Chapter 202-2: The Offering Ritual, the Twelfth Disciple (2)

“If only all that Spirit Essence were being donated to me… how wonderful that would be…”

Lin Xun glanced at his own seat number, fifty-sixth place. Dead last.

Assuming each Apostle donated around three hundred thousand, just the fifty before him had already contributed an astronomical sum.

And this conference hall of fifty or so Apostles was probably only the tip of the iceberg of the forces under Amos’s command.

It was clear that the total amount of Spirit Essence the Sanctum Disciples collected in every Offering Ritual was simply terrifying.

“No wonder the organization hasn’t been able to wipe out the New World. With this kind of efficient leeching, the higher-ups must all be geared to the teeth and monstrously strong.”

The New World’s operating model was the exact opposite of the Apostle Council.

It felt like draining a pond to catch the fish.

The Offering Ritual, when you stripped away the pretenses, was simply a way to gather up the power of the rank-and-file Apostles and rapidly forge elite combat strength among the New World’s leadership to oppose the Council.

When Lin Xun snapped back to his senses, the top spot on the leaderboard had already changed hands again.

Now in first place was none other than the Beekeeper, who’d earlier boasted he’d steal the spotlight. His contribution had reached over 800,000.

[Fifty-fifth contributor…]

[…]

[You have received 1,000,000 Spirit Essence from Apostle Amos!]

Lin Xun’s eyes lit up, the loan had arrived.

If Amos hadn’t sent it to him right then, by tomorrow he’d be famous across the New World.

The trending headline: ‘How Would You Rate the Piety of Someone Who Donated Four Digits of Spirit Essence?’

[Fighter: The fifty-sixth and final contributor, Blood King!!]

“Fighter’s a good guy, he even gave me two exclamation points.”

[Please enter the amount of Spirit Essence you wish to donate…]

[Apostle Blood King has donated 1,000,000 Spirit Essence.]

As per tradition, he needed to say a few words after donating.

[Blood King: Lord Amos, you cannot imagine the depth of my devotion!]

[Amos: …Very good. Your devotion is known to me.]

After Lin Xun finished contributing a million, the name Blood King was promptly boosted to first place.

The free chat channel reacted as if someone had thrown in a grenade.

[Beekeeper: ???]

[Heroic Swordsman: Beekeeper, weren’t you just bragging about how amazing you were? And saying that once you became proxy agent, you’d make me your deputy?]

[Beekeeper: …]

[Faceless Courier: A real boss never shows his hand, until he absolutely wrecks everyone.]

[Machine Gunner: I’ve never seen this boss’s alias before… Sigh, looks like I’ve got no hope of becoming the proxy agent.]

[Greatshield Guard: What is piety? This is piety. Not to target anyone in particular, but I just want to say, you’re all trash… myself included. By the way, great lord, are you looking for a deputy?]

[Martial Artist: I want to marry you!!!]

[Greatshield Guard: Huh? Martial Artist, you’re a woman?]

[Martial Artist: No, I’m a man.]

[…]

[Amos: This concludes the Offering Ritual. All of your devotion has been recorded and will be counted toward your total contribution.]

[Amos: I believe that through our shared efforts, the New World will inevitably descend upon us.]

[The ritual has ended…]

Before long, the New World members in the conference room began to leave, until only Amos and Lin Xun remained.

[Amos: Now that the Offering Ritual is over, you will be able to formally take up the position as my proxy agent.]

[Amos: Once you become the proxy, you’ll be the one hosting the next quarter’s Offering Ritual in Wen City.]

[Blood King: Thank you for your trust, my lord. I will never forget this favor, and will repay it with everything I have!]

[Amos: …]

[Amos: Wait a moment! Have you reached fifth difficulty?!]

Lin Xun’s heart clenched tight.

Amos’s detection skills were terrifying!

Not only could he see an Apostle’s soul imprint, but he could even detect their current stage progress!

However, Amos’s focus was only on which difficulty he was in, not any shock that Lin Xun had cleared Hell-level chapters, which meant the probing skill had its limits and couldn’t show exact chapter numbers.

Otherwise, if that whole string of the World of Omniscience’s chapter ID was displayed, Amos’s jaw would definitely have hit the floor.

Lin Xun replied cautiously.

[Blood King: My lord, I have only just scraped through the fourth difficulty chapter by sheer luck.]

[Amos: What was your interpretation rating?]

[Blood King: A mere A rank, nothing worth mentioning.]

[Amos: Seems I’ve underestimated you. Clearing chapters so quickly, your soul talent must be truly exceptional.]

A chill crept into Lin Xun’s heart. What if Amos asked him what his soul talent actually was? How would he answer?

He typed back swiftly.

[Blood King: Compared to you, my lord, a bright full moon, I am but a feeble glimmer of firefly light, not even a ten-thousandth as brilliant.]

[Amos: Enough with the flattery.]

[Amos: Originally, I only intended to have you manage Wen City as an ordinary proxy. But seeing such potential, keeping you as just a proxy seems like a waste.]

Lin Xun scratched his head. This development wasn’t what he’d pictured at all.

Being the proxy overseeing an entire city was already amazing, how could that be a waste?

From the sound of it, Amos seemed to be considering promoting him even further.

[Blood King: My lord, your humble servant is slow-witted, I don’t quite understand your meaning.]

[Amos: The matter of appointing you proxy will wait for now…]

[Amos: Return and set aside all other distractions. Focus all your efforts on conquering more chapters… As for what position you should hold in the future, I will consider it carefully.]

???

Come on, sir, I’ve been undercover all these years, finally about to become a local tyrant and a high-ranking official.

And now you pull this on me?

“Even if you’re going to promote me, at least wait until I’ve raked in some profits first!”

Watching the ‘proxy agent’ position slip right out of his grasp, Lin Xun was a little bitter. He’d been counting on that role to pay off his three million Spirit Essence debt.

[Amos: You need only focus on clearing chapters and increasing your strength as fast as you can. Once you are strong enough… the struggle for the Twelfth Disciple’s seat will soon begin.]

—

When Lin Xun returned to the library, he was completely dazed.

The Twelfth Disciple… Why did that sound so absurdly over-the-top?

His mission was simply to infiltrate the New World, gather some intel, and occasionally report his progress to the black-stocking lady boss.

Becoming Wen City’s proxy was just going to mean gathering a lot of intel instead of a little, plus pocketing some extra profit on the side.

Living tucked away as a petty tyrant sounded pretty relaxing.

Never in a million years did he expect Amos to actually intend to push him to vie for a Disciple’s seat.

What did it mean to be a Sanctum Disciple? That was someone who could directly contact the New World’s Master.

“Does this count as… going undercover so long that I ended up turning into a villain boss myself?”

Lin Xun opened the Book of Communication and hesitated a long while, not knowing how to report this to Star Glaze.

After thinking it over, he finally typed each word carefully.

[Swordsmith: I used to think that if I became Wen City’s underworld boss, I could finally be a good match for you, the city’s white-collar boss. But thinking about it now… it’s you who’s marrying up.]

A reply came almost immediately…

[Star Glaze: ???]