CHAPTER 351: CHAPTER351-FLESHHEART’S DECISION

Odin had never imagined this outcome.

In his eyes, the Human Emperor’s trial was something virtually impossible to complete. Even for him as a former Emperor, the difficulty had always been insurmountable.

And yet, in Daniel’s eyes, the same trial appeared almost laughably simple. With just a single skill, Daniel had cleared what Odin once thought unconquerable.

Odin had not even seen clearly how Daniel managed it. To his vision, Daniel’s spell had seemed instantaneous, cast without delay, as though it were a reflex.

In the blink of an eye, Daniel had unleashed Meteor Arrow Rain. Countless flaming arrows had fallen like a storm, annihilating every enemy before Odin could even process the sequence of events.

"This... this is really the level of strength the human race can produce?" Odin thought in stunned silence. His heart pounded with disbelief.

At this very moment, only fifteen seconds had passed since Daniel stepped into the Human Emperor’s trial.

Fifteen seconds—and ten of those had been spent conversing with Odin himself.

That meant Daniel had required no more than five seconds in total to clear the third stage of the trial.

Five seconds!

Inside the trial space, Daniel stood calm and composed, patiently awaiting the beginning of the fourth stage.

But just then, he suddenly froze for a moment. His instincts stirred.

Without hesitation, Daniel opened his personal interface, pulling up the list of skills he currently possessed.

And there it was—something new.

The ability he had long relied upon, Time Stream, had changed.

A new entry had appeared beneath its description.

[New Trait: Dark Court][Effect: Can confine the target within the Dark Court, erasing every trace of their existence.]

Daniel blinked, then chuckled softly.

"Well now... thank you, Mother Nature, for such an unexpected gift."

He scratched the back of his head, marveling at the discovery. This was something he had not anticipated in the slightest. Today had brought him an unexpected harvest.

For Daniel at this stage, refraining from action was often more intimidating than striking.

So long as he did not move personally, his presence alone—combined with his vast Mental Plane and the reputation he had already built—was enough to make enemies hesitate. They would second-guess themselves, fearing what he might do.

But if he truly moved to act, the consequences would be far more severe. Victory would no longer be clean or effortless.

As for Fleshheart and his companions, Daniel did not concern himself too much with whether they would carry out the plans they had discussed.

After all, worrying would change nothing.

His earlier actions had been intended less as confrontation and more as deterrence. At the very least, when those beings proceeded with their schemes, they would be forced to carry some seed of doubt in their hearts.

Meanwhile, one of Daniel’s avatars remained stationed on the Flesh Continent, using Psychic Perception to subtly influence the deeper thoughts of Fleshheart and the others.

The influence was not strong, of course, but as they had not yet reached true godhood, his power still found purchase.

Daniel’s gaze returned to the new trait on Time Stream.

The Dark Court fascinated him.

What caught his attention most was its wording. Unlike most of his abilities, this one did not explicitly state that it was ineffective against gods.

Did that mean... could the Dark Court actually affect gods?

The thought intrigued him immensely.

Determined to test it, Daniel immediately directed his avatar on the Flesh Continent to appear before Edward once more.

Without hesitation, he invoked the Dark Court.

A massive suction force manifested around Edward, engulfing him entirely.

Edward’s expression turned grim, his eyes flashing with alarm. He instantly unleashed his full power in resistance.

The clash lasted nearly five minutes.

And at last, Edward—though a formidable demigod—was completely confined within the Dark Court.

Encouraged by the result, Daniel next attempted to test it against Fleshheart.

But the outcome was not what he expected.

Fleshheart, a so-called "Fake God," proved vastly more difficult to restrain. It required nearly two full hours of unrelenting pull before any effect manifested.

And even then, Daniel discovered he could not fully contain Fleshheart at all.

The reason was simple: Fleshheart’s ability to create endless avatars of himself. No matter how the Dark Court pulled, it could only sap his strength little by little. A complete imprisonment remained impossible.

Clicking his fingers, Daniel reset the experiment by using Time Stream, rewinding to the moment before the trial.

From this test, the conclusions became clear:

The Dark Court was effective against demigod-level opponents.

Against Fake Gods, it was extremely difficult and inefficient.

As for true Demigods of higher rank—or gods themselves—the time and power required might be unimaginable.

But then another thought struck Daniel.

Perhaps the Dark Court did not need to be used purely on enemies.

If he placed allies inside, their existence would be erased temporarily from the world’s memory.

In that state, they could not be targeted, harmed, or even detected.

And later, at a decisive moment, he could release them back into reality.

What would happen if, in a single instant, he unleashed a tide of demigods and Fake Gods onto a battlefield where the enemy thought them erased forever?

Would that not instantly overturn the balance of an entire war?

Daniel’s eyes gleamed at the possibilities.

Back on the Flesh Continent, Edward reeled from what had just occurred.

One moment, Daniel had appeared before him. The next, Daniel vanished.

Edward stood frozen, confusion filling his mind.

What had Daniel just done?

But soon, an uneasy suspicion crept into his heart. He glanced down at the cubic artifact in his hand—the forbidden item he had long cherished.

Then horror struck.

The artifact was still in his hand... but its forbidden power had disappeared without a trace.

The cube remained, but it had been stripped bare, reduced to nothing more than an ordinary trinket.

The forbidden essence that had once made it invaluable was gone.

Edward’s expression darkened immediately. His prized possession, the core of his confidence, had become worthless.

Anger surged in his chest, sharp and suffocating. Yet outwardly, he forced his face to remain calm.

Across from him, neither Fleshheart nor Dean noticed the change.

They only faintly sensed that Edward’s mood had shifted somehow.

"Edward, my friend," Fleshheart’s voice rippled in psychic waves, his tentacles quivering slightly. "Are you... unhappy?"

Edward’s eye twitched involuntarily.

He forced a smile, carefully sliding the powerless cube into his dimensional pack, and waved dismissively.

"It’s nothing," he said lightly. "I was merely surprised at how elusive Daniel is. It seems the stories about him were not exaggerated at all."

Though he masked it well, the truth in his heart was far different.

Resentment and hatred churned deep within him.

But he would not reveal his loss. Not now.

For among the trio, Edward was in fact the weakest.

Without the forbidden item’s strength, he had little leverage left to stand as their equal. If Fleshheart and Dean learned of his disadvantage, they might discard him altogether.

Thus, he buried his fury, choosing instead to conceal his disadvantage beneath a facade of composure.

Dean, sitting nearby, narrowed his eyes. He remained silent for a while, then finally spoke with a grave tone.

"You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? Our plan is no longer a secret. Daniel clearly knows."

Edward nodded slowly, while Fleshheart’s tentacles trembled in irritation, his psychic presence radiating wrath.

Dean continued after a pause.

"But think about it. Have you not realized that our relationship with Daniel was always adversarial? It was inevitable from the start."

His gaze hardened.

"Daniel’s existence itself is a danger to us."

At those words, Fleshheart released a surge of emotion through his mind power. His voice carried a chilling edge.

"I will never give up," Fleshheart hissed. "The wounds upon my body were inflicted by Daniel himself! I cannot and will not allow him to continue growing stronger."

His bloody tendrils writhed violently, a physical display of his hatred.

Thus, even as the trial continued elsewhere, a grim resolution was forming among Daniel’s enemies.

The former allies, bound by fragile trust and selfish agendas, now looked upon Daniel not merely as a threat—but as the enemy they could not afford to leave unchecked.