The sequence is too involutional, luckily I am too.

Chapter 138 Mu Yun's Ambition! The Executioner's Promotion Path

"Mu Yun?"

Upon hearing Xue Jiansheng's words, Lu Yan immediately fell into deep thought.

He had never considered cooperating with Muyun, but Xue Jiansheng's advice served as a wake-up call.

"Master, what exactly are Mu Yun and the others planning to do?"

Lu Yan looked up and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

If he were to follow the style of the Muyun members of Shelter 056, he would definitely classify them as followers of the Ghost God without hesitation.

It's even more threatening than the followers of the evil god!

Fortresses are always destroyed from within, and 056 Muyun is clearly that destroyer!

Since arriving at the original sanctuary, he had not sensed the slightest hostility from the Muyun headquarters.

Even the malice emanating from within the courtroom was greater than that from Mu Yun.

But if the Muyun headquarters truly cares about humanity, why is Master so wary of them?

"Mu Yun—I can only say that their initial intentions were good, but their methods were too dangerous."

Xue Jiansheng's gaze turned serious as he looked into the distance. He slowly spoke, "Do you know? They're trying to weaken the existing extraordinary paths using countless branching sequences, erasing the foundation of the Ghost God and even higher-level beings from their very source!"

"Differentiation path?"

Lu Yan was shocked, and disbelief flashed in his eyes.

He never imagined that Mu Yun would have such extreme and crazy ideas.

But considering Xue Jiansheng's previous instructions, it seems that this is not impossible.

When the branches multiply to an extreme, the primordial tree, which supports humanity's extraordinary existence, may well have its foundation shaken and collapse.

The moment the thought crossed Lu Yan's mind, he realized the fatal risk involved.

The extraordinary path may be differentiated, but the proliferation of branching paths will inevitably breed corruption.

Since branch paths can corrupt the core paths of extraordinary beings, the primordial tree of gods that nourishes all extraordinary paths should also be corrupted.

If the Tree of God malfunctions, humanity's path to transcendence will completely collapse, and then—

Lu Yan felt a chill run down his spine as a terrifying thought surged into his mind.

Perhaps the Tree of God is already corrupted by now!

Even the birth of the evil god was due to these contaminations!

The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became, and he finally understood the fear and gravity in Xue Jiansheng's heart.

"They are inherently stubborn. Once they believe something can help humanity, they will go to great lengths to achieve it, no matter the cost."

Xue Jiansheng sighed, his tone full of helplessness, "But if the path to transcendence is corrupted again, who can guarantee that something even more terrifying than the Ghost God won't appear?"

"This world is far more complex than we realize."

Xue Jiansheng raised his eyes to look at the sky, his gaze deep and unfathomable. "And what lies beyond this world is only more dangerous."

"Master, are you referring to—extraterrestrial civilizations?"

Lu Yan's mind raced, and he instantly realized, "Mu Yun plans to use that compass to contact an extraterrestrial civilization?"

Xue Jiansheng was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but then he remembered that the compass originated from Shelter 056, and he understood. He slowly nodded and said, "That's right. We have already discovered traces of extraterrestrial civilizations in several secret realms, but we still cannot determine whether they are friend or foe to humanity."

"Humanity can no longer afford new enemies—"

Xue Jiansheng's tone turned completely somber, but a more resolute light ignited in his eyes—a resolute determination to protect the extraordinary foundation of humanity.

Lu Yan nodded silently, engraving every word Xue Jiansheng said into his heart.

Seeing his composure, humility, and knowing when to advance and retreat, Xue Jiansheng's eyes flashed with approval—this grand-disciple had indeed not disappointed him.

"There's one more thing."

Since Xue Jiansheng had some free time, Lu Yan told him about Chu Ci's visit.

"Chu Ci—He is an anomaly in the Chu family. Normal communication and cooperation are fine, but don't get too close to him."

Xue Jiansheng paused for a moment, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, he's looking for you to resolve his own sequence problem."

"But this matter involves the core of the Chu family, and you absolutely cannot get involved, otherwise that brat Chu Sheng will really target you."

As he spoke, Xue Jiansheng's aura became sharp, and he said solemnly, "Of course, if the Chu family comes looking for trouble for no reason, you don't need to get entangled with them. Just tell your master."

"Rest assured, Master, I understand!"

Lu Yan nodded vigorously. Having someone to back you up when you're in trouble—that's the point of clinging to someone powerful!

"Now that the tower is open, the academy will surely become lively, but some rats hiding in the shadows will also take the opportunity to cause trouble."

Xue Jiansheng changed the subject and instructed, "For your safety, try to stay in the dome as little as possible and focus on your cultivation."

As he spoke, he took out a scroll and a bottle of glowing potion from his pocket and handed them to Lu Yan: "This is the information on Sequence 5 - Punishment Knight, and the accompanying potion. Keep it safe and do not spread it."

"Thank you so much, Master!" Lu Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly accepted the gift with both hands, overjoyed.

With this information, the criteria for promotion of executioners can also be revealed.

"That's all I can do to help you. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself to accumulate merits and exchange them for resources."

Xue Jiansheng stroked his beard and chuckled, his tone filled with expectation, "Of course, I would be even happier if you could completely forge your own extraordinary path."

"Rest assured, Master, I will certainly not let you down."

Lu Yan smiled slightly, his eyes filled with determination.

He has walked his own path all the way to this day.

"However, on the other hand, the consumption of resources for you to cultivate so many sequences must be considerable."

Xue Jiansheng changed the subject again, narrowing his eyes and speaking with a hint of cunning.

"If Mu Yun really does come knocking, you can act accordingly. Although those five old geezers are extreme and do inhumane things, they are exceptionally generous when it comes to recruiting talent, you know what I mean?"

"Rest assured, Master, your grand-disciple understands."

Lu Yan understood immediately, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

Taking benefits without contributing doesn't count as cooperation; he still has that sense of propriety.

The old man and the young boy exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly, everything understood without a word.

"Alright, you understand some things, I won't say any more."

Xue Jiansheng dispersed his domain, grabbed Lu Yan, and in a flash, flew towards the dome.

After landing, Xue Jiansheng looked in the direction of the Divine Tree Palace and said in a softer tone, "I'll go check on Qing'er first. You can go back by yourself."

Lu Yan naturally wouldn't disturb them, nodded slightly, and turned to leave.

He also had many things on his mind that urgently needed to be dealt with.

Upon returning to his manor, Lu Yan saw Yin Shuo and Ning Ran waiting for him at the door.

Upon seeing him return, Yin Shuo immediately stepped forward and hurriedly handed him a scroll.

"Lu Yan, double-check the beginner's version of the Knight Apprentice Breathing Technique. If there are no problems, I'll go ask the old man for credit!"

Lu Yan took the scroll and quickly flipped through it. The panel immediately displayed relevant information: 【? ? · Knight Apprentice Breathing Technique (Beginner): 0%】

"It should be fine," Lu Yan said, raising his eyes.

Panel certification guarantees quality.

At this moment, he could no longer suppress his eagerness to cultivate.

But after thinking for a moment, he asked Yin Shuo for a blank scroll, quickly wrote down the wizard apprentice meditation method, and handed it over.

After all, it was a team effort that they achieved, so he wouldn't claim all the credit for himself.

"That's good!"

Yin Shuo breathed a sigh of relief, then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, his tone tentative, "Um, Lu Yan, if you have time, could you design a custom branch sequence for me too?"

"A dedicated sequence?"

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

Although Xue Jiansheng forbade him from freely diversifying his own path, it didn't have much impact on him.

Moreover, since it was Yin Shuo who spoke, there was even less reason to hesitate.

"Write down your thoughts first, and I'll help you think about them later."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm all ready!"

Yin Shuo's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled out a thick stack of papers from his pocket, handing them to Lu Yan. "This is the table of contents. Take a look first, and I'll give you the details later!"

Lu Yan looked at the thick stack of papers, his lips twitched, and he said helplessly, "—Why don't you just choose the Harvest Path directly?"

Yin Shuo's expression instantly fell, and he looked at Lu Yan with helpless eyes. His pitiful appearance made even Ning Ran, who was silent to the side, unable to help but curl the corners of her lips and laugh out loud.

The three chatted for a few more minutes before going their separate ways.

The trip to the tower was very fruitful for everyone, but they need time to digest and absorb the information to solidify their own strength.

Back at the cultivation building, Lu Yan couldn't wait to open the intelligence scroll given to him by his master.

[The executioner's promotion path sequence 5 - Retribution Knight %￥#12# has been found to be incorrect! Under correction ————]

[Correction successful! Executioner promotion path discovered!]

[Executioner Promotion Requirement 1: Uncover ten unknown criminals (0/10) - Incomplete]

[Executioner Promotion Criterion 2: Execute ten Sequence 6 criminals without anyone knowing (0/10) - Not Completed]

[Executioner Promotion Condition 3: Execute a Sequence 5 criminal without anyone knowing (0/1) - Not Completed]

[Executioner Promotion Criterion Four: ???]

Why is it required that no one knows? There's still one condition that's unknown?

Lu Yan was somewhat surprised. Was it the effect of the Fool's gift?

"The unknown criminals—it seems there's no way to get the court to do this for free."

If someone can be arrested by the court, it means that the charges have already been established, and they do not meet condition one.

As for condition two—he was confident he could secretly execute some, but the criminal court of sequence 6 would definitely keep a close watch on them, and these people dying for no reason would certainly attract the court's attention.

As for condition three, that's even more difficult!

A Sequence 5 criminal is a pillar of society no matter where they are placed, so it's really difficult to keep them a secret.

"We'll just have to keep looking for it."

As soon as Lu Yan had a thought, the executioner began to act.

The executioner, aware of the host's intentions and finding them perfectly aligned with His, proactively went out to find criminals who met the criteria.

He wanted to see how many criminals could escape the executioner's watchful eye!

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