CHAPTER 159 THE COMPLICATED THINGS (PART ONE)

Darren let his eyes rest upon the map again. He couldn't help it. Seeing all of the forces in the world

laid out in front of him on a small piece of paper completely fascinated him.

Looking at the map, he could easily identify the area he was in at the moment. The map not only

indicated the position of each force, but also specified the perimeters of the territory that each force

owned, including the Northern, the Eastern, and the Western. As he looked closer at the map, Darren

was surprised to see that the map included even the territory occupied by the Grand Realm fighters.

In comparison to all the other areas that had markings, the border region of the map was completely

blank with no labels on it whatsoever. It seemed rather mysterious, so naturally, Darren's passion for

exploring unsolved mysteries was woken up.

"Darren, you can stay here for as long as you like. Actually, I encourage you to do so. The Holy Land is

a good place for you to cultivate. Once you are powerful enough, you may leave this place and search

for better cultivation resources. You can rest assured that no one will harm you during your stay here in

the Holy Land! You have my word," the Holy Lord Diana said to Darren.

"Duly noted, Holy Lord! Thank you so much. I really appreciate your hospitality," Darren uttered in

thanks. Then, Darren started contemplating. There was something that still did not make sense to him.

"There is something I have been wondering about, and I just cannot keep it out of my mind. You said

that the Holy Lands aren't that powerful but they rank high among all the forces in the world for a

particular reason. Do you think you can tell me what that reason is?" Darren inquired. The words the

Holy Lord Diana had said kept running through his mind, and he could no longer keep his curiosity at

bay. Now that they were alone, he took it as an opportunity to ask her about it and finally clear up the

confusion in his mind.

However, his question seemed to make Diana on guard. "All I can tell you is that it has something to do

with the forbidden areas that our eight Holy Lands are guarding. I'm sorry, Darren, but that's all I can

say. I can't give you any more details," she responded carefully.

Although she kept all of the details of the secret to herself, the simple explanation she had just given

was enough to pique Darren's interest even further.

However, he knew there were boundaries and he shouldn't be asking things he wasn't supposed to

know. Truth be told, Darren believed that none of the Holy Lords knew as much about the forbidden

areas as he did. He didn't think they even knew about the existence of the thing named witcher.

As he lost in his thoughts and was reminiscing about his experience of bumping into the witcher last

time, Diana spoke once again in her soft, amiable voice, "I sent for you not only because I wanted to

tell you the truth about Belle or show you the map. I actually have a little reward for you. Considering

your contribution to our land, I will allow you to cultivate in our miraculous lotus for three days. Given

your current state, you might be able to level up by three stages if you try hard," the Holy Lord Diana

offered. The offer would have sent anyone crying out in excitement. However, Darren felt differently

about it.

"I appreciate your kindness, Holy Lord! I truly do. But I don't think I'm in a hurry to upgrade my

cultivation stage at the moment," he said curtly.

Even though Darren had always been very eager to upgrade his skill, he was not going to be hasty and

foolhardy about it this time.

Others might want to upgrade their skills as fast as they possibly could, but Darren knew that he was

different from the others, and the way usually applied well on others would have a different effect on

him.

His body was still in the state of refusing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He could only absorb

the spiritual energy via assimilating, and he knew that cultivating in that lotus would only expedite the

speed of his assimilating spiritual energy without providing him with the strength he needed. Therefore,

it would not be much of a use for him. Speeding up his cultivation that much would very likely backfire

on him and cause some unwanted side effects instead. In the long run, he might experience from

having a vacant, false spiritual energy that might lead to crippling injuries that would affect him for the

rest of his life.

"You ungrateful thing!" the Holy Lord Diana joked while smiling at him. "If you don't want to upgrade

your stage, then I won't push you. But one day, you might find that you lost an invaluable opportunity

today," she added.

Darren grinned absent-mindedly at her. He thought about taking her up on her offer now, but he knew

that there was no point. Perhaps one day, when he really needed some help, that was when he would

take her up on her offer. "If there is nothing else, will it be alright if I take my leave?" Darren said, rising

from his seat.

"Yes, my attendant disciple will see you to the door," Diana replied. She knew quite well what Darren

had been thinking.

She herself, understood that given Darren's current cultivation stage, practicing in the lotus would not

bring him much benefit, so she chose not to persuade him any further. exclusive content.

After leaving Diana's place, the same attendant disciple who had brought him there led him towards

Belle's room.

The moment Belle saw him, her face lit up with joy.

"My dearest brother!" she exclaimed delightfully and rushed to him, her arms stretching out to hug her

brother.

Darren's heart warmed up with love and tenderness upon seeing his little lovely sister. "Belle, how is

your master? I was at the Holy Lord's place, and thought I would swing by in case you wanted to see

me," he said. As he watched Belle's beautiful large eyes gleam with excitement from seeing him,

Darren had the urge to hold out his hand and stroke her silky hair with his fingers lovingly.

Belle grinned joyfully at him and replied, "My master has not fully recovered yet, but don't worry! She

just needs a few more days of proper rest and she will be as healthy as ever." Once their excitement

from seeing the most important person to the world to them had subdued, a confused look came over

Belle's face. "Darren, why did the Holy Lord call you to her palace? What did she want to talk to you

about?" she inquired.

"Nothing in particular, really. Just a few trivial matters. She wanted to check on me and see if I'm feeling

better," Darren said casually, trying to avoid the subject so that he wouldn't say anything about what the

Holy Lord had said about Belle by mistake. Darren smiled faintly. He thought about what Diana had told

him about Belle, and he could not help but feel a complexity of emotions as he watched Belle's

innocent face. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that his family might not be his real

family, and that his sister, whom he had known all his life, would actually be a descendant of an

unusual, exceptional family. Now that he knew that Belle was not his real sister, and that she might

react badly if she knew about her bloodline and the disastrous history of her family, Darren felt a

stabbing pain in his heart. Right now, he did not think Belle would be able to handle such information.

Perhaps, one day she would be ready to find out, but for now, Darren felt that it would be better to keep

the secret so that he could protect her just like he always had.