Chapter 429
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Chapter 429: Encountering the Truth Scholar Again
Inside the director’s office, three top-tier experts stood together, their gazes locked on one another.
“Are you the profligate of Babel Tower?” Austin asked, his expression serious as he scrutinized Bai Yan.
True to the rumors, Austin appeared exactly as described—an individual known for his unwavering integrity, meticulousness, and fairness, never engaging in deceit or transgressions.
Bai Yan nodded with a gentle smile, responding with a playful tone, “Um, Profligate, that’s me. And you must be Director Austin of the Demon Hunt General Agency, the famous Mr. Sword Saint. It’s an honor to meet you today.”
Honored?
Austin was taken aback for a moment, wondering if there was more to come from Bai Yan.
Reflecting on the past, Bai Yan couldn’t help but marvel at how far things had come. Just half a year ago, he had been a newcomer at the Demon Hunt Agency in Tatsumi City, struggling to even get a meeting with the director of the Tatsumi City branch. But now, things were vastly different. He was now in direct communication with the director of the Demon Hunt General Agency, even managing to make Austin wary of him.
Before Bai Yan could finish his thoughts, he addressed someone else entirely, “Mr. Xia, we meet again.”
“This time, Babel Tower, the Imperial Guards, and the Night Watchers of the Demon Hunt Agency are teaming up to help Tatsumi City, no, to help World overcome this challenge.”
Mr. Xia remained as calm as ever, giving a slight nod.
He locked eyes with Bai Yan and spoke in his usual composed manner, “Find the ‘key’ as soon as possible. That way, we only need to protect that one person, rather than dividing our forces.”
“Tatsumi City?” Bai Yan mused, “Let them destroy it; it doesn’t matter.”
Bai Yan smiled faintly, his words deliberate but restrained. It was clear that Mr. Xia held a higher position than Director Austin, and after Mr. Xia spoke, Austin had no further say. Bai Yan understood that for Mr. Xia, protecting World was paramount, while the safety of Tatsumi City was secondary, almost expendable. If the situation required it, even the entire world of Noah could be sacrificed for his divine goal.
“Let’s begin,” Mr. Xia said.
Austin, still pondering, interrupted with a question, “Wait a moment. If you find that ‘key,’ what comes next? Who will be responsible for guarding this world-ending entity?”
He continued, “Babel Tower is formidable, but the Demon Hunt General Agency has dealt with many major crises, saving World countless times. We have the experience to protect something of such importance.”
His meaning was clear.
Austin turned to Profligate, expecting a firm refusal, but to his surprise, Bai Yan nodded without hesitation.
“Okay,” Bai Yan replied simply. “Leave it to you.”
Mr. Xia nodded in agreement. “Since that’s settled, we’ll go investigate. The Imperial Guards’ ‘Pope’ is also working on a method to unravel souls without killing. He may get there faster than you.”
“Understood,” the reply came from a nearby figure.
Bai Yan said no more. He turned and walked away, heading directly for the White Tower of the Demon Hunt General Agency—a vast, empty training ground where the people they monitored and protected were waiting for inspection.
“The Pope,” the little boy was also there, looking at Bai Yan with a resigned sigh.
“This kind of hard work falls to me. Oh, Mr. World really knows how to boss people around,” the boy muttered.
Bai Yan merely shook his head and turned to leave. He wasn’t in the mood to interact with the Pope anymore.
His eyes narrowed as he scanned the crowd. Among them, he noticed an old man standing quietly. The elderly man, with his cane and scholarly elegance, was someone Bai Yan recognized immediately.
“It’s you, I never expected to see you here…” Bai Yan muttered under his breath.
The old man was none other than Professor Dong, one of the Truth Scholar’s four personalities.
Bai Yan had once communicated with another of the Truth Scholar’s forms—a college student named Xiao Qiu. He had even gone by the alias Xiao Xia at the time.
“Hmm, if we continue to use these aliases in the future, I’ll be Little Xia, Mr. ‘World’ will be Big Xia, and ‘Summer’ in the Truth Scholar will be Midsummer… It’ll be easier to tell them apart,” Bai Yan thought aloud.
He never imagined that the Truth Scholar was one of the many “candidate key holders.”
“Interesting,” he mused. “Opening the box might bring a pleasant surprise.”
For the moment, Bai Yan ignored Professor Dong. The more important task was to find the “key.”
Professor Dong, now in the form of the elderly man, silently observed the surroundings, his expression unreadable. Unlike Xiao Qiu, Professor Dong was well aware of the Truth Scholar’s true nature, understanding that within his being existed three distinct personalities.
“Is there an inspection?” Professor Dong asked, his gaze narrowing.
Among the four personalities, “Professor Dong” and “Midsummer” were the most powerful. The former excelled in rituals and possessed immense wisdom, while the latter was gifted with powerful magic and insight.
Bai Yan methodically moved through the crowd, touching person after person, activating his “Connection” and “Game” abilities, examining details these individuals were unaware of.
After about ten minutes, he sighed.
“Not here?” Bai Yan mused aloud.
Over five hundred individuals were present, including Professor Dong. Yet despite their careful inspections, neither Bai Yan nor the “Pope” had found the elusive “key.”
“Could the person we’re looking for still be outside? Or worse, have they been captured or killed by the enemy?” Bai Yan pondered deeply.
Meanwhile, within the Babel Tower, Bai Yan held his phone, pondering the next move.
A special event, known as the “Black Eagle Seal,” was unfolding in the Babel Tower. No matter the outcome—whether they eliminated the foreign supernaturals, the Doomsday Race, or found the “key” among the key individuals—there would be corresponding rewards. The greatest prize, of course, was the “key.”
The stakes were high. If the enemies found the “key” first and successfully unleashed the Black Abyss Deep Sea, everything could be lost.
“The timing of this event is critical. The power of the Black Abyss Deep Sea has surely begun to seep into this world…” Bai Yan reflected.
Suddenly, he felt a danger closing in.
Through the surveillance on his phone, Bai Yan noticed an overwhelming presence. Countless members of the Doomsday Race had already gathered in Tatsumi City’s Platinum Zone, advancing towards the White Tower. The sight was ominous, intimidating.
But Bai Yan remained unshaken.
With Mr. Xia, the strongest member of the Air Alliance, overseeing things, Bai Yan felt secure. As long as it wasn’t the ancient hundred-armed giant “Nullify” personally intervening, the White Tower remained safe.
“However, the arrival of ‘Nullify’ seems like a matter of time,” Bai Yan thought, his gaze hardening.
“And… will the Rainbows ever come?”
He knew the answer to that question. This was the real turning point.
Meanwhile, in a corner of Tatsumi City’s Platinum Zone, the other two members of the Doomsday Race’s “Three Kings” stood.
The expressionless elf girl, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, held a dark, mysterious black crystal ball in her hands. She awaited the command of “Nullify,” the revered master.
She whispered to the “Celestial Demon” inside a nearby fish tank, “Show your ability. Transform this city into your prey… In this city, there is a powerful presence that must be confronted with your strength.”
With those words, she began to chant an ancient, cryptic song, passed down through the ages.
The black slime monster in the tank stirred and trembled, leaping out and attaching itself to the wall. In an instant, the entire wall was devoured by the monster, growing in size as it did.
But the Celestial Demon, far from satisfied, continued devouring everything in its path—living beings and objects alike. Its size swelled rapidly, and it was clear that, before long, this rare “Apocalypse” class creature would grow large enough to devour the entire city of Tatsumi.
