Among the four great cults of Great Wei, the True Knowledge Society was undoubtedly the most sinister and unpredictable in its methods.
The reason was simple: they had spent years investigating the "truth of the world." While they hadn't uncovered much of the actual truth, they had collected an abundance of strange and bizarre artifacts.
“Regardless of the cause, as long as a large-scale loss of life occurs within his jurisdiction, he will be held responsible.”
“I recall Elder Sun discovered an Earth Dragon Jar a while back, didn't he?”
“He’s been studying it for so long; it’s about time it made its debut.”
The individuals in the room exchanged glances before one of them stood up decisively.
“I’ll go contact Elder Sun!”
The black-robed elder, however, wore an expression of profound sorrow for the world.
“In prosperity, the people suffer.”
“In ruin, the people suffer.”
These words only served to further irritate the middle-aged man beside him, who turned his head to glare at the elder.
“Speaking of which, I’ve always been curious—what pathway are you actually on?”
“A Scholar?”
The elder, however, was completely immersed in his own world, sighing incessantly.
“Dammit, who brought him along? He’s sighing all our good luck away!”
“Oh, enough, enough. Just bear with it. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, Su Baadao will be laughing in his sleep.”
...
Mangliang City Station.
“Are you really moving away?”
“Yes. I never want to remember what I went through in that cave again.”
“Then, I wish you a smooth journey.”
Two women stood in front of the station, staring at their friend with reluctance.
“Aren't you two leaving? This place... this place is practically hell.”
The woman on the train reached out, wanting her friends to leave with her.
“We’re staying. Besides, it’s not this place you hate, but what happened here.”
“Seeing us would only make you remember.”
A slightly more full-figured woman took off her gauze scarf and tied it around her friend's wrist.
“It was the Lord Envoy who saved us. For the past few days, I’ve been having the same recurring dream. I see someone preaching by the sea, and the title they call out is the Lord of Rebirth and Communion.”
“I believe this is a revelation from the True God. This is the meaning behind the True God saving me.”
The companion beside her nodded in agreement.
“Me too. What about you two? Did you dream of anything?”
The two women on the train had complicated expressions. Just as they were about to speak, the full-figured woman interrupted them.
“Don't think too much about it. Since you’ve decided to start a new life, then forget everything from the past.”
She finished speaking and gave a graceful wave.
“Go and start your new lives.”
The train slowly pulled away. Only when it was completely out of sight did the two women turn to walk out of the station.
“Sister Qu, where do you think we should start preaching?”
As she said this, she felt a bit of fear.
“Mangliang City is very strict about managing religious groups. Should we go and file an application?”
“If we’re treated as a cult...”
The woman addressed as Sister Qu turned around and spoke with a serious face.
“If you’re afraid, it’s not too late to back out now.”
“Xiao Xue, it’s just as you think—preaching will definitely not be an easy task.”
“The missionaries in history are good examples of that.”
Xiao Xue felt nervous after hearing this, but she still mustered her courage.
“I’m not afraid!”
“The True God saved me. If not for the True God, I would have died in that cave long ago.”
“Now I am free, and I can even reunite with my family.”
“The True God gave me all of this, so I must do something for him in return!”
Sister Qu smiled and nodded, stepping out of the station. The sunlight sprinkled down, illuminating her entire body.
“We will make the faith of the Lord of Rebirth and Communion take root in Mangliang City!”
“And let its power grow!”
...
Yin Yang, who had just finished disposing of a bag of rat carcasses, looked up.
“Another surge of strong faith. The intensity of this faith is even higher than Lu Zhao’s back then.”
“Who is it?”
Yin Yang closed his eyes and activated his Perception skill. Before long, he saw a familiar face.
It was one of the women he had rescued from the Shadow Lotus Church’s cave!
She was also the first one to have grabbed Yin Yang’s hand back then.
‘This person has such a strong obsession.’
Yin Yang could clearly sense her desire to become stronger.
‘Should I help her?’
Yin Yang’s pathway was too unique to be replicated.
After all, natural transcendents were rare to begin with, and those who were mistakenly used as sacrifices were even rarer.
To be used as a sacrifice, simultaneously awaken transcendent power, and become a Sequence 9 of the Sacrifice pathway was rarer still!
But that didn't matter; Yin Yang had the recipe for another pathway in his hands.
“Killer!”
For the sake of Canned Food, Yin Yang had paid a certain price to obtain the promotion potion recipes and rituals for the Killer pathway from Sequence 9 to Sequence 6.
However, once one became a transcendent, there would be no turning back.
Furthermore, the ritual for Sequence 9 of the Killer pathway required killing a member of one's own kind.
Who knew if she could summon that kind of resolve?
Thinking of this, Yin Yang smiled to himself. What was the point of overthinking it now? When she prayed again, he could just ask her what she thought.
...
Mangliang City.
Security Bureau.
Wang Gen stared at the files in his hand, his brow furrowed deeply.
The captains under him didn't dare to say a single word.
They had researched Wang Gen’s background before he took office.
It could be described in two words.
Iron-fisted!
Most of those who became security bureau chiefs followed the Ward Guard pathway.
Wang Gen, however, followed the Executioner pathway, which in itself spoke volumes.
Furthermore, it was said that he had served in Central City before being transferred to Meng City, where he stayed for twenty years, managing the place until it was an impenetrable fortress.
Many of the captains who served under him had gone on to become bureau chiefs in smaller cities after graduating; his students were everywhere.
His only failure was that not long ago, someone had bombed his Security Bureau, resulting in many deaths.
“I truly wonder how you have the face to collect your salaries.”
“The clearance rate for theft is fifty-one percent.”
“The clearance rate for robbery is seventy percent.”
“The clearance rate for homicide is seventy-nine percent.”
“Good. Very good.”
“How about this? Let’s average out your clearance rates and pay you according to that percentage. How does that sound?”
Wang Gen’s voice wasn't loud, but the bulging veins on his forehead betrayed his current mood.
Not a single captain dared to speak. Their movements were perfectly synchronized—all of them stood motionless, staring down at the tips of their shoes.
“Starting from today, we’re going back three years.”
“I want every unsolved case re-examined. The capable will stay, and the incompetent will be demoted.”
“I don't care whose relative you are or what contributions you’ve made to the Security Bureau in the past.”
“If you want to retire, get the hell out and go to another department!”
“The Security Bureau is not a place for retirement!”
Wang Gen slammed the table and stood up, his expression looking as if he wanted to devour someone.
“Get out!”
Rate on N.U.
