Occluan Plane, Beast God Continent, within the imperial palace gardens of "Lionheart City," capital of the Snow Lion Empire.
On a flat stretch of green lawn, Lin Lei sat cross-legged in meditation, Bei Bei beside him. Both Lin Lei and Bei Bei possessed at least a "Divine Domain," allowing them to easily distort the light in their vicinity so that the palace maids and guards in the distance couldn't see them at all.
They had arrived in Lionheart City a full day ago, and throughout that entire day, Lin Lei had kept his divine sense spread out, searching with all his might.
Lin Lei opened his eyes.
"Boss, did you find anything?" Bei Bei asked quickly.
Lin Lei shook his head slightly. "No. The entire capital, Lionheart City, has a population of nearly ten million. Aside from some young adolescents and young magical beasts I skipped, I've probed every living being. But none of them have a spatial ring hidden inside their bodies." Brodie had come over thirty years ago, so even if a spatial ring was hidden, it wouldn't be inside any young person.
"This really is difficult," Bei Bei grumbled with a frown. "The other eight Grand Completions have long since ordered their Highgod subordinates to turn Lionheart City upside down. But after all this time, there's still nothing. With all those people, they've probably searched the entire city by now."
Lin Lei nodded slightly.
"Boss, the Occluan Plane's soil and deep seas have all been searched already. And this plane is merely a material plane — very few people have spatial rings. The eight Grand Completions have already had their subordinates check every single one who did," Bei Bei huffed in dissatisfaction. "It seems like Brodie really did it that way."
There was no other possibility.
There was only one possibility — the Red Diamond Crystal was stored inside a spatial ring, which had then been placed inside some creature's body.
Unfortunately, the Occluan Plane's population was far too vast — eighty quadrillion people, and that was just humans. There were also elves, gnomes, and other races. And the magical beasts across land, sky, and even the deep seas — their numbers were even more staggering. In terms of raw numbers, magical beasts far surpassed humans.
With Lin Lei's powerful soul, and being careful not to harm the souls of those he examined, it still took him a full day to probe nearly ten million people.
His speed alone was absolutely equivalent to several hundred or even a thousand ordinary Highgods searching.
Nearly ten million people had taken Lin Lei one full day.
And eighty quadrillion people — how long would that take? Not to mention the even greater number of magical beasts.
That was an astronomical figure!
This was why over ten thousand Highgods, along with the eight Grand Completions, plus Lin Lei and Bei Bei, had spent months searching without finding the Red Diamond Crystal. If this had been a plane like the Yulan Continent, this large group would probably have searched it all in ten days to half a month.
"That bastard Brodie chose this Occluan Plane on purpose," Bei Bei snorted.
"Be patient. If we can't find it, no one else can either." Lin Lei kept his divine sense covering the entire plane at all times. "The moment they find it, I'll sense it immediately."
"Mm." Bei Bei asked curiously, "Boss, then what do you think — that Brodie left that message and had the Goddess of Light pass it to us, with just the three words 'Lionheart City.' What does it mean? Boss, I have a feeling... wherever the Red Diamond Crystal is hidden, it must be connected to that message."
Lin Lei furrowed his brow. "Brodie wouldn't have left that message just to toy with us out of boredom. Those three words 'Lionheart City' must conceal some secret, and that secret would point the way to the Red Diamond Crystal's hiding place. But what exactly do those three words mean?"
Many powerful figures, including Lin Lei, upon discovering the three words "Lionheart City," had assumed the Red Diamond Crystal was hidden somewhere within Lionheart City.
But now, after searching, they'd found that wasn't the case.
"Bei Bei, let's go. We'll check the library at the Lionheart Magic & Martial Arts Academy — look for records about Lionheart City. Perhaps we'll find something." Lin Lei stood up.
"Right! Lionheart City is tied to those secrets. Maybe there are records in those books." Bei Bei was delighted.
Lin Lei and Bei Bei moved and vanished from the palace in an instant.
While Lin Lei and Bei Bei headed toward the Lionheart Magic & Martial Arts Academy, in a lavish mansion within Lionheart City, Clementine and his subordinates had already moved in.
"My Lord, the entire Lionheart City has been thoroughly searched. Not a single person or magical beast has a spatial ring inside their body, let alone the Red Diamond Crystal," a silver-haired young man said with a bow. Even with several hundred Highgods searching, their speed was merely comparable to Lin Lei alone.
"Leave," Clementine said coolly.
"Yes." The silver-haired young man departed respectfully, leaving Clementine alone in the courtyard.
It wasn't just Lin Lei who was thinking — Clementine was as well. "That piece of paper had only the three words 'Lionheart City,' with nothing else. What exactly do those three words mean?" Clementine's gaze flashed, and he immediately drew upon his power as the Main God of Light!
His powerful divine sense instantly spread outward, crossing the Beast God Continent, traversing the ocean, until it covered the Misty Continent.
"Do you know what those three words 'Lionheart City' on that paper truly mean?" Clementine transmitted his voice.
Far away in the Misty Continent's Temple of Light, the Goddess of Light's heart trembled, and she quickly replied, "My Lord, I don't actually know the true meaning of those three words 'Lionheart City' on that paper."