After briefing Big Cat, Cheng Shi returned to the rest area and called the Blind One.
He wasn't just notifying her about the Destined Ones eting — there was another matter:
[War]'s fall.
[War] had been erased by Origin's own hand, and His Authority may have scattered into the real universe. This ant the Torchbearer founder — a follower of [War] — had permanently lost his Benefactor's protection.
Of course, under the Convention's safeguard, he wouldn't lose all his power outright. But Cheng Shi worried that as [War]'s will reverted to "frenzy," Qin Xin might be unconsciously influenced into taking rash actions with unpredictable consequences.
The Torchbearers had to be important.
This wasn't just what their vision and beliefs told him — it was what [Deceit]'s attitude toward them confird.
When Cheng Shi first learned of the Torchbearers' existence, he'd assud they were just "toys" the Fun God sheltered to annoy the other gods. But as he ca to know the Fun God and the universe's truth more deeply, he realized the Torchbearers had to be a piece in the Fun God's grand design.
After all, they were so alike — both fighters rebelling upward.
The only difference was that the Torchbearers harbored noble ideals, while the Fun God... harbored none.
Compared to that distant Origin, the Fun God was more like a shadow puppeteer — mysterious, perpetually scheming.
Cheng Shi naturally wouldn't tell An Mingyu directly that [War] had fallen. He simply hinted that he'd sensed a new round of strife among the gods — that [Civilization] might have so problems — and asked her to remind Fang Shiqing and Qin Xin to be careful.
An Mingyu accepted without suspicion. After chatting for a mont, she suddenly asked in a hesitant tone:
"I've been feeling uneasy lately — as if I sensed a fluctuation in [Fate]. My divination scores have been low for several readings in a row. Could it be that our Benefactor...
has also lost ground in this latest struggle?"
"..."
The question silenced Cheng Shi completely.
[Fate] had indeed encountered sothing unexpected — but the issue wasn't in this starry sky. It was in another one.
Don't forget — the current An Mingyu had been swapped in during that [Ti] trial. The original An Mingyu of this world had voluntarily departed for an unfamiliar starry sky to save the Zhen Xin of another world.
And now...
Cheng Shi couldn't even be sure whether that other starry sky would have a [Ti] salvation... and even if it did, could a world reset bring those people back?
At the very least, the version of himself who had died before Origin's throne... could never return.
For a mont, Cheng Shi fell silent, unsure how to answer.
And it was precisely this silence that made An Mingyu's heart lurch.
She was too clever — not just now, but always.
The mont she'd felt her unease, she'd begun divining. Though she hadn't said what she was reading, the low scores had already revealed an unhappy ending to the Prophet.
Coupled with Cheng Shi's hesitation, she imdiately realized that the thing she least wanted to foresee had perhaps already co to pass.
"She... what happened?"
'Was this what they called consciousness synchronization?'
Cheng Shi found this too cruel. So he forced a lighthearted laugh and said:
"Our Benefactor... He is fine."
He deflected with wordplay.
"[Fate] isn't just about the Fixed Destiny. There are always changes along the way. But as the sovereign of this era, He can handle anything.
Don't worry — He just got into a scuffle with His sibling god. And those low scores and your unease are probably just the Fun God's mischief.
[Fate] is fine. [Void] is fine. What's not fine is [Civilization]...
I have a feeling [Civilization]'s defeat bodes ill. That's why I called.
And... don't overthink things. Whether as a Destined One or a Torchbearer, your path ahead is bright.
Chosen An — keep going."
An Mingyu gave a soft "Mm" and hung up.
She forced herself to stop thinking about it, then quietly turned and walked back into the museum.
Zhen Xin was leafing through reports and glanced up when she saw her best friend return: "Cheng Shi?"
An Mingyu smiled: "Yes. The gods had another power struggle. [Civilization] seems to have run into trouble. He asked
to remind the Torchbearers to be careful."
"Did [War] lose, or [Truth]?
I just heard that certain [Truth] trials have turned their spears on the players. Sounds like [Truth] is making a major move.
[Civilization] united on this front and challenged the Convention?"
"Not sure. He wasn't very specific."
An Mingyu gathered the scattered docunts from the floor and sat down quietly at the desk to read.
Watching her unusually silent friend, Zhen Xin's brow furrowed slightly.
...
anwhile — the Void, the Fire Passing Hall.
With the Fla of Hope in poor condition, Qin Xin had intended to keep a low profile for a while.
But when Fire Seeker Ji Yue walked into the hall accompanied by a familiar face, Qin Xin knew that staying low was an impossibility.
"You, of all people?
When Ji Yue told
you'd be soone I'd never expect, I didn't believe her. Now I do.
So — Vice President Sun, has the Order Alliance taken an interest in us Torchbearers?"
The mont Qin Xin finished, Ji Yue grinned:
"The vice-president title is correct, but the Order Alliance is too narrow. Qin Xin, you may not realize it, but this Vice President Sun isn't just the Order Alliance's second-in-command.
He's also the vice president of the Reason Association, the God Worship Society... and countless other organizations I can't even na."
Ji Yue, all smiles, led the slightly awkward-looking Sun Miao over and clapped him on the shoulder, introducing him to Qin Xin:
"This is the first piece of kindling I've found for the Torchbearers.
The Eye of Deconstruction lives up to the na — his philosophy aligns very well with ours."
Qin Xin's gaze was sharp as a hawk's. He scanned Sun Miao up and down, then smiled again: "Is that so? What if it's all an act?"
At this, Ji Yue shot Sun Miao an amused look. Sun Miao finally spoke his first words in the Fire Passing Hall:
"It is an act. But what if I keep acting, all the way to the end?"
"..."
For so reason, when Qin Xin heard this, the person who ca to mind wasn't anyone from [Folly] — it was a certain follower of [Fate] whose brain worked in equally peculiar ways.
Qin Xin shook his head with a wry smile and turned to Ji Yue: "Is that why you invited him? A pretender willing to be a good person?"
"No, no, no," Ji Yue laughed heartily. "I said — many of his ideas mirror the Torchbearers'. At the very least, they mirror the City Builders'. They fit my temperant well. So I figured it was ti to inject so fresh thinking into the Torchbearers."
Qin Xin mused for a mont, then asked directly: "Fresh in what way?"
Ji Yue glanced at Sun Miao. Sun Miao's lips curled with an air of mystery:
"The God Creation Plan!"
"You told him even that?" Qin Xin's eyes narrowed.
"Relax. Hear him out."
With Ji Yue vouching for him, Sun Miao continued:
"Your approach is wrong. [Prosperity] did fall, but His Divine Throne has already been claid by soone.
Don't ask
who — I don't know. But the veteran mages of the Reason Association have been buzzing lately, analyzing this person who seized the throne. The evidence is quite solid. I can put the report directly on your desk — the Reason Association's report.
That's why I say your direction is off. If you truly want to create a god, truly want to claim a Divine Throne, [Prosperity] is no longer the best option."
Hearing this, Qin Xin essentially understood what Ji Yue was after.
Intelligence — and ideological support!
As the number-two figure of countless organizations, Sun Miao held an astonishing amount of intelligence in his hands — arguably more, in so respects, than even Zhen Xin and An Mingyu combined.
But bringing an information broker into the Torchbearers was also a risk. The City Builders were the radical faction, and Ji Yue was the most radical of them all — so she didn't care. But Qin Xin had to carefully define this person's role.
He studied Sun Miao and smiled once more: "No need for riddles. In your view, what's the best option for the Torchbearers?"
"[Decay]!
[Decay] hasn't summoned His followers in ages, nor issued any divine proclamations. His faith camp, eroded steadily by [Prosperity]'s followers, is in precarious shape at best.
Moreover, substantial evidence suggests [Decay] may be looking to relinquish His influence over the universe entirely.
A god so intent on 'decaying' Himself probably has no attachnt to His Divine Throne. And the seat under His backside is exactly what you need."
Qin Xin considered this for a mont, then extended his hand to Sun Miao.
"Not 'you.' Us.
Welco to the Torchbearers."
...
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