Eternal Villain: I can enslave Reality!

Xu Shan sat on the throne, attentively listening to Xinren's explanation. However, with each passing moment, his headache only seemed to intensify with the information he was receiving.

He was informed that although the Book of Truth may not possess substantial strength on its own, its ability to empower its possessor ranked among the top three among the seven books.

The Book of Truth allowed the host to see through the eternal truth, hidden in the depths of the unknown.

The Book of Truth held knowledge of a vast array of secrets regarding the world, including the enigmatic locations of valuable treasures of the highest order.

The reason it was called most useful for a person was because the cost of using the Book wasn't as significant. Unlike the other books, the Book of Truth didn't ask for anything in return. Instead, the Book had a playful nature.

It didn't directly tell the host anything, other than giving some brief descriptions about the things that the host wanted to find out. However, it did occasionally give out tasks to the host to complete in exchange for information about the whereabouts of certain mysterious treasures and skills in the world.

All the tasks that the Book of Truth gave were related to the host's nature and needs.

'Isn't that just a system?' Xu Shan frowned, after hearing the explanation. 'Don't tell me the first writer of the System Genre had the Book of Truth?'

The System he encountered was similar to what he had read about on earth, except for one distinct feature. Unlike what he expected, the Book did not immediately materialize rewards. Instead, it guided the host towards the promised reward but only after successfully completing the assigned task.

"For the Book of Truth to be so playful, let me guess... It has a Book Spirit?" he asked.

Strangely enough, to his surprise, Xinren shook her head. "Only two of the seven Books have a Book Spirit. Those two are also the most dangerous. I really hope that they aren't in this world..."

'And here I was, worried about what kind of Book he had... If it's the Book of Truth, then it can't make him stronger out of thin air. There's no need to go the extra step with this one...'

Xu Shan opened his eyes, glancing at Ye Han. He called Ye Han closer, telling him to cast a sound proof barrier.

Ye Han felt a hint of curiosity, yet he followed the instructions and erected a protective shield around them, ensuring that their conversation couldn't be overheard by anyone outside the barrier.

"The young man in white who stands in the middle of the hall... Can you see through his strength?" Xu Shan asked.

Ye Han didn't even need to look back. He had already seen through everyone when he stepped in the main hall.

The youthful man had caught his eye, despite his unkempt appearance. He was merely in his early twenties, yet had already ascended to the pinnacle of the Celestial General Realm. His strength was comparable to that of the Saintess of Celestial Palace. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑒𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Despite Ji Yang's attempt to conceal his Celestial Aura using a valuable treasure, it proved to be ineffective in front of Ye Han. The ploy may have successfully deceived the King and others present, but not him.

"Peak of Celestial General..." He responded.

"Hmm?" Xu Shan was slightly intrigued. Even though this was quite powerful in itself, but when one had a cheat like a System, this was nothing. It made him feel that Ji Yang only found the Book of Truth recently.

Xu Shan had learned from his past mistakes and was more cautious this time. He didn't want to repeat what had happened with Qin Ye. Despite Ji Yang being much weaker than Ye Han, Xu Shan knew that Qin Ye was also no match for his own father yet he had escaped.

He was uncertain if the young man possessed any means of escape. He gave some distinct directions to Ye Han before telling him to cancel the barrier.

Ye Han was quite intrigued but he didn't ask too many questions.

*****

While Xu Shan had already made up his mind, Ji Yang also finished reading through his emergency Quest which made his face even uglier.

[Warning: Extreme Threat to life detected! The chances of survival are close to none!Emergency Quest has been issued]

[Quest Title: Bluffmaster]

[Quest Details: Your secret is exposed and you've been targeted. Escaping is impossible. Please bluff your way out of the situation and survive]

[Reward: Emperor's Sword]

Even though the Book of Truth was special, even it couldn't create something out of nothing. It was as if even it couldn't find a way out of this situation, not expecting something like that to happen.

On Xu Shan's instructions, the space was already sealed around the palace. But even if the space wasn't sealed, there was no way Ji Yang would escape since he didn't really have a treasure that could help him escape from the pursuit of such powerful people.

There were many escape treasures in this world. However, Ji Yang wasn't strong enough to reach them. That was also why the Book of Truth didn't give him any such quest in the past. And now, it was too late.

Ji Yang found himself at a loss as he scratched the back of his head in frustration. It was clear to him that the individual mentioned by the system was none other than Xu Shan. Yet, he couldn't come up with a plan to deceive Xu Shan if the latter already had knowledge of his secret.

"It looks like you already know about me." Ji Yang could only take a step forward, even though he was slightly scared. He had to fool Xu Shan at any cost!

In the silent hall, only his voice could be heard.

"Similarly, I know everything about you." He bluffed. "You can try killing me, but that would only force my hand to use something that I really don't want to. It'll end up hurting all of us. So if you don't want to die with me, you better stop."

He had become quite adept at deception, having had many occasions to utilize this skill before. He owed much to the Book of Truth, which had granted him this skill in the past as a reward. He had become virtually impervious to discovery, as his lies were so artfully crafted.

Xu Shan's response was delayed, but his eyes revealed interest. He had anticipated the scrutiny of the Book of Truth, as it possessed the ability to penetrate into the depths of one's being.

However, he found it difficult to discern the truthfulness of Ji Yang's words, even though they appeared to be believable. Despite being threatened, Xu Shan remained unfazed and didn't show any signs of concern.

Instead, he only showed an amused smirk. "Fool."