Gossip could make players linger, but it couldn't stop the Afterglow Church's advance.
The Toll Knights had closed in. Though the scholars were fighting desperately, wave after wave of assaults had breached their defenses — no longer enough to protect the Tomorrow Truth tower.
The subterranean counter-attack had begun from inside the Tower of Logic's supre power center. This turned the War Machine Pawns stationed at Tusnat's periter into the day's biggest joke.
As the portal held open longer, waves of underworld forces poured forth, blocking the chanical soldiers outside the city. It almost looked as though the Afterglow Church had assud Tusnat's defense — and the chanical Engineering Departnt's reinforcents had beco "invaders."
The Toll Knight Order, the Afterglow Church's spearhead, naturally seized this opportunity to drive deep into the Erudition Presidium's heart.
The raging inferno from Gasmira's funeral was still fresh in mory. Now, with smoke and fire blanketing another city, Cheng Shi could only marvel at how [Chaos] believers truly spared no effort — and no decency — in spreading chaos.
But the more chaotic things got, the more advantageous his position.
Cheng Shi had already dragged his unconscious Toll Knight into an empty alley ruin. Without a shred of sha, he pulled out a set of church robes in front of Hu Xuan and threw them on — the sa style as Kataro's from the [Chaos] temple.
Then he woke the knight. When the knight's eyes burned with suicidal resolve, Cheng Shi slapped him, hurled him away, and said coldly:
"The Afterglow Church has truly gone backwards. You think this is still Gasmira?
This is the Tower of Logic's power center. The Erudition Presidium's base. A holy land pilgrid by countless [Truth] believers. Uncontrolled chaos only gives these shrewd scholars openings to escape. If the grand scholars get away — who can guarantee a second Tower of Logic won't rise on the Land of Hope!?
And if that day cos, when will our Lord's will ever resonate across the universe?
Can the Afterglow Church bear that responsibility?"
The Toll Knight was stunned speechless. This [Chaos] believer's brain might not be the sharpest, but his devotion was admirable.
He clearly sensed the mysterious figure before him was an ally — and a high-ranking one at that. Yet he stubbornly defended:
"[Chaos] is inherently without order! We worship our Benefactor, follow our Benefactor, offer to our Benefactor. What wrong is there?"
Cheng Shi smiled. Then the smile vanished, replaced by a cold mask:
"The only reason you'll leave here alive is your devotion.
But blind devotion is a burden that drags down faith!
Understand this: if temporary blasphemy can yield greater devotion, then blasphemy itself is a form of devotion.
Scram. Bring
whoever's running the Afterglow Church here. Otherwise, if the Erudition Presidium escapes, I won't hesitate to disband the church myself and install a truly devout believer to carry [Chaos]'s banner."
By now, even a fool could guess who stood before him. The Toll Knights were the Afterglow Church's backbone — in sermons, they'd heard leadership repeatedly ntion a certain lord who enacted the Benefactor's will. This lowly knight just couldn't believe the person before him was that lord. So he stood frozen — unable to leave, unable to stay.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi knew words alone wouldn't convince. He snorted, pulled out the [Chaos] container from his robe, and hurled it at the knight's head.
The iridescent container cracked the knight's skull on impact, drawing blood. But upon feeling the utterly pure [Chaos] energy it radiated, the knight didn't dare show anger. Instead, he reverently set the container at his feet, then bolted out of the alley.
Running and raving in a frenzy:
"He's here! He's here!
Our Lord's proxy has arrived! The world shall fall into eternal chaos! Praise [Chaos]! Praise [Chaos]!"
"..."
Hu Xuan had watched the entire performance from the side, her smile widening steadily — as if watching a clown circus.
Whether that admiring gaze contained sothing else... who could say?
The show had been entertaining. But when Cheng Shi produced sothing and threw it at the knight without warning, Hu Xuan's smile froze.
She knew exactly what that was. As a container-holder herself, she recognized the aura instantly.
But the question was: why could Cheng Shi produce a container?
"Produce" wasn't about owning one. She understood that if even she had received her Benefactor's gaze and gift, an outstanding [Deceit] believer like Cheng Shi would inevitably receive a container too — just a matter of ti.
So Hu Xuan wasn't surprised he owned one. She didn't even find it odd that his container wasn't [Deceit] but [Chaos]. What shocked her was that he could materialize it physically!
Because her container existed only in consciousness — formless, invisible, utterly impossible to materialize.
Hu Xuan blanked for a beat, then frowned:
"Cheng Shi, I didn't deceive you. My container..."
Cheng Shi froze, then picked up the container and waved dismissively:
"Don't be so sensitive. Our... our pure friendship shouldn't endure groundless tests.
I know you didn't lie. When I received these containers, I already knew — your situation and mine are different."
Setting aside her [Birth] desires regarding Cheng Shi, Hu Xuan was first and foremost a shrewd top-tier player. Without keen ability, a re flash of divine favor wouldn't have carried her to Chosen status. So she instantly caught the word "these" in his sentence, and her eyes flooded with shock.
Not long ago, he'd only learned of containers' existence from her mouth. And now he was already discussing their quantity?
How many did he have?
Where from?
Her Benefactor had explicitly said mortals couldn't retain other containers before truly becoming an envoy. So Cheng Shi...
A thousand thoughts raced through Hu Xuan's mind — but she asked none of them. She simply continued listening in silence.
"I'm guessing [Birth] focuses on His heirs, so He doesn't want to accomplish anything else through containers. He bestowed one upon you but didn't grant you the authority to trade containers.
Don't be shocked. You heard right. Trade.
Containers can be traded. As for why — that wasn't my decision. It was..."
Cheng Shi pointed skyward.
Hu Xuan's jaw dropped. She couldn't fathom how, if containers were tradeable, this differed from selling governnt posts. Had the gods already let go of servant god seats — allowing an "agent" to manipulate divine positions?
But when she considered that the person "manipulating divine positions" was Cheng Shi, she relaxed.
She knew him too well. With this in his hands, her alliance would only grow — because "Fate Weaver Certified" was a gold-standard label.
"I think I understand the container situation. I can guess part of your plan too. But Cheng Shi — that identity you're playing...
Are you sure [Chaos]'s original owner won't co after you?"
At that, Cheng Shi's smile turned deeply knowing.
'Playing myself — where's the trouble in that?'
'And who'd co after ? Kataro?'
'The original wouldn't harass his own stand-in. Even if Kataro ca, the devout fellow would probably only say: "Praise the great Lord Ultraman."'
Right now, Kataro's devotion was far purer than the likes of Chen Yi or ng Youfang.
...
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