What evil intentions could an evil god possibly have?

Proceeding on the Ascending Stairs... or rather, climbing it is an extremely difficult task. Each step will stop countless extraordinary individuals, and even kill them.

The Special Affairs Bureau recruits superhumans only if they reach the second stage within two years of awakening.

If even this cannot be done, then there is no value in training them, and the awakened one is very likely to remain at the first level and never change throughout their life.

Heaven has granted you the hope of immortality, yet you have also limited your talents, leaving you to live a mediocre life, neither here nor there... You will live here, and you will die here.

This is undoubtedly a despairing thing.

Lin Mushi once thought that she was actually that kind of person.

Because she had been in the Special Affairs Bureau for almost a year, and had been receiving training since she first entered the second tier, she was still unable to progress, and her strength seemed to have stagnated.

Until one night, she and Gu Yuqiu became colleagues and partners, and then began living together... and one day... she suddenly saw a new view.

She thought this was a result of years of hard work and perseverance, but she never expected that she would have the same experience again just over ten days later.

However, the scenery she saw this time was even more magnificent than that day.

So she naturally took a step forward.

A more distant view came into her view.

Everything is no longer mysterious.

The countless trails left by the wind, the damp marks left after the rain, and even the lines of sunlight—everything is so clear and without omission.

Lin Mushi had never experienced such a wonderful feeling before. She felt that it was all indescribable, as if she could do anything if she wanted to.

"Only an idiot would have such a misconception."

Just then, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

She stopped, turned around and glanced at Su Yan standing to the side. Her expression became complicated as she wondered if she should say thank you.

If Su Yan hadn't interrupted her, she would have been completely absorbed in this intense pleasure, her thoughts would have become less focused, and she might have made a wrong decision.

Su Yan was well aware of what she was doing; this was her intention.

To be precise, this was her compensation for what she was about to do.

Lin Mushi withdrew her gaze and looked at Theresa, saying, "Aren't you going to make a move?"

Theresa's expression was no longer indifferent; she stared intently at her, as if trying to find divine inspiration within her.

Lin Mushi was willing to remain silent, even though she had already broken through to the third level and become a true powerhouse among the extraordinary beings.

Even for an organization like the Church of the Sleeping Souls, having an extremely powerful fifth-tier peak near-god level expert is not enough; a third-tier transcendent being is still a sufficiently important figure.

A superhuman at this level is fully qualified to become the leader of a force in a certain region.

Therefore, after Lin Mushi calmed down, she understood even more clearly how terrifying the power was hidden beneath the seemingly weak and powerless body of Theresa standing in front of her.

She is very strong now and is fully qualified to fight Mr. Zhuo back then, and even has a great chance of winning, but she still doesn't think she can defeat this saint of the Divine Will Walker.

If the specific name of the fifth stage is "close to God", then the fourth stage is "becoming a saint", which is a legend living among mortals.

"Feel sorry."

Theresa glanced at a distant spot, then looked at Lin Mushi and said with a sigh, "It seems someone doesn't want you to live, and I happen to... now I'm thinking of killing you."

……

……

not long ago.

Special Affairs Bureau, on the way to the rooftop.

Upon learning of the disturbance on a certain overpass, Lu Xiu was initially anxious.

However, when he learned that Lin Mushi was present, or that this chaos was caused by her, he suddenly felt relieved and even picked up a cup of coffee.

Zhong Chongshan looked at him with a complicated expression and asked, "Something happened over there, but you don't seem worried at all?"

Lu Xiu said, "With Lin Mushi here."

Zhong Chongshan said in a deep voice, "That's just a second-tier one."

"Isn't Gu Yuqiu also at the second tier?"

Lu Xiu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a playful smile, and he said, "How did Mr. Zhuo die? How did the Fool's Ship rot? And how was Crimson seriously injured?"

Zhong Chongshan remained silent.

Lu Xiu gave him a deep look and said in a low voice, "Don't forget, Lin Mushi was involved in all three of these things I mentioned. How could someone like her die so easily?"

Zhong Chongshan couldn't help but remind him.

"Gu and Qiu were both present at that time."

"Are you worried about your former subordinate?"

"Yes, because I always believed that Lin Mushi had nothing to do with what happened above, and that it was all Gu Yuqiu's problem. Your suspicions should not be directed at someone who is not involved."

"Do you think I haven't given up on the speculation about Shen Hong and Lin Mushi or Gu Yuqiu?"

"if not?"

"That's true, I still think so, but aren't I on my way to save people right now?"

Lu Xiu said with a smile.

Zhong Chongshan said helplessly, "I can't find a single trace of seriousness in you."

As they were talking, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

The dark passageway was unlit, so the only light source came from inside the elevator, which was dim and couldn't illuminate the way ahead or the end.

"Because I was also a little nervous."

Lu Xiu was silent for a while, then slowly walked into the darkness and said, "This rain seems natural, but I always feel that something is not right behind it, and this morning the sea... surged."

Zhong Chongshan was puzzled and asked, "Isn't the ebb and flow of tides a normal thing?"

Lu Xiu said, "Yes, I also think these worries are illusions, just paranoia after overthinking. It's just that... my intuition has always been somewhat accurate."

Zhong Chongshan sighed, "In this world, having the right intuition isn't necessarily a good thing."

"Yes."

Lu Xiu laughed, pushed open the iron gate at the end, looked at the torrential rain rushing towards him, and said, "I've read some stories before where the protagonist had such good inspiration that he inexplicably got into trouble he couldn't handle, and then he died."

Zhong Chongshan didn't reply, but looked at his profile and said, "That's all for now."

Lu Xiu said, "You could only be taken this far anyway."

Every extraordinary person who embarks on the path of all things will feel something in the very first moment.

Whether it's wind, fire, or even ice, there will naturally be thunder.

Lu Xiu was the last one.

He walked slowly forward against the wind and rain, enjoying the slight pain of the rain hitting his body, which then brought him a sense of comfort.

He arrived at the edge of the helipad, opened his eyes wide, found the isolated ray of sunlight in the wind and rain, and reached out his hand in that direction.

A bright spot suddenly appeared in the sky, contrasting with the torrential rain, creating a dreamlike effect.

Lu Xiu flipped his hand over, palm facing the sky, thumb resting on middle finger, ready to make that gesture.

The next moment, the bright light that was shrouded in the dense clouds will transform into lightning and fall with speed that surpasses everything, following his will to the location of that ray of sunlight.

At that time, the saint who came from the divine will will be shattered to pieces and die, with no chance of survival.

Just as the next moment arrived, just before Lu Xiu was about to snap his fingers.

He suddenly heard a faint sigh.

The sigh was tinged with emotion, but more so with regret for his quick reaction. This regret could be interpreted as... a threat, or perhaps a demand.

—Let him slow down; we should wait a little longer.

When he subconsciously tried to catch that sigh, it was as if it were all just an illusion, as if nothing had ever happened.

He looked up at the sky and saw that the light was still shining through the dark clouds, but it had become sluggish and no longer obeyed his will, as if a barrier had been created between them.

He remained silent for a long time, then opened his mouth and uttered a single, difficult, and silent word: "Good."

The will was quite satisfied and departed gracefully.

……

……

"Lu Xiu gave up."

Crimson withdrew her gaze, no longer looking in the direction of the Special Affairs Bureau, at the bolt of lightning hidden deep in the dark clouds.

She looked into Gu Yuqiu's eyes and asked, seemingly sincerely, "If you don't take action now, it will really be too late. Or... should I go in your place?"

Gu Yuqiu wasn't an idiot, so naturally she wouldn't answer that question.

Even if Crimson wasn't joking and was serious, she still wouldn't respond.

Because she knew that the person who forced Lu Xiu to stop must be Su Yan, who had quietly come to Xin Chu with the help of her gift.

Who can stop a fifth-tier peak who has made up his mind?

Of course, there is only one other person.

Or it could be her.

However, she couldn't do that now, because Su Yan would definitely be on her side, and more importantly, she had to deal with the upcoming Pope, obtain the Ancient Scroll of Sleep, and complete this grand funeral.

The reason for all this can be explained in a simpler way: saving Lin Mushi was not in her best interest.

From a purely self-interested perspective, whether Lin Mushi lives or dies is irrelevant to her.

Perhaps, Su Yan was telling her in this way that she was the most important person to her now, and that she should not have any other thoughts and should just learn to rely on her.

Gu Yuqiu disliked this very much.

But her expression remained calm, her eyes showing no emotion.

She glanced at the crimson robes and asked softly, "You seem to really want me to lose control?"

Crimson caught the key point in his words and said, "So you really are angry."