Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 775: Death of Valentine VII

Lionheart City, Triumph Palace.

A young man who looked to be no more than 20 or 30 years old was strolling leisurely in the palace with his hands in his pockets.

His brilliant golden hair shone with a dazzling light, and his appearance was so handsome that it could be called luxurious. His deep and pure red eyes, like rubies, were emitting a sacred aura.

Whether it was the light of the path reflected in his pupils or his naturally noble demeanor, there was not a trace of animality or barbarism. In the glittering golden lights of the Triumphal Palace, he looked as glittering as a god on earth in his white tuxedo.

That was none other than the “first famous prime minister” Peng Bonazzi.

The positions of Red and Black are always passed down. Every generation of Red is Pomponazzi's child, and every generation of Black is also the vice-president of the Spiritual Tower.

But unlike the Black Phase, who does have the corresponding functions and powers... the Red Phase does not actually have autonomous powers. When people refer to the "Red Phase", they are usually referring to the "First Red Phase" behind the Red Phase.

The first generation of Black Prime Minister never cared about political affairs and was just a figurehead. However, the first generation of Red Prime Minister demanded to hold all power and wealth in his hands... Every generation of Red Prime Minister was his puppet and extension, and his most loyal and obedient child.

Because of this, almost no one knew what the "Principal" looked like...but everyone in the Xingtan Palace knew the first generation of Red Prime Minister. The guards of the Triumph Palace were no exception.

Faced with this true power holder, the most powerful transcendent on the planet, no guard dared to stop him or inquire about his whereabouts - it was useless to stop him anyway.

As if this palace was built for Pomponazzi, Pomponazzi encountered no obstacles in his passage.

He walked leisurely into Alfonso Valentin's study.

He waved his hand slightly, and the tightly closed door flashed red light and opened with a bang.

The Red Prime Minister Peng Bonazzi walked in with a smile and saw an old man sitting at the desk reading a letter.

There was no one in the study except him.

There were no attendants, no guards, no servants, even Valentine VII's most trusted jester was nowhere to be seen.

"Long time no see, little Alfonso."

The blond young man, who looked less than 30 years old, said leisurely, "It must have been more than 20 years since we last met."

"...Yes, Pomponazzi."

The white-haired old man raised his head slightly and said slowly: "Since... the last time the Herasil Vault was opened, you have never come to the Triumph Palace again."

"Yeah, I'm angry when I come. I might as well not come."

Pomponazzi said casually, "Anyway, I have been unhappy with the Triumphal Palace for a long time."

As he spoke, he sat down on the desk in front of the old man.

Pomponazzi stretched out his hand and put his arm around the old man's neck.

"I say, Alfonso."

The first generation of Red Prime Minister said nonchalantly: "I plan to rebuild the Triumphal Palace later - this golden palace is too vulgar. I plan to change it to red and black. What do you think?"

"Gold and red, maybe."

Valentine VII was not angry, but said patiently: "The red and black color combination... that is the style of the Herasser Empire."

"Is it not good?"

Pomponazzi asked in return: "I plan to rebuild the Herasser Empire. What do you think?"

"The Herasil Empire, where there isn't even a Heracross?"

The old man chuckled.

There was no trace of sarcasm or ridicule in his laughter, only a sense of the impermanence of life.

"That's why I want to open the Herasil Vault."

Pomponazzi held out his hand: "Give me the key."

"The key is the king's scepter. It is next to my bed in my bedroom. The key was cast into the dragon bone inside the scepter by the headmaster."

The old man did not react at all, but took the initiative to explain: "But the key alone is useless, you still need a sacrifice to open the door..."

"The blood of Heracross—I know."

Peng Bonazzi interrupted the old man and nodded without waiting for him to finish.

He looked the old man up and down, a look of satisfaction in his eyes: "Not bad, little Alfonso. You still know how to respect me... What reward do you want? I can let you enjoy your old age - you can also try to cultivate your adaptability to the path of love, and I will personally resurrect you."

"That's not necessary."

The white-haired old man coughed softly a few times, with a dim yellow light in his pupils: “I’m tired anyway.

"There are so many problems that Xingti needs to solve... It's not something that I can solve alone, nor is it something that our generation can solve. Instead of patching it up, it's better to just break it down and rebuild it.

"——Since you plan to take over this mess, I will have some free time."

The dejected, gloomy tone that seems to emphasize "I don't care" is the proof of excessive twilight.

"That won't work."

Pomponazzi's tone was extremely firm: "The reward I give you is not something you can refuse just because you want to. Don't make me angry, Alfonso. We can end this more decently."

For the prime minister, rejecting his gift was also an act of "not giving face" - rejecting his reward meant that the other party put him on the same level as himself. If this person was not Alfonso, and there was still some acquaintance, he would probably have died the moment the other party dared to reject him.

The old man's dim yellow pupils trembled slightly, as if he had thought of something. His face, as stiff and ashen as a statue, seemed to come to life for a moment.

"Then... let my children live."

he whispered.

"Oh, yes."

Upon hearing this, Peng Bonazi laughed heartily and said, "I had originally planned to let them survive. But since you beg me so much, I plan to grant them the gift of eternal life! How about it, are you happy? Hahahaha..."

He laughed heartily a few times by himself, but his face suddenly turned gloomy: "Why aren't you laughing?"

"--Mr. Pomponazzi."

Alfonso Valentin suddenly spoke up.

And in an instant, Pomponazzi became quiet.

For this was the respectful name with which Alfonso, still a teenager, had addressed Pomponazzi when he first met him.

This is also the name given to Valentine I "Basil Valentine" when he was still unknown.

They are so similar. Not only do they look alike, but they also sound alike, and even their personalities and habits are similar.

Of all Bashir's children... after all these years, Alfonso was the one most like him.

...But this similarity is only limited to adolescence.

When Alfonso entered middle age, his appearance was significantly different from that of Bashir. When he was old, he was completely different from the old Bashir.

"I am more or less a fifth-level transcendent..."

Alfonso spoke slowly, "Since I embarked on the path of the 'Golden Stone Knight', I have never had the opportunity to show my strength. If this is my end... I want to give it a try."

Hearing his words, the smile on Hong Xiang's face gradually faded, and he became serious and silent.

——Knight of the Golden Stone.

That is the most popular advanced profession for Star Antimony Alchemists.

To obtain this advanced profession, one must complete an alchemical ritual called "Chemical Wedding Ceremony" at the third or fourth energy level.

That was an extremely dangerous alchemy—alchemists needed to kill themselves during the ritual, allowing their souls to transform into any form and return to a more perfect body that was re-refined using their own bodies as materials. After completing the promotion ritual, they could advance to become "Golden Stone Knights."

The fourth energy level is a very critical energy level. From this energy level, the power of the path carried by the human body has become quite strong... and only such a body can carry the balanced power extracted from the concept of "Star Antimony Alchemy".

With each rebirth, the body becomes older and weaker, but the soul becomes stronger.

If one can complete seven rebirths, the soul will be refined into a brilliant soul - the "star antimony" pursued by alchemists.

This allows alchemists to obtain souls as great as those of gods. With such power, they can reach the sixth energy level and complete one of the three great miracles. "How many times have you completed rebirth?"

Hong Xiang asked seriously.

"Four times."

Alfonso replied.

"Not as good as Bashir," Pomponazzi sighed, "He completed it six times - he was only one step away from achieving eternal life."

"Can the Soul of Star Antimony gain eternal life?"

"Yes. That's what I hoped for back then, a friend who would stay with me forever, even though he wasn't on the same path as me. That's why... I support his career."

Pomponazzi stared at Valentine VII, and the nostalgia in his eyes gradually cooled.

He turned around, with his back to Valentine VII, and looked at the portrait hanging in the study - a portrait of Valentine I.

"I'll give you a chance."

Pomponazzi replied: "Because you were willing to call me 'sir' back then."

Valentine VII stared at Pomponazzi, and his pupils gradually glowed with a bright yellow light.

He sat there motionless, but his soul left his body in an instant.

The soul that could be seen with the naked eye was constantly being extracted from his seven orifices and condensed into a solid entity, transforming into black smoke - condensed into a black hungry wolf, howling and pouncing towards Pengbonazi!

But Pomponazzi didn't react at all.

When the hungry wolf with black smoke approached Peng Bo Naqi, his body broke, bled and shrank - it was not a shock or tear, but a collapse and disintegration. All the power of the Tao used for protection was invalidated, and it was a direct killing effect on the substance itself.

When the hungry wolf roared through Pengbonazi, his body suddenly shattered!

In addition to Pomponazzi, the desk he was sitting on and the soft wool carpet on the floor were also swallowed up and shattered by the ink-like power!
Under the impact of that force, Peng Bonazzi's body eventually turned into ashes and was completely dispersed by the invisible airflow.

This is the first step in alchemy.

Destroy the old nature of all matter and turn it into usable "original matter". Then there will be a chance to be reborn again and transform it into a new substance - the first step of the resurrection ceremony, "death", also symbolizes this step.

And for a mortal, this step alone is enough to kill almost anyone!

After the hungry wolf tore apart everything it touched, it fell to the ground and turned into a pool of inky black mud. But then, a viscous, white liquid like milk emerged from it.

The next moment, a pure white and clean dove flew up from the mud!

That is the "whitening" after the "blackening", which decomposes and purifies the essence of the substance. After the whitening is completed, alchemists can freely control these separated substances.

This also means that the alchemist has completely controlled this mass of matter, enough to shape it into any form he wants...

——But at this moment.

Suddenly, a slender hand broke out from the chest of Valentine VII!

It grabbed the pigeon and, despite its desperate struggle, strangled it to death.

In the fierce struggle, white feathers that far exceeded its body size were flying throughout the room...that was the old king's torn soul.

"Uh uh uh……"

The white-haired old king looked at all this in astonishment, but he could no longer say anything.

Then his chest ruptured further, but his stomach continued to expand and bulge.

"——I told you that you only have one chance. You can only go this far and not beyond."

A clear and tender voice of a young boy sounded: "If you can't kill me... don't be too greedy. It's you who are not prepared--"

Then, a blond boy, who was about eleven or twelve years old, crawled out from the old king's bulging belly.

Except for his more childish appearance, this is Pomponazzi himself!

His body was naked and covered in blood and clear mucus.

After he landed, he stretched comfortably.

"If you remember me after you go to the dream world, remember to come back to me sometime. I'm quite curious about what happens after death. From now on, your bedroom is mine, your wife is mine, and your country is mine too. There's no need to keep the name Xingti anymore. For so many years, there hasn't even been a person who has completed the Xingti Soul... Do you deserve to be called Xingti?"

By this time, the old king's chest and abdomen had been completely torn and opened.

He slumped down in the seat, his throat and lower abdomen splitting apart from the middle to the sides. He looked like a prawn with its head cut off and its shell and thread removed.

The organs in his chest and abdomen had completely melted at some point, leaving them empty. It was like a chicken that had been cleaned of all its offal, with only bones and meat. It looked like it could be fried in a pan at any time.

Pomponazzi, who had easily recovered from his shattered state and was perfectly reborn, did not react at all - for him, this was just a daily act.

He is the Moon Son who is closest to the sixth energy level in the world!

This level of "death" was just an ordinary sleep for him.

At this time, the white-haired old man whose stomach was cut open was still breathing "ho ho", and his trachea made a sound like a bellows.

He wasn't completely dead—he was even conscious.

The old man was staring at Peng Bonanzi with his eyes wide open, his mouth opening and closing like a dying fish, as if he wanted to say something.

"It's really hard work," sighed Pomponazzi, who had returned to his youthful state. "I'll give you a quick death."

He raised his left hand towards the old king.

There was a flash of red light.

The next moment, all the blood and energy in the old king's body was instantly drained - he almost turned into a piece of human skin and completely lost his life.

Peng Bo's tender and frail body swelled in the wind, and returned to its original shape in just a few breaths. His originally tender face became mature and handsome in the blink of an eye, and his originally slender hands and feet became strong and powerful again.

He did not cover his body, nor did he care about the blood on Valentine VII. Or rather, there was no way there was any blood on his body - even if there was just a little bit of blood, it had been completely drained by Pomponazzi.

At this time, Valentine VII looked like a clean dark yellow blanket covering a skeleton.

He took great interest in pulling the cape from the corpse of Valentine VII and then put it on himself. He had no other clothes on, so the cape was not enough to cover his private parts.

But Peng Bonazzi kept this posture and pushed the door open and walked out.

He clapped his hands, attracting the others' attention.

"Someone, come here," Peng Bonazi lazily leaned against the door, revealing his perfect body full of streamlined muscles, like a marble sculpture, "Go and pack up the bones of your late emperor, and bring them to the bedroom later. There is a table missing in the study, remember to replace it. There is no need to replace the carpet with a new one, send someone to the Red Castle to get my spare carpet later.

"——By the way, someone else take me to Alfonso's bedroom. Then call Louise and Lucien over. I want to celebrate Xingtan's new life with them."

Pomponazzi planned to spend the night in amusement with his wife and son in the presence of the now tattered Alfonso and the portraits of his ancestors in his bedroom - as a small punishment for having his expensive dress, which he loved, rudely destroyed by the old man.

- I said you were allowed to try to kill me. But I didn't give you permission to ruin my clothes.

A rebellion involving the change of supreme power in Xingtan started and ended quietly.

No one can get involved, and no one dares to stop it.

It seems as if everything is inevitable.

"……Excuse me."

Someone boldly asked: "Will you be our king in the future?"

If Peng Bonazi really becomes the king of Xing Ti... then maybe it can be considered a good thing!

"King? Haha...Valentin...VIII?"

Pomponazzi was in a good mood now, so he was willing to explain with a smile: "No, no. I am just the prime minister with an additional identity of a prince - whether from Louise's perspective or Lucien's perspective... I can be called a prince. After all, they are all my lovers.

"——As for your new king, I have already decided. It is Lucien Valentine... although he doesn't know about it yet."

(End of this chapter)