Hearing Li Jingming's words, Cheng Shi uncharacteristically dropped the grin and asked seriously: "Then whose enemy are you?"
"If I must have one... probably those who no longer wish to leave any mark on this world.
Perhaps I've preserved their loathing toward this world—but that loathing is part of it too.
The ga the gods brought down won't go on without an ending. When that day cos, none of us can say what will happen to us.
I'm not a pessimist, but I'm not an optimist either. I don't believe this world will continue to exist.
So walking my path of mory isn't just about doing sothing sentintal for my own satisfaction. I often wonder—what if..."
At this point, Li Jingming's montum faltered. Almost reflexively, he deployed a sound-isolating formation around them both.
"What if soone like
exists—soone willing to do sothing for this world? Willing to push back against the gods' oppression under their very gaze? Then perhaps everything I know could beco that person's weapon. And wouldn't that let , just like my founding patriarch, leave behind a 'life' worthy of future generations' respect on Cloud Field Temple's records?"
"..."
Cheng Shi was stunned. His feelings were complicated.
The instant the Dragon King had activated the formation, he'd assud he was about to be recruited into another organization. But instead, he'd heard this.
This was the second ti Li Jingming had shared his convictions.
The Dragon King was... serious?
Cheng Shi was genuinely taken aback.
'With ambitions like these, not joining the Torchbearers would be a real waste, wouldn't it?'
'If the Torchbearers' founder is also a peak player, there's no way they wouldn't try to recruit soone like this—they couldn't possibly reject him with that tired old excuse of "opposing faiths" the way Zhen Xin had.'
'Wait—why did Zhen Xin even cross his mind?!'
'The Torchbearers definitely couldn't have been founded by Zhen Xin... right?!'
Cheng Shi shook his head in alarm, then ventured a cautious question: "A small question that doesn't count as part of our exchange—you don't have to answer if you don't want to. This founding patriarch you ntioned..."
"Oh—he enlisted. When the nation was in crisis, every citizen must answer the call. He put down his horsetail whisk and picked up a rifle.
So I apologize—I told a small lie earlier. Cloud Field Temple's lineage wasn't actually unbroken. During that turbulent era, the tiny mountain temple lost its incense entirely.
My master's master stumbled upon it while seeking refuge, read through the founding patriarchs' records, and was so moved by the temple's legend that he chose to stay and carry on the succession.
So in truth, I'm not a direct-line disciple of the temple at all..."
"..."
Cheng Shi was genuinely moved—though not by what the Cloud Field Temple Daoist had done. It was the Dragon King's way of narrating history. The man had an irresistible magnetism that made you want to dig deeper.
'Truly worthy of being a mory follower. Whether it's recording mories or sharing them, he's the best among all players.'
'The Chosen of mory—the title is well-deserved.'
This mutual exchange of understanding finally told Cheng Shi why the Dragon King had such a sterling reputation, and why Big Cat got along with him so well.
But even if every word was true, not everyone would trust him for it. Not everyone was a Torchbearer—in fact, vanishingly few were.
Many people wanted to protect their own interests. Very few wanted to protect what was genuinely good.
People feared that being too thoroughly recorded would invite problems. So even soone like the Dragon King probably had very few real friends.
After all, not even Order followers were universally popular.
"Which makes
even more confused. If your path of mory is this unshakable, why would you want to impersonate others?" Cheng Shi frowned. "Deceit... to put it bluntly, the Fun God doesn't exactly have a great reputation. Impersonating people you've morized is the kind of thing that makes people associate you with... that unlucky thing. That doesn't match your original intentions, Dragon King."
Hearing this, Li Jingming smiled. He felt his sharing had finally earned a sliver of genuine sincerity from the other man.
"Don't put
on too high a pedestal. I told you—recording is my habit, and all those lofty-sounding ideas are just occasional daydreams in between.
I'm a person who pleases himself first. Only second do I aspire to emulate my founding patriarch.
And I said it myself—I'm not a true lineage disciple. So, from start to finish, there's nothing noble about .
Impersonating others is simply my thod for collecting more mories. Using Deceit's camouflage also spares
unnecessary trouble.
Soone who knows too much needs deterrents beyond mory alone. We're both at this tier—I trust I don't need to elaborate."
'Now that's honest.'
Cheng Shi smiled. He found this undevout Deceit colleague endlessly fascinating. A possibility suddenly occurred to him. After a mont's deliberation, he decided to make this heart-to-heart even more heartfelt.
So he shifted his stance and laid out the "eras" concept in full for Li Jingming. And as the Dragon King's eyes grew wider and wider with each revelation, Cheng Shi dropped a bombshell:
"...And the beginning and end of every era is connected to a certain entity I cannot na."
At the ntion of this unnad entity, Li Jingming's gaze sharpened. He spoke two words with grave solemnity:
"The Origin!"
Cheng Shi's eyebrow twitched. 'So he does know sothing.' He nodded aningfully, then grinned: "It seems the Dragon King is quite well-inford himself."
"You're more impressive, Cheng Shi.
I've always known there are people more capable and heights beyond heights, but on the path of mory, I'd never t anyone who could sit and discuss on equal footing.
No—that's putting gold on my own face.
What I've recorded is rely history that already happened. It existed, so it left traces. If you look, you'll find it—the only variable is how much ti and effort it takes. I simply know a bit more and a bit deeper than others.
But what cos out of your mouth, Cheng Shi...
Honestly, it's not the kind of thing you can find just by searching.
I've crossed paths with every Chosen out there. All of them together probably don't know as much about the gods as you do.
I don't even dare judge whether you're lying. Not 'can't'—dare not. You haven't shared a single concrete mory, yet every point you've made aligns with clues already in my records.
Cheng Shi—where did you learn all of this?
...Are you really just a player?"
Cheng Shi laughed—a genuinely happy laugh. What complint could be sweeter than praise from a rival god's Chosen?
'In this mont, when it cos to knowledge of the gods, I out-Dragon-King the Dragon King.'
'Tsk—now this is a mont worth rembering!'
But if asked how he'd learned all this?
The answer was simple: nothing special, just lots of divine audiences.
Of course he couldn't say that. But the deflection was already prepared. He curled his lip, gave two theatrical coughs, and adopted the look of soone desperately hiding their embarrassnt:
"That too is an interesting mory. I can share it—but on one condition."
"What condition?" Li Jingming was burning with curiosity. At this point, he had no fear of paying a steep price.
"I'll tell you afterward. But first, you have to agree."
"???"
'So—a blank check?'
Li Jingming frowned. He studied Cheng Shi for a long mont. Seeing that it didn't appear to be a trap, he nodded with so hesitation:
"Fine. As long as it's nothing too outrageous, I'll consider it. Go ahead."
Cheng Shi smiled—the grin of a fox whose sche had just worked: "I don't actually know that much about the gods. But soone knows a great deal, and that person told
everything."
"Who?!" Li Jingming's gaze locked on.
"Yu Xi. Deceit's Envoy. A Servant God of the Void."
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