Cheng Shi's final question was pure concept-swapping flattery.
Because even if he'd guessed right about everything, Chaos and Deceit had jointly defeated Order—and moreover, the truth was they'd only beaten a fragnt of Order.
Indeed, Cheng Shi had guessed correctly. He'd nailed the motive, the process, and the outco. But...
He'd only gotten those six words right. Everything else... was wrong.
Deceit had indeed, for certain purposes, joined forces with Chaos to eliminate Obsession (Order), then goaded Chaos into ascending Order's Divine Throne to play the role of Order. And naturally, the empty throne left behind by Chaos's departure... Deceit had conveniently claid.
Originally, it had only been warming the vacant seat. But as Chaos progressively shed its past and stripped away its identity, Deceit gradually picked up the authority that rightfully belonged to that throne.
Until just now—until Cheng Shi had, by sheer coincidence, gained Chaos's acknowledgnt and absorbed its final remnant of authority. With that, Deceit had collected the last puzzle piece of Chaos's full authority through Cheng Shi.
So in this drama where everyone was playing a role, the biggest winner wasn't the self-proclaid-Order Chaos, nor the faith-fusing Cheng Shi—it was the authority-acquiring Deceit!
What it hadn't anticipated was that the faith fusion—which was supposed to be bestowed by Deceit after reclaiming all the authority—had been snatched early by Cheng Shi through his wild improvisation, directly from the true Chaos.
In that standoff between man and god, the single best decision Cheng Shi had made was getting Chaos—the one playing Order—to acknowledge him as a follower of Chaos.
Because until the complete severance, acting was still just acting. Chaos had always been Chaos. With its acknowledgnt, the fusion was stripped of any Deceit coloring—rendered seamless.
Cheng Shi stared expectantly, waiting for an answer. But his Benefactor didn't bite on the flattery. Those eyes gave a lazy roll and grinned:
"Don't go running your mouth, or I'll sue you for slander.
I have always been law-abiding. I respect the Convention and I respect Order. How could I possibly do such universally condemned things?
I think you've been spending too much ti near that exhausted Benefactor of yours. You caught its disease—always trying to pin labels on people. Crooked labels, no less.
But given your ignorance, I'll pardon you this ti.
Now—express your gratitude."
'Gratitude? Gratitude my a—!'
'That was the biggest non-answer in history. You clearly did the deed, pocketed the gains, and now you're wiping your mouth and denying everything!'
'Lying to strangers is one thing, but lying to your own loyal, hardworking follower? Do you have no conscience?'
"..." A flash of exasperation crossed Cheng Shi's eyes. He sighed, sensing he wouldn't be getting real answers today.
Deceit also seed to feel the audience had run long enough. It chuckled, about to wrap things up—when Cheng Shi spoke again:
"Benefactor, what should I do?"
This wasn't the first ti he'd asked. He'd posed the sa question during their icebreaker session, only to be thoroughly mocked for it.
But Cheng Shi still wanted to know what he could do for this Benefactor who shared his fear. Everything today clearly had a mastermind, and that mastermind was one hundred percent the entity before him. So since it had a plan, why not share a hint? Let the worker find his direction and boost efficiency.
This had always nagged at Cheng Shi. And facing the question again, Deceit finally didn't mock him—though its response remained characteristically dismissive:
"The legs are on your body. The road is yours to walk. Why do you keep running to ? I don't know."
"Fine—even if you don't know, you must have a general direction. How to escape the fear, how to achieve our goals. Even without a concrete plan, you've surely had a passing thought.
Share that thought with your most devout follower, and he might be able to do... quite a lot for you.
Take faith fusion, for example. Since Void's dual faith can be fused separately through , who is your next fusion target?
Do you need
to make early contact?"
This was what Cheng Shi truly wanted to ask. He'd long been calculating that after the second faith, there might be a third—and he'd even cataloged every god that might bestow it. If the Fun God confird it now, Cheng Shi could not only play a version ahead of everyone else but lead by a step in two versions at once!
And this was one of his real objectives!
He wasn't just working hard for his "esteed" Benefactor. He was also seizing advantages for himself while conveniently expressing devotion.
This kind of wordplay might fool others, but Cheng Shi stood before Deceit—the god in the universe who understood lies and appearances better than any other. It saw through Cheng Shi's thoughts instantly but chose not to expose them. Grinning as always, it said:
"Recklessly rushing ahead is inadvisable. That's wisdom your humans have passed down through ten thousand years of history.
I've told you—the legs are yours. How you walk is your business."
"But your guidance would let
walk faster and more accurately."
"Guidance is useful. But once guided, 'drawing near' ceases to be genuine closeness—it becos 'approaching with intent.'
As a con artist, you should understand: when your purpose is too obvious, your trajectory too directed, your emotions too charged, and your eagerness too palpable... you can't fool anyone.
And if you can't even fool people—how will you fool... the gods?"
Deceit's words detonated like thunder beside Cheng Shi's ears, shaking him to the core.
He suddenly understood what "the road is yours to walk" truly ant. It wasn't that the god refused to guide him—it was that with Deceit's guidance, any "closeness" on his part would carry visible intent, letting the gods he approached sll Deceit on him!
In other words, Deceit could only operate backstage. The one standing onstage would forever be the Clown!
'So that's how it is. But...'
Then Cheng Shi's expression froze. 'But Benefactor, doesn't this performance feel like a Deceit Clown performing from Fate's script?'
'The road ahead is uncertain. The process is mysterious. Even the destination is unknown. Only when the final curtain falls will the Clown and the audience simultaneously learn the ending...'
'If that's not Fate, what is?!'
'Wait—are you on the wrong channel?'
Those eyes seed to read Cheng Shi's bewildernt. They smirked:
"Feels familiar, doesn't it? Good—it should.
Why else would I have signed that Void Agreent with it? Simply to let the Clown's journey go a little smoother.
Using Deceit's identity to walk Fate's road—that is the true Void.
While you don't need to think about such lofty things, just focus on what's beneath your feet. Aiming too high while standing too low is a good way to twist an ankle.
If you want to see further, you'd need..."
Those eyes made a full revolution, their corners tilting even higher.
"You'd need the fear in your heart to exceed mine.
Right—today's audience has been most unpleasant. Mmm, now get lost."
Without waiting for Cheng Shi's reaction, the eyes blinked once and blew a gust of Void-wind that sent him tumbling out of the Void.
When a thoroughly dazed Cheng Shi opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the trial. Beside him stood the Dragon King with furrowed brows and Big Cat with darting eyes.
"I'm back?" He blinked, patted his arm, and only relaxed upon feeling solid, real sensation.
'Looks like I'm back.'
The Dragon King and Hong Lin both turned to him. Hong Lin, unable to contain her curiosity, asked outright: "Li—the Dragon King says Fate summoned you again. Is that true?"
Cheng Shi's eyebrow rose at her words. He looked at Li Jingming, who t his gaze with a quiet smile.
'How chivalrous of the Dragon King. He's even covering for
in front of Big Cat—not a word about Deceit. Seems this Joker already feels so loyalty!'
'And Big Cat's gotten savvier too—she knows not to say "Benefactor" to conceal her own faith fusion.'
'Everyone's growing. Only—none of you are growing as fast as .'
Cheng Shi smiled faintly. He nodded first, then shook his head:
"It's complicated, but it's unrelated to this trial. Rember—whatever you've recalled, don't speculate until you've synced mories with . And don't spread anything.
Order... has had a minor issue. But nothing catastrophic."
"?" Hong Lin was perplexed. The Dragon King looked contemplative.
Just as Cheng Shi was about to elaborate, Chernosly—who'd been dreaming—and the unconscious La Quis both woke simultaneously.
They'd heard his last remark. Slowly, they turned to face this blaspher of Order.
Chernosly, still reeling from Chaos's influence, protested weakly: "The great Order would never have any problems. It must be the Grand Tribunal that has the problem."
His ntor La Quis, however, wore an expression of defeat: "Just as I suspected. It is no longer itself... Then who... are you?"
"Us?" Cheng Shi smiled. He snapped his fingers at Chernosly. "We're the people who ca to help you find Order again."
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