"The Three Wu Tribes were the earliest recorded human civilization in the long history of the Life Era. They fanatically worshipped [Birth] and spread His will across the entire Land of Hope."
"For a lengthy period, the Three Wu Tribes ruled virtually the entire northern Land of Hope. Keep in mind—back then, the south was plagued by natural disasters and uninhabitable. The Abyssal Volcano hadn't erupted yet, and the Underworld remained unexplored. So ruling the north was essentially ruling everywhere life existed."
"But such glory didn't last. At so point, an unknown upheaval split the Three Wu Tribes from within—over disputes of faith, they fractured."
"The once-mighty Three Wu splintered into three groups: the well-known Ulun, the sparsely docunted Uda, and the nearly forgotten Uma."
"The Ulun tribe road the nomadic north, becoming the Ulun Herdsn. Wild-spirited but pragmatic, after casting off the shackles of faith, they never devoutly followed a single deity. Instead, they constantly chased the strongest one, seeking protection for their tribe's survival."
"Their faith traversed the entire [Life] Path, and their footprints appeared in the historical records of every era within the Life Era."
"Even in the Civilization Era, large numbers of people who embraced their ideology and followed their footsteps attempted to re-establish the Ulun tribe."
"The Uda tribe self-proclaid as the Children of [Birth]. They believed not all life deserved His gaze—only those of Uda bloodline were noble enough to be considered His personally birthed creations."
"This rhetoric was deed blasphemous heresy by countless [Birth] followers. The remnants of Uda blood were branded as 'rioters' by all and subjected to mass expulsion and slaughter, teetering on the brink of extinction."
"To preserve their 'divine bloodline,' they created the God Reproduction technique—sealing all of a living being's vitality into specific limbs and organs. This way, even if the individual died from external causes, those severed parts retained the power to reproduce."
"However, any life birthed through this heretical art would carry the bloodline mories of the Uda tribe and would consider themselves pure-blooded Uda Rioters."
"And so they perpetuated their line through this unthinkable thod, enduring across history."
"As for the Uma tribe—very little was recorded about them. I only know they called themselves the Uma Sinners and created a bizarre faith artifact called 'Umbilical Blood Shackles.'"
"When soone is shackled with fetters forged from umbilical cords, they revert to the state of their own birth—losing all strength and becoming a dead infant."
"This was their ritual of atonent. Few know why they did it. But I have personally seen these eerie artifacts... and nearly died beneath their bindings."
!!!
'Umbilical Blood Shackles?'
Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu's pupils contracted simultaneously at these words. Both recalled the scene on the Inquisition's second floor.
Those dead infants dangling from the ceiling like wind chis—the things wrapped around their ankles were clearly "shackles" fashioned from umbilical cords!
They'd assud that was simply how Dolgod dealt with evil infants. But who could have imagined that those human wind chis...
...weren't actually dead?
So those infants blanketing the ceiling were living Uma mbers?
Could that place be an Uma gathering point?
'Wait!'
Since rescuing Scorpio, Cheng Shi had been turning over one question: if Scorpio hadn't died, then who had Gou Feng killed? Whose corpse had he used to birth his tribesman?
Now, hearing about the Three Wu Tribes, a possibility finally clicked: the Uma tribespeople!
This [Birth] warrior likely knew about the Uma. He'd recognized the inverted infants blanketing the ceiling, freed so "lucky soul" from their bonds, killed them, and then birthed a new self from the corpse.
But the suspended infants hadn't appeared to have any conspicuous gaps when he'd looked... so...
Cheng Shi and squinty-eyes locked gazes. The sa thought erupted in both their minds: Gou Feng never left!
He'd audaciously strapped the so-called Umbilical Blood Shackles onto his own ankles—and hung himself from the ceiling!
He'd chosen to surrender all his power and blend in with those wind-chi dead infants, thereby evading Mo Shu's pursuit and fooling the teammates who'd co to examine the scene!
'What a bold, ticulous Chieftain!'
'What a gamble!'
But the real question remained: why had the so-called Uma Sinners appeared in Dolgod, and what were they after?
By the ti the Life Era developed imperial civilizations, all three gods of the [Life] Path had long since descended. That ant roughly a thousand years had passed since the Three Wu Tribes' schism.
In current understanding, aside from the Ulun Herdsn still roaming the north, the other tribes should have been extinct.
Why would they congregate at the Evil Infant Inquisition? What was the connection?
And why had an institution ant to punish blasphers fallen into such ruin?
Cheng Shi's mind was brimming with questions demanding answers—which ant he needed to gather more intelligence, fast. He exhaled heavily and extended his hand toward Gao Ya.
"Pleasure working with you."
Seeing the grave expressions on Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu's faces, Gao Ya could tell they were hiding sothing. Connecting it to the Inquisition, she vaguely guessed what it was. Frowning, she looked away and asked:
"That Inquisition is connected to the Three Wu Tribes, isn't it?"
"Tsk—I really am starting to respect you [Folly] folks. How'd you figure that out?"
"Heh. Fools never can hide what's on their minds."
'Here we go again.'
Cheng Shi scoffed and fired back: "Then may I ask, clever Soloist miss—can you hide the contempt you feel for everyone?"
"..." Gao Ya's face instantly darkened.
But Cheng Shi wasn't done. He added one more sarcastic jab:
"Heh. Fools never can hide the contempt on their faces."
"..."
Off to the side, Zhang Jizu watched with amusent, squinting: "Influenced again?"
Cheng Shi pursed his lips: "Nope. Genuinely wanted to roast her."
"..."
Gao Ya was well and truly livid. Not because soone had mocked her—[Folly] followers routinely tore each other apart when gathered. Getting choked up a couple tis was nothing.
What infuriated her most was that the two people before her were absolutely not the fools she described. They were far too shrewd—leaving her precious few opportunities to look down on them.
When a [Folly] follower loses all opportunities to display superiority, they feel as if their Benefactor is about to abandon them.
Because [Folly] was precisely that kind of god—He despised all stupidity and abhorred all ignorance.
Seeing that Gao Ya had no intention of shaking hands, Cheng Shi didn't press. He withdrew his hand and continued:
"Arrogance is truly a disease. Anyway, I'll stop ragging on you. Miss Soloist, before we begin our next phase of action, could you tell
what you prayed for?"
"I need to reassess the risks in this trial—to figure out how to deal with the intrusion of a lunatic and draft a new exploration plan."
Gao Ya said nothing to this. She furrowed her brow slightly, quickly schooled her expression back to cold neutrality, and let her gaze drift aside—clearly unwilling to answer.
But that fleeting frown and evasive gaze-shift made both Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu freeze simultaneously.
'Wait, hold on—'
'Don't tell
you ca here specifically to... beco a "sis"?'
'I can't be reading this wrong, can I?'
Cheng Shi blinked in bewildernt and glanced at squinty-eyes, who wore the sa uncertain expression directed right back at him. When the two doubtful minds t each other's gaze, the doubt vanished.
A misjudgnt might exist in one clever person's mind. But not simultaneously in two.
So this [Folly] bro—no, this [Folly] sis—might have already... achieved her trial objective?
'Ha. No wonder she doesn't want to die out there. She doesn't want to rejoin the squad to win the trial—she wants to hitch a ride with the main group until it's over and pass safely.'
'What else can I even say?'
Cheng Shi clicked his tongue repeatedly, thinking: 'It's the apocalypse. Everyone deserves the right to pursue gender freedom.'
"You're all experts. Absolute experts. I'm starting to think I've been too conservative."
"..."
...
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