilliant move on her part,” Anohara mused.

“By confessing, she takes the wind out of the sails of every other independent world. After her admission, the billions of lifeforms who doubted us will feel ashamed of their gullibility. They will come crawling back to us, seeking forgiveness. We won’t just gain her hundred thousand worlds; we will gain the loyalty of the remaining independent worlds.”

Anohara leaned back, his mind already calculating the influx of merits this would bring. ‘Esmira… you are smarter than I gave you credit for. You realized that being my vassal is safer than being my enemy. You’ve truly begun to focus on your ascension.’

“Welcome to the family, Esmira,” Anohara whispered.

He pulled up his private messaging interface and began to type.

[Message to: Esmira]

[Anohara: “A wise choice, Empress. Your apology is accepted. I look forward to our next consultation. Welcome to the Cosmic Empire.”]

As he sent the message, he felt the resonance of the Jade Gaze within his own eyes vibrate. He was no longer just a King of 20 billion worlds. He was the center of gravity for the entire Inner World.

“Xavius,” Anohara said, standing up. “Prepare the integration teams. We have a lot of new citizens to greet. And tell the forges to double their output, the Jade Empire will need new starships to replace their emerald junk.”

As the Minister bowed and hurried away, Anohara looked out the window. Far away, in the City of Gods, he knew his ancestors were watching.

“Are you watching, Great Grandpa Anaske?” he thought. “Your dream is finally complete. The harvest is finally coming in.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep