Chapter 203-2: The Sacred Wine of the Goddess of Wushan (2)

Songjiang City, in a tranquil manor.

A teenage boy, looking like a high school student, waved his phone excitedly as he ran down the corridor.

Thump thump thump! The boy knocked on the closed door.

“Fisherman Bro! I cleared the Second Difficulty!”

The door opened, and the Fisherman came out, sporting two dark eye circles.

“…Xiaoyuan, can’t this wait until I’ve finished sleeping? Last night’s mission wore me out.”

“Fisherman Bro, I cleared it!”

Shang Xiaoyuan waved his phone excitedly, showing the screen.

The Fisherman looked at the pitch-black screen and helplessly patted his head. “Silly kid, I can’t see it… But the fact you cleared the Second Difficulty so quickly has exceeded both my and the Master’s expectations.”

“What was your interpretation rating?”

“Double S rank!” Shang Xiaoyuan lifted his head high like a proud little rooster.

“Not bad at all. Even though it’s just a Normal Difficulty chapter, achieving double SS rank truly matches your talent.”

“Did you solidify a Relic?”

“Of course… Too bad my last Relic was stolen by that Lord of Cinders.”

The Fisherman’s expression darkened.

Shang Xiaoyuan had been given high hopes by the Master and was being cultivated as a strong candidate for the Twelfth Disciple.

Ever since Shang Xiaoyuan’s Relic had been stolen by that unknown Apostle, the organization had mobilized forces to track that person down.

But whether it was intelligence from within the organization or from informants in the Apostle Security Council, they had all come up empty.

The matter had even alarmed Lord Bashir!

The Lord personally attempted to invade that unknown Apostle, but every time the invasion attempt failed.

There were only two possibilities for an invasion failure. One, the Apostle was offline or staying in the library the entire time. Two, the Apostle’s soul imprint was a fake.

The first possibility had already been ruled out. Someone in the organization had attempted to invade the Lord of Cinders around the clock for 24 hours straight, and the result had always been ‘Invasion Failed.’

The theory that the Apostle was offline or in the library didn’t hold up.

That left only the second possibility!

Items capable of disguising a soul imprint were rare, but every big figure in the organization basically had one, and any publicly disclosed soul imprint would have been concealed.

But the Fisherman felt the matter was far from that simple.

Shang Xiaoyuan had never revealed his soul imprint publicly. Only a handful of people inside the organization knew the real one.

If it was a random invasion by a new Apostle at the same difficulty level as Xiaoyuan, and that person was able to beat him head-on, the Fisherman absolutely did not believe it!

Moreover, even though he couldn’t see Xiaoyuan’s phone screen, based on Xiaoyuan’s own account, the Fisherman was already certain that person was a high-difficulty Apostle!

Someone possessing the power of a high-difficulty Apostle, who could obtain a disguise mask, and most importantly, who knew Shang Xiaoyuan’s soul imprint.

There could be only one truth… that someone was targeting Shang Xiaoyuan.

Since Shang Xiaoyuan was being cultivated as a candidate for the Twelfth Disciple, the one targeting him was very likely someone inside the organization.

Otherwise, how could the exposure of Shang Xiaoyuan’s soul imprint be explained?

And the purpose of targeting him was naturally to compete for the Disciple position.

With that, everything made perfect sense!

When he shared his deduction with Lord Bashir…

Lord Bashir had very rarely patted his shoulder and told him that what he said was exactly what the Lord was thinking at that moment.

The Fisherman took a deep breath, suppressing his anger toward the Lord of Cinders.

He gently patted the boy’s head, doting. “It’s alright. You don’t need to worry about anyone trying to steal your Relic anymore.”

“For now, the competition for the Twelfth Disciple hasn’t officially started. Such underhanded competitive acts already violate the Master’s will.”

“The Lord has reported this matter to the Master and has issued a warning to the other Disciples of the Sanctum… You have nothing more to fear.”

“This was my oversight. Back when you were naive, you revealed your soul imprint to the one who brought you into the organization. Even though, after I discovered you, I had all related individuals thoroughly eliminated…”

“I had thought I’d covered every trace cleanly without any loose ends. But your soul imprint still ended up in the hands of someone with ulterior motives… That invasion and theft of your Relic was the best proof.”

The Fisherman sighed heavily and said in guilt, “It was my fault.”

The boy’s smile was bright as the sun. “It’s okay, really, Fisherman Bro, you don’t have to blame yourself. It was just a Relic, I can still get an even better one.”

“Now I’m already very strong. If anyone dares try to steal from me again, I’ll make sure they pay dearly for it…”

The Fisherman seemed to be infected by the boy’s cheer, and the corners of his own mouth lifted.

‘I hope the Lord will soon find the rare item to change your soul imprint. Then Xiaoyuan will have no more worries,’ the Fisherman thought to himself.

The afternoon sunlight poured into the room, warm as the smiles on their faces.

—

Hang City, by West Lake.

Lush greenery concealed an old-style residence.

The residence was ancient and elegant, with winding covered walkways, painted bridges, and murmuring streams. It resembled a small garden.

Amos stood respectfully in a black robe, bowed at the waist.

Seated in the grand armchair before him was a sturdily built middle-aged man. The man gazed indifferently at the artificial mountain and flowing water in the courtyard.

“Lord Vishnu, I have already found a suitable candidate. There is a high likelihood he can secure another seat for you.”

The burly middle-aged man grew interested. “Oh? Let me hear about him.”

Amos cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, “This person is ruthless and decisive in his actions. His talent has considerable potential, and he is extremely ambitious.”

“When I first discovered him, he was only a weak Apostle. But his growth has been astonishing. In a very short time, he conquered Chapter Four and entered the Fifth Difficulty. His progress is truly shocking.”

“What is his interpretation rating?”

“It will not be lower than S rank.”

“Not bad, not bad. Looks like the candidate I chose before can be discarded.”

When he heard this, Amos was overjoyed, but his face showed not the slightest trace of emotion.

He maintained his bowed posture and continued, “This person has only recently entered the Disciple Sanctum, but his identity is clean. He used to serve under Talros, who was once a Disciple candidate.”

Vishnu raised an eyebrow. “Talros… Even under that useless wretch, someone talented could emerge? If it weren’t for his father holding a post in the Tribunal, how could the candidate seat have fallen to him?”

“What you say is absolutely correct, my lord. However, this Apostle called the Lord of Cinders truly is an exceptional talent.”

“Lord of Cinders…”

As he finished speaking, he saw that Lord Vishnu seemed to recall something, and the corner of the man’s eye began twitching uncontrollably.

Amos frowned. Could it be that his lord had already known about this person’s existence?

That shouldn’t be possible. Before he discovered the Lord of Cinders, this person had only been a minor figure.

How could he have drawn his lord’s attention? Was this what people called ‘great minds think alike?’

“Amos, Amos… you really are something…”

The middle-aged man shook his head slightly, as though he was seeing his loyal subordinate for the first time.

Vishnu studied him for a long moment, then slowly said, “Continue cultivating this Lord of Cinders. Do not be stingy with resources, and do not be timid in your methods. Do whatever must be done. If there are any problems, I will take responsibility for you…”

“Do you understand?”

Amos had no idea what was going on, but Lord Vishnu’s word was law, not to be questioned.

He bent his back even lower and called out loudly.

“Understood!”

Not long after, Amos left the old residence, with only one thought in his mind.

“Shit! This Lord of Cinders brat has someone backing him!”