Chapter 210
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Chapter 210: Growth
When he heard the word “believer,” the body before him trembled almost imperceptibly.
“Who you were before, what you’ve done – I don’t care about any of that because it’s meaningless to me. In this world, no one can betray me.”
Murmur’s voice was magnetic, his calm tone full of confidence.
“Will you die here miserably, or follow me and begin a new life? Tell me… your answer.” Murmur’s eyes narrowed slightly.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
The body lay motionless, as if truly dead.
Just as Murmur was about to lose patience, the charred body stirred, shedding flakes of burnt flesh. His lips trembled slightly, releasing an extremely faint sound.
“Yes.”
His voice was tiny and weak, but Murmur heard it.
A smile bloomed on Murmur’s face as he stood up. The surrounding environment began to twist strangely, bizarre scenes radiating from around him. Everything wavered between reality and dreams.
This was the Klein boundary’s divine realm, Sequence 018, [Dream Divergence].
In this seemingly non-existent world, the charred body slowly floated up. Misty, flickering light surged over his body. The charred flesh began to revive, the severed right leg started to regrow, and the dying organs began to regenerate…
Itching and pain, as if someone was cutting away all the dead flesh with a knife and forcibly inserting fresh muscle tissue. Even enduring such torture comparable to severe punishment, he still clenched his teeth without making a sound.
Time passed slowly. As the ethereal light dispersed, a fresh new body had been born.
Shen Qingzhu, restored to his original form, slowly descended to the ground. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the bewitching man before him, his thoughts unknown.
Murmur waved away the divine realm and smiled at Shen Qingzhu, speaking with some surprise:
“I thought your first act after recovering would be to attack me.”
“I can’t beat you,” Shen Qingzhu said calmly.
“Then do you want to try running? You might succeed in escaping.”
“No.” Shen Qingzhu shook his head. “I won’t run. I want to join the [Believers].”
This time Murmur was truly surprised. He carefully examined Shen Qingzhu for a moment before nodding with a smile.
“Good, very good. I can sense that in the future, you’ll definitely have a place among the top ranks of the [Believers].”
He extended his right hand, a faint orb of light appearing at his fingertip. The orb left his finger and floated to Shen Qingzhu’s brow.
“This is the [Believers’] soul contract, created by me personally. Anyone below god-level will be branded by it in their soul, truly becoming my believer.”
“But don’t worry. You’re a promising seed – I won’t interfere too much with your thoughts. As long as you don’t rebel, I won’t use it to constrain you.”
Shen Qingzhu stared at the orb before him without any hesitation in his eyes. He grabbed the orb and pressed it into his brow!
White light enveloped his entire being!
Seeing Shen Qingzhu’s decisive action, Murmur raised his eyebrows in surprise, his admiration increasing further.
As the light dispersed, Shen Qingzhu stepped forward, his body slightly bowed, right hand placed on his chest, and spoke calmly:
“Believer Shen Qingzhu will forever follow in your footsteps.”
A satisfied smile appeared on Murmur’s face – he greatly enjoyed this feeling.
“Very good, rise.” Murmur lifted his head to look at the distant sky, his mood seemingly quite good. “It’s time to go. I’ll take you to the [Believers’] headquarters. If we stay any longer… those annoying people will come after us again.”
“Yes.” Shen Qingzhu responded respectfully.
Murmur turned around as an illusory door appeared before him. He leisurely stepped through it and vanished.
Shen Qingzhu watched Murmur’s disappearing figure, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.
“Idiot.”
Shen Qingzhu lowered his head, reaching toward his chest…
There lay a circle of broken jade pieces.
He had gambled correctly.
The Heaven-Returning Jade had successfully blocked Murmur’s soul brand, meaning he had become the only person among all the [Believers] who was free from Murmur’s control.
It seemed… he owed that fat fool more and more favors.
He looked back at the familiar mountain, his gaze seeming to pierce through endless layers of earth to fall upon the shining insignia at the bottom.
“Goodbye… Night Watchman.”
He murmured.
He stepped forward. At the same time, a cocoon beside his foot suddenly burst open. A pair of beautiful wings struggled out of the broken shell, fluttering unsteadily as it flew into the distance.
Shen Qingzhu stood transfixed watching this scene. After a long while, he smiled and shook his head, stepping toward the illusory door.
The wind carried his voice as it drifted.
“Growth… huh.”
…
The endless darkness gradually receded as control returned to his body. In his dreams, Lin Qiye slowly opened his eyes.
White ceiling, pristine hospital bed, light yellow floor – the white gauze curtains floated gently in the wind through the open window, beyond which lay the familiar training ground.
This was… the infirmary?
Lin Qiye tried to sit up, but weakness permeated his entire being from his very soul. His exhausted body felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead.
Every wound on his body had been carefully bandaged. Looking at his blue and white hospital gown, Lin Qiye smiled bitterly.
Even the Academy Director has his day to wear a hospital gown.
He managed to sit up with difficulty, put on slippers, and stumbled toward the door. As soon as he opened it, he heard Baili Pangpang shouting from next door.
“Impossible! He can’t be dead! I gave him the [Heaven-Returning Jade]! Even if the King of Hell himself came, he couldn’t possibly die!”
Lin Qiye froze, confusion appearing in his eyes.
Who died?
He instinctively quickened his pace toward the neighboring ward. His legs suddenly gave out, and he nearly fell to the ground.
“Lin Qiye?!”
Instructor Han Li saw Lin Qiye appear in the doorway and exclaimed, hurrying forward to support him.
Lin Qiye steadied himself against the doorframe, waving his hand to indicate he was fine. He saw Baili Pangpang wearing the same style hospital gown, his head thickly wrapped in bandages like a bobblehead doll, sitting on the bed.
“Seven Night?! You’re awake?!” Baili Pangpang exclaimed in delight upon seeing Lin Qiye.
“What happened? Who died?” Lin Qiye frowned as he asked.
Instructor Han Li and Baili Pangpang both fell silent.
“It’s Shen Qingzhu.” Instructor Han Li slowly spoke. “To save Instructor Hong and Baili Pangpang, he took the instructor’s insignia and jumped into the burning cave.”
“He’s not dead!” Baili Pangpang spoke up again, looking earnestly into Lin Qiye’s eyes and firmly saying, “Seven Night! Believe me! He’s not dead!”
“Even if he was burned and crushed under rocks, he wouldn’t die!”
“He must be trapped somewhere underground… I need to find him, I need to dig him out!”
Baili Pangpang anxiously got out of bed, not even putting on slippers as he hurried toward the door.
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