Chapter 182: Chapter 134: Month: Storage and Cold (Part 2)

"So~ I heard you defeated Lu Luwei."

Kumironi was in the dining room. Obades was frying some Dragon Meat.

"Heh heh," Lu Cang said. "I just got lucky. I happened to learn Space Element Magic during the match."

Kumironi smiled. "Luck is a part of one’s strength, you know."

"Kumironi, what’s the situation with the Death Church?"

"The Death Church... The cleanup operation is going very smoothly."

"Thanks to the intelligence you cracked, we’ve raided many of the Death Church’s strongholds. We captured and killed many of their followers, including a number of high-ranking members."

"We also rescued many imprisoned civilians."

Lu Cang took a sip of a sweet, unnamed beverage. ’These results are quite impressive.’

"Can I join your operation?"

"Hmm... Actually, the cleanup operation around the City in the Circle is more or less complete."

"We plan to set out in a while for Lorren’s Capital, Kernoya, and eliminate a few strongholds along the way."

’Leaving in a while?’

’That’s right. The original plan was to just pass through the City in the Circle to rest and have a Magic Wand forged.’

’The plan was to leave as soon as the Magic Wand was finished.’

’But then we suddenly ran into this incident with the Death Church, which caused a delay of a few days.’

"Oh, right. Lu Luwei said she wants to join us."

"I’ve already heard."

Kumironi replied, "Lu Luwei’s strength is not to be underestimated. There’s no need to worry about her holding us back. It would actually be great if she could come."

Lu Cang and Kumironi talked for quite a while.

Based on the information Kumironi provided, he could roughly surmise a few things.

Barring any surprises, the Death Church’s conspiracy had been shattered.

’What a shame. A Cult’s century-long plan...’

’...all went down the drain because a child uncovered their secret.’

That day, Lu Cang went to the Thousand Army Ant Mountain’s Sealing Land again.

He set up a table and read.

Gathering a Demon tide, performing Enhancement on the Thousand Army Ant Mountain—he couldn’t be more proficient at these two processes.

The more he looked at the Thousand Army Ant Mountain, the more he felt he couldn’t bear to part with it.

’If I’m going to leave the City in the Circle, I’ll have to kill the Thousand Army Ant Mountain.’

’Otherwise, it would be like leaving a ticking time bomb here.’

’Lu Cang couldn’t guarantee that someday in the long future, someone wouldn’t break the Seal and unleash the Thousand Army Ant Mountain upon the world.’

’In fact, it feels like the main purpose of a Seal is to be broken.’

’Instead of killing a Demon that could bring ruin to the world, they specifically seal it away, just waiting for some villain to undo the Seal and throw the world into chaos.’

...

On his way back, he heard people everywhere talking about Lu Luwei.

It seemed that Lu Luwei had become a Level 5 Archer that day.

The next day, the Ten Thousand Goods Mall held an auction, apparently featuring many high-end goods made from Nation Destruction Level Demons.

Lu Cang went to check it out.

’The markups are insane...’

In the end, Lu Cang decided against bidding on anything.

’Rather than spending millions of Gold Coins on a single item made from the parts of a Nation Destruction Level Demon, I’d rather just go kill a few myself and have an Enchanter or a Blacksmith custom-make something...’

But it was clear that the Ten Thousand Merchandise Association was really making a fortune off these Nation Destruction Level Demons.

That same day, Lu Cang also began studying Destiny Science.

In a single day, he read over a hundred books on various topics related to Destiny Science.

’I couldn’t say I completely understand Destiny now, but at least I’ve grasped many of its key aspects.’

After learning these theories, Lu Cang felt a strange mix of emotions.

’Once you begin to understand Destiny, it’s no longer so terrifying...’

’But at the same time, it brings with it countless new questions about Destiny.’

「The third day.」

On this day, Ai Jin underwent his Enchanter advancement.

A celestial phenomenon occurred.

Countless complex Runes circled between heaven and earth, transforming into faint patterns that were engraved upon every corner of the City in the Circle.

It seemed Ai Jin’s promotion was a success.

He had become one of the few Level 6 Enchanters on the Ruelun Continent.

Lu Cang paid him a visit to offer his congratulations. Ai Jin gave Lu Cang a pendant with a luck Enchantment, which could slightly increase one’s good fortune.

Lu Cang also took this opportunity to subtly ask Ai Jin for his thoughts on Human Sacrifice.

Unexpectedly, Ai Jin was extremely interested in this kind of Refining Technique.

According to him, the higher one’s rank, the harder it is for ordinary Enchantment Magic and Refining methods to resonate with the principles of the Profession.

One must discover, create, and realize things that others have never attempted, or forge rare and priceless treasures.

Only then can one truly follow the path of an Enchanter.

"So... Uncle Ai Jin, you’re willing to try these special Techniques?"

"Hah! What’s this talk about ’evil’? Those scum can use living people as sacrifices to an Evil Divine Being, so what’s wrong with us using them for Artifact Refining? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What’s the problem with giving them a taste of their own medicine?"

"If they’re going to do things like that, then they should be prepared to be used for refining by others."

"Honestly, what good is it if they just die a normal death? The people they murdered can’t be brought back to life. A simple execution is letting them off easy. That being the case, we might as well put them to good use."

’Ai Jin’s way of thinking is certainly... open-minded.’

’But I like it.’

’Now that Ai Jin has agreed, all that’s left is to see if I can borrow those Death Church convicts on death row and put them to good use.’

’I just wonder if Kumironi will be disgusted when she finds out what I’m planning.’

’Sigh... It’s just that these Evil Techniques are truly wondrous in their applications.’

’Especially since so many of them are Magic that require Soul Sacrifice, they’re a perfect match for me.’

Lu Cang paid a visit to the Life Church.