[November 20th, cloudy skies. I’ve passed the second level trial of the Deep Waters, and the third level doesn’t seem too difficult. Despite some twists and turns after coming to Dadu, things have generally gone smoothly. I hope everything is going smoothly on your end.]

During his days in Dadu, Gu Shen didn’t have many spiritual pleasures.

Half of it was in this diary.

But who would write a diary seriously?

Perhaps it was because he knew someone like Chu Ling existed that he gave up the habit of recording important matters in Deep Sea. Who knew if what he wrote online would be seen?

Recalling the past half month since he joined the Adjudication Bureau, Gu Shen had the urge to flip off a certain irresponsible teacher more than once. After all, he was a big shot bearing the title of the grand adjudicator of the East Continent. But after taking him under his wing, he didn’t care about him and only gave him a Deep Sea transcendental connection before disappearing without a trace.

Was there any more unreliable teacher than this?

Senior Sister Luo and Senior Brother Zhong were both out on a mission, and who knew where Nan Jin had gone. Although Mr. Tree’s lineage was indeed united, they soon separated after getting together. Everyone was busy with their own affairs and went their separate ways, and there was no news from anyone.

Regarding the awakening, development, and exploration of his transcendental power, he could only rely on himself.

Fortunately, the principle of self-reliance had long been deeply ingrained in Gu Shen. It was like this in the orphanage, and it was the same when he left Five Elders Mountain for Oto City. No one helped, no one cared, no one paid attention. It sounded free and good, but in reality, he had to consider the worst-case scenario when doing anything because no one would help him. He could only rely on himself.

Seemingly sensing its master’s emotions, the Blazing Fire between his eyebrows suddenly jumped out and turned into a small figure. It grabbed his finger and carefully shook it flatteringly.

Gu Shen couldn’t help smiling. Is this little guy trying to cheer me up? This little guy’s growth speed… is really fast.

After swallowing Qu Shui’s transcendental essence, the Blazing Fire began its first transformation.

In the world of transcendents, everyone had to adhere to some fundamental laws. For example, the conservation of essence and the fact that essence with a master could not be forcibly seized and absorbed.

But he seemed to be an exception.

The mental attributes possessed by the Blazing Fire seemed to be different from ordinary mental attributes. This was what Gu Shen felt when he captured the thin line between Madam’s eyebrows.

What a transcendent at the Tenth Level of Deep Sea couldn’t do, he had accomplished.

There must be many peculiarities about this small flame that he had yet to unearth.

There was another noteworthy point.

Qu Shui’s transcendental essence should have returned to the Void after her death, but Gu Shen had absorbed it without any signs of rejection. This ‘characteristic’ that defied fundamental laws was the real reason why he decided to hide his Blazing Fire ability. If the assessment team and the Adjudication Bureau knew that he could absorb other people’s transcendental essence through immersion, their attitudes toward him would likely change drastically.

“Okay, don’t worry.” Gu Shen rubbed the little flame. “I’m fine now. I’ve never been better.”

Awakening transcendence was a leap in the level of life.

Both his mind and body felt as though they were ‘evolving’.

“Except for one small problem that hasn’t been resolved yet,” Gu Shen muttered softly.

This problem naturally referred to the Eternal Foundation.

After arriving in Dadu, Gu Shen began to ponder a question. Before he had awakened the Blazing Fire, what exactly had attracted Mr. Tree to decisively bring him into the Adjudication Bureau?

All of this started with the encounter with A-009 on the light rail.

The following question was… what considerations led the people from the Eternal Foundation to plan the fire case? At the time, he was only an ordinary person. Was the assassination attempt a coincidence?

Or… were these events inevitable?

Gu Shen preferred to believe the latter.

Shi Li might have clues.

He fell into deep thought. According to Cui Zhongcheng’s intelligence, Shi Li, the leader of team five of the Sincere Society’s South Hall, was an assault-type transcendent whose strength was roughly around the Fourth and Fifth Levels of Deep Sea. He was clearly stronger than him.

If the first three levels were akin to an infant learning to walk, then it was a qualitative change from the fourth level onward. Even with the Ruler of Truth, he couldn’t take down this man. Moreover, the South Hall of the Sincere Society was the territory of MP Chen San.

Gu Shen had considered the possibility of hypnosis. Although he was currently weak, his exploration of the mental characteristics of the Blazing Fire was fairly complete. If he could directly perform a mind immersion when the other party was unprepared, it wasn’t impossible. Unfortunately, the minds of the believers of the Eternal Foundation were implanted with self-destruct programs.

Once their minds lost control, they would detonate on their own.

Given how special my Blazing Fire is, is it possible to eliminate the program before it activates? A bold idea surfaced in Gu Shen’s mind. It was similar to removing the thin line. This so-called self-destruct program was merely a dormant mental imprint.

Regardless, I have to find an opportunity to make contact with Shi Li.

In fact, Gu Shen wasn’t that disappointed when he learned that the Eternal Foundation planted self-destruction programs in the minds of its pawns.

The Eternal Foundation’s security measures had ironically become his only hopeful countermeasure.

Regardless of Shi Li’s strength, Gu Shen had no intention of following Cui Zhongcheng’s opinion to let this dangerous man whose identity had been exposed live.

Although he was a small fish, he was still a fish after all.

Only those who had experienced assassination attempts would understand this feeling. The ceaseless threat of assassinations from the dark would never stop until the target died.

If one of them had to die, then he would make sure it was the other person.

…

“Achoo!”

In the dead of night, in an empty alley.

Shi Li, walking with his head down, suddenly sneezed loudly.

Frowning, he pulled his baseball cap lower. For some reason, a foreboding feeling crept into his heart.

Shi Li reviewed his trip silently. He had not attracted anyone’s attention, walked through the blind spots in surveillance, and no one was following him. Then, this should be his imagination. After walking a little farther, he would reach the residence where that sir had arranged to meet him. Leaving the remote alley, he arrived at an abandoned factory in Old Town. The rusted, peeling metal roller shutter door would creak loudly when the wind was strong. Unfortunately, tonight was a windy night.

On the moonless, windy night, the roller shutter made some cracking sounds.

Shi Li bent down, squeezed under the roller shutter, and entered the factory. The moment he looked up, he was stunned.

The barrel of a shotgun glowing with a ghostly light was pointing at his forehead, and the person holding the gun was an old man dressed as a cowboy. He didn’t use much force, yet a heart-palpitating pressure came from the barrel, pressing down on Shi Li so much that he instinctively raised his hands and pressed himself against the wall.

“Twelve-gauge, red silver alloy bullets,” the man said casually. “Don’t move, or I’ll blow your brains out.”

Shi Li’s expression turned gloomy. He finally understood the reason for the sneeze. It was a friendly reminder from the Goddess of Fate that nothing good was about to happen.

The veins on his forehead bulged uncontrollably. The oppressive pressure of the shotgun was overwhelming, and he seemed to be able to hear the roar of the red silver alloy bullets empowered by transcendental essence. The bullets made of such a high-logic material would cause irreversible damage to the transcendental essence system in his body.

When disorder and order collided, often only one would survive.

And even if he were to survive, his ultimate fate would most likely be losing control.

Even though he didn’t care about dying or losing control… his life still had a more important purpose at the moment.

“Young Master Zhao, this is my person.”

A light chuckle came from the other side of the factory.

Apart from a few load-bearing pillars, there was almost no other decoration in this giant abandoned factory, so the two figures sitting ten meters apart in the open area were extremely conspicuous.

Zhao Qi waved his hand. “Withdraw.”

The old cowboy with a cigar in his mouth narrowed his eyes and slowly lowered the barrel of the shotgun.

The terrifying pressure finally disappeared. Shi Li tilted his head and moved away. Then he lowered his head and moved forward silently. As he passed by, he glanced at the shotgun with lingering fear. What level of transcendent is this old man? The seventh level or eighth level?

‘Young Master Zhao’, who was negotiating with his legs crossed, had several transcendents of varying auras standing beside him, while the other side of the negotiation appeared a little lonely.

There was only one person.

The face of the man who came alone to negotiate was shrouded in darkness. The gleam of the polished shotgun barrel and the light from the cigar could not illuminate his face. Except for Zhao Qi, no one knew who this man was.

Shi Li stood obediently behind the man and braced himself to explain, “Sir, there was a delay in my schedule… Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“It’s fine as long as you’re here.” The man’s attitude was gentle, not angry at all. He only smiled and gestured for Shi Li to step back.

“As you command.”

All the uneasiness and perturbation in Shi Li’s heart melted away. He retreated respectfully. He felt as though an insurmountable mountain was standing in front of him, and the pressure released by the powerful high-level transcendents on the other side of the ‘negotiation table’… was all blocked.

The man chuckled. “Young Master Zhao, casual contact between us… isn’t a good thing.”