# Chapter 20: The Escape
The moment Xìng Huáng accepted the Trial of Absolute Truth, he felt the weight of cosmic attention settling upon him. But in the seconds between acceptance and activation, his Gaming Prodigy talent identified something crucial that everyone else had missed—a brief window of opportunity created by the trial's preparation phase.
HIDDEN INTERFACE: EMERGENCY ANALYSIS
TRIAL ACTIVATION: 47 SECONDS REMAINING
ESCAPE WINDOW: POSSIBLE BUT EXTREMELY RISKY
DIVINE HERITAGE ASSESSMENT: FULL REVELATION UNAVOIDABLE IF TRIAL PROCEEDS
RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION ADVISED
The realization hit him like lightning. The trial would expose everything, but it hadn't begun yet. There was still time to choose a different path—one that preserved his secrets at the cost of abandoning everything he'd built with the Blood Iron Tribe.
"Warlord Grimjaw," he said with careful formality, "before the trial begins, I request permission to make a final statement."
The Diamond-level cultivator's eyes narrowed slightly, but he gestured consent. "Speak quickly. The trial arrays are nearly prepared."
"I am ready to served the Blood Iron Tribe with honor and dedication," Xìng Huáng began, his voice carrying to every corner of the council chamber. "But I will not submit to a trial that questions the authenticity of achievements earned through legitimate struggle and worthy effort."
A murmur of surprise rippled through the assembled council members. This was not the response they had expected.
"Your advancement rate suggests capabilities beyond normal mortal limits," Council Member Thakgor interjected. "If you have nothing to hide, the trial should hold no fear."
"The issue is not fear, but principle," Xìng Huáng replied, his mind racing through escape possibilities even as he spoke. "I earned my cultivation through combat, study, and philosophical alignment with tribal values. Subjecting earned achievement to supernatural scrutiny implies that merit itself is insufficient proof of worthiness."
It was a sophisticated argument that struck directly at Blood Iron philosophy, and he could see several council members nodding unconsciously. But Warlord Grimjaw's expression remained unmoved.
"Pretty words cannot overcome suspicious circumstances," the Warlord declared. "The trial will proceed as—"
Xìng Huáng never heard the rest of the sentence. In that moment, he activated every movement enhancement technique he possessed simultaneously—Blood Seeker mobility skills, spiritual energy circulation patterns, and for the first time since arriving at the stronghold, a carefully controlled burst of divine heritage power.
DIVINE GREED MANIFESTATION: EMERGENCY EXTRACTION
POWER LEVEL: MINIMAL BUT SUFFICIENT
EFFECT: SUPERNATURAL SPEED AND SPATIAL DISPLACEMENT
DURATION: 12 SECONDS
COST: BLOOD MARTIAL REALM ESSENCES
The world slowed around him as divine power flooded his system. Twelve seconds of deity-level enhancement—not enough to fight a Diamond-cultivation Warlord, but more than sufficient to escape a prepared trap.
He moved through the council chamber like a force of nature, his enhanced perception allowing him to navigate between spiritual attacks that followed his sudden movement. Thakgor's combat reflexes were impressive for a Platinum-level cultivator, but against divine-enhanced speed, they might as well have been frozen in place.
The chamber's defensive arrays activated automatically, but they were designed to contain mortals. Divine authority, even partially manifested, operated by different rules entirely.
"STOP HIM!" Warlord Grimjaw's roar shook the entire stronghold, his Diamond-level spiritual pressure erupting in pursuit. But Xìng Huáng was already through the chamber's outer barriers and racing through corridors that suddenly seemed impossibly confining.
DIVINE ENHANCEMENT: 8 SECONDS REMAINING
PURSUIT DETECTED: MULTIPLE HIGH-LEVEL CULTIVATORS
ESCAPE VECTOR: STRONGHOLD PERIMETER BREACH REQUIRED
He crashed through a window in one of the upper towers, his divine-enhanced durability allowing him to survive impacts that would have pulverized his normal physical form. The Crimson Valley spread out below him, no longer a training ground but a battlefield from which he needed immediate extraction.
The landing should have shattered both his legs. Instead, divine power cushioned the impact and converted downward momentum into forward velocity that carried him toward the valley's edge at speeds that defied cultivation physics.
Behind him, the Blood Iron Stronghold erupted into activity as hundreds of hobgoblins responded to their Warlord's emergency summons. Spiritual signatures blazed like stars as senior members activated pursuit techniques that could have tracked him across continents.
But they were tracking a Black Iron - High Blood Seeker, not a partially manifested divine entity.
DIVINE ENHANCEMENT: DEPLETED
NORMAL CAPABILITIES RESTORED
PURSUIT DISTANCE: 2.3 KILOMETERS AND CLOSING
The divine power faded just as he reached the valley's perimeter, leaving him exhausted and spiritually drained but temporarily beyond immediate recapture. His Gaming Prodigy talent immediately began analyzing his tactical situation and available options.
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT:
BLOOD IRON TRIBE: HOSTILE *(Escape confirms suspicions)*
CURRENT LOCATION: WILDERNESS BETWEEN TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES
IMMEDIATE NEEDS: DISTANCE, CONCEALMENT, ALTERNATE SANCTUARY
The realization that he had just made himself a fugitive from one of the realm's major powers was sobering. But it was better than exposing his divine heritage to a council that might have tried to eliminate him as a threat to established order.
His knowledge of regional politics, gathered during countless conversations with Grakh and other tribal members, provided several options for potential sanctuary:
REGIONAL POWER DISTRIBUTION:
- Blood Iron Tribe (Hobgoblins): *Now hostile - immediate threat*
- Blood Fiend Domain (Undead): *Extremely dangerous - likely elimination*
- Cold Sky Peak (Harpies): *Aerial superiority - difficult approach*
- Blood Stone Magic Tower (Mixed): *Primarily human, but unknown politics*
- Radiant City (Human): *Native Humans and Refugee population - potential compatibility*
- Alliance of Underlands (Mixed Races): *Political complexity - uncertain reception*
RADIANT CITY emerged as the logical choice. A settlement populated by humans—presumably including other merger survivors—offered the best chance of finding sanctuary among people who might understand his situation without asking questions that could expose his divine heritage.
The hidden interface flickered back to life as he began moving toward what his mental map suggested was the correct direction:
DIVINE HERITAGE ASSESSMENT:
PARTIAL MANIFESTATION DETECTED BY PURSUIT FORCES
IDENTITY COMPROMISE: MODERATE *(Divine capabilities confirmed but nature unclear)*
MASKING PRIORITY: CRITICAL *(Must establish new identity)*
RADIANT CITY ANALYSIS:
DISTANCE: 847 KILOMETERS *(Estimated)*
TRAVEL TIME: 12-15 days on foot through hostile territory*
POLITICAL STATUS: INDEPENDENT HUMAN SETTLEMENT
POPULATION: MIXED MERGER SURVIVORS AND PRE-EXISTING INHABITANTS
Twelve to fifteen days of travel through territory claimed by various factions, while being pursued by one of the realm's most powerful military forces. The journey would be dangerous beyond anything he had faced since the merger.
But as Xìng Huáng oriented himself toward the distant sanctuary of Radiant City, he felt something he hadn't experienced in weeks: freedom from the constant pressure of maintaining perfect secrecy.
His escape from the Blood Iron Tribe had revealed some of his capabilities, but it had also freed him from the need to suppress his advancement completely. He could still hide his divine heritage, but he no longer had to pretend to be an ordinary mortal struggling with basic cultivation.
The path to godhood had taken an unexpected turn, but it was still a path forward.
Behind him, spiritual flares lit the sky as search patterns spread out from the Blood Iron Stronghold. Soon, every faction in the region would know that something valuable enough to trigger a massive tribal response had escaped into the wilderness.
But ahead of him lay Radiant City—a human sanctuary where he might find not just safety, but others who understood what it meant to be strangers in a realm that operated by rules they were still learning.
The real journey was just beginning.
And somewhere in the back of his consciousness, the Lord of Greed class pulsed with anticipation for the challenges that awaited in a settlement where human refugees had somehow carved out their own space in the Blood Demon Martial Realm.