The holy white light flowed like an upside-down waterfall that pierced the top of the sky.
Gu Qing Shanâs entire body was immersed in the light, almost seeming like a mythical Deity.
âLet go of the stone!â
The Viscount envoy shouted.
Gu Qing Shan let it go as he said.
Instantly, the supernatural phenomena and the pillar of light both disappeared.
The room returned to silence.
âAm I an evil creature?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
Around him, including the eight knights that surrounded him before, had sheathed their weapons and bowed to him.
âNo! You are naturally not an evil creature!â
The Viscount envoy answered hysterically.
âThen my faith isâââ as Gu Qing Shan was talking, he suddenly shut up.
The metal book in the Viscount envoyâs hand suddenly gave off a mass of white light that enveloped Gu Qing Shanâs body.
âYou are the keeper of the Divine country and mortal world, the Enforcer of Deific power, the worshipper and servant of the Condemnation Codex!â the Viscount envoy replied.
Following the Viscount envoyâs declaration, the white light suddenly manifested as a Card that appeared in front of Gu Qing Shan.
A blank Card.
Watching this Card, Gu Qing Shan felt nothing but an unfounded sense of familiarity.
He then turned to the Viscount envoy and asked: âCan I take this Card?â
âOf course you can, this Card was hidden at the depths of the Laws, it is something that hadnât manifested for countless yearsâ the Viscount envoy replied.
â...Thatâs true, I donât think Iâve ever heard of the Church of Condemnation beforeâ Gu Qing Shan tried probing.
âIndeedâ the Viscount envoy replied full of emotions: âThe murder and evil of mortals, or a competition, perhaps even a war between Deities, whenever something below or above the Heaven cannot be decided, the power of all Deities will manifest as the Condemnation Codex to pass judgementâ
âAnd you, are the only Condemner to appear in the past 700 yearsâ
âFrom now on, you shall be the acting avatar of the Deitiesâ Condemnation Codex, the enforcer, judge, and executor of Deific Lawâ
ââââyou must prepare yourself mentally, the Viscount will surely incur you as his son-in-lawâ
Gu Qing Shan didnât reply.
The blank Card that he was holding suddenly manifested an image depicting himself.
He was wielding two swords, silently hovering in mid-air.
âââit was his Card form!
Instantly, lines of glowing text appeared in the void of space:
[Identity verification complete]
[Youâve activated the Inner Plane Condemnation Codexâs bestowal Card]
[This is a Card that had been waiting for you for countless years, only accessible to a Condemnation Card entity like yourself]
[With this Condemnation Codexâs bestowal Card, your Condemnation Codex has also fully awakened]
Gu Qing Shan was surprised.
âWhy is that?â he silently asked.
The War God UI replied:
[As you carry the Title âCherub of Condemnationâ, no Deity can receive your faith. It was through witnessing this Title that they immediately requested your aidââ even though you are still so feeble, they were willing to guide you here, hoping to borrow your strength to fight against the plague, monsters, and wraiths]
Gu Qing Shan fell silent.
From the void of space, a book the size of his hand with a black cover silently manifested and hovered in front of Gu Qing Shan.
A few lines of glowing text quickly appeared in front of his eyes:
[The Condemnation Codex has awakened]
[From this point on, you are the very Deity you worship, as well as the acting avatar who walks the mortal plane for your worshipped Deity]
Taking the handbook, Gu Qing Shan flipped open the first page.
[Codex owner: Rhode (alias)]
[Below the stars, above the earth, you who hold the Codex hold the authority of Condemnation in your hand]
The next page.
This page had two Card slots, one of which was empty with two lines of texts clearly noting below:
[Rare Divine Artifact: Condemner of the Inner Plane, Crimson Demon Divine Spear]
[This weapon has followed your will, currently suppressing the Apocalypse Door Knockers from outside the Reality Gate]
Gu Qing Shan looked at the second Card slot.
There was a new Card here, which depicted a woman surrounded by a yellowish-brown fog, currently kneeling on the ground as she devoutly prayed. In the sky above her, a man with a pair of wings made of light looked upon her with a gaze of pity as he silently listened to her prayers.
Gu Qing Shan took this Card out.
[Divine Word: Cleanse]
[Activating this Card, you can eliminate all restraining powers upon any living being or Deity]
[While holding the Condemnation Codex in your hand, you can chant an incantation to trigger this Card]
What a powerful Card!
Gu Qing Shan was surprisedâââ
Just like the very first time I met Little Dusk, where she managed to seal all my weapons with a single Card.
This is incredibly powerful.
It turns out that Condemnation Cards are considerably powerful even in the Inner Plane.
Gu Qing Shan sighed emotionally, then put the Card back and flipped to the next page.
ââhe found that he couldnât open it no matter what.
Another line of glowing text appeared:
[Only by becoming stronger will you be qualified to control even more Condemnation Cards]
So thatâs why.
Gu Qing Shan silently put the black-cover book away, then looked back at the Viscount envoy.
The other party was carefully judging him.
âWhy do I feel like your excellencyâs gaze is a bit different?â Gu Qing Shan smiled.
âCondemnation is a rare power, one with great potential to grow. Thatâs why, Rhode, your fortune has arrivedâ the Viscount envoy replied.
He walked up to the wall and knocked on it using a walking cane.
A door instantly appeared on the wall.
Stepping to one side, the Viscount envoy explained: âGo, the Viscount has been notified of what happened here. He shall first confer your rank then personally notify the Church of Condemnationââ- there are no branches of this church within the Fran Duchy, so perhaps you will have to remain for a few days in the Viscount manor, itâll be convenient for seeing which young lady has a suitable personality with youâ
Gu Qing Shan and Crow exchanged glances.
The Viscount envoy was an experienced man, so he quickly added: âYour potential wonât be limited to that of a Baron, Rhode, I hope youâll make a careful and informed decision regarding your marriageâ
The air became frozen.
âMe? And him?â Crow pointed at herself, then at Gu Qing Shan, her face filled with killing intent.
âAh, you misunderstand your excellency, my knight and I do not have such a relationshipâ Gu Qing Shan stopped Crow and quietly explained.
The Viscount envoy glanced at Crow.
ââ-how else would such a beautiful woman remain by your side then? Youâre still insisting that itâs not that kind of relationship?
Just look, after being pointed out, sheâs even making that cute pout, clearly anger from being embarrassed.
Hah, fine, itâs a matter of the youngsters.
Very wisely, the Viscount envoy didnât say anything else.
Fortunately, with Gu Qing Shanâs intense signaling through his eyes, Crow managed to hold herself back from attacking.
Gu Qing Shan sighed in relief and said: âThen, let us goâ
He walked up to the door.
Crow followed behind him.
The eight knights sheathed their weapons, also preparing to follow along.
Suddenly, Gu Qing Shan stopped right in front of the door.
âWhatâs the matter?â the Viscount envoy asked.
âPlease wait a momentâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
He released his inner sight to circle around his left wrist.
The indigo sword-shaped pattern had turned into a burning Divine Script, which transferred waves of pain through his wrist.
The world disappeared.
After the darkness, at the very next moment, Gu Qing Shan found himself standing in the middle of a cast sea of stars.
The world spirit manifested as thousands of voices and spoke in unison: ă Stranger, the Plague worldâs first invasion had begun, the location is also Ramon village. Defeat them, use their corpses to issue a warning to the entire world ă
ă By accomplishing this, we shall reaffirm your stance and grant your proof of entry a bit more power! ă
Very quickly, the sea of stars disappeared
Gu Qing Shan found himself back in the same room.
A long scream suddenly resounded from outside.
Followed by crying, desperate screams, the sound of running, and the sound of combat.
Gu Qing Shan reached outside with his inner sight.
Two people wearing yaksha masks grew eight extra legs, rapidly lunging forward like two spiders into the crowd of people massacring them.
ââ-infected!
The Wraith realm humans became infected!
Who wouldâve thought that the first victims of the Plague Apocalypse would be Wraith realm humans?
âViscount envoy, thereâs been a situation with my village, as the chief, I must take a look.
A bow appeared in Gu Qing Shanâs hand before he swiftly vanished from the room.
Crow followed suit.
The Viscount envoyâs expression shifted a bit, muttering: âStrange, what happened to those two wraiths? Why did they turn into that form, even having the gall to kill our subjects...?â
âYoung master Rhode is still young so he might run into some dangerâ
He signaled with his hand.
The eight knights vanished from the room together with him.