Forge a path to success

Frydan completely enveloped the 137th floor with smoke, filling every inch of space with power and perception.

does not exist.

no respond.

Both life detection and ghostly perception were completely blank; he couldn't even sense the most basic emotions. Just a moment ago, he had clearly heard the Twilight Golem's voice, but now he couldn't even smell the blood in the air. It was as if those two lives had vanished into thin air within the Great Archives!

“Impossible,” Frydan muttered to himself. “You wouldn’t be fast enough, and even someone with Jastry’s abilities would leave a trace… You’re on this level, Chu Hengkong!”

·

Chu Hengkong stood motionless deep within the smoke. Fan De muttered nervously, "It's 'invisibility magic,' I remember now… the result of our collaboration with the Divine Tree research group. It took me a very, very long time to complete this part…!"

Chu Hengkong spoke in a very soft voice: "Shut the hell up, are you afraid it can't hear you?"

“It absolutely can’t hear us!” Van Der exclaimed confidently. “Because it hasn’t killed us yet, which means the invisibility spell was successful. It can’t observe us, so it can’t hear our conversations!”

"What do you mean? Have we disappeared in a physical sense?"

“No, no, we’re right here, it just… can’t ‘see’ us!” Van der explained desperately. “Like a ghost! Right now, the two of us are just wandering ghosts. How can you know what a ghost is saying to you if you can’t even see it? How can you know what a ghost looks like?”

"Just like those things in horror movies, right? No matter how advanced your equipment is, you just can't see it."

"That's a very accurate description, you have a high level of understanding!" Vande praised. "He can't see us, so he can't kill us directly with his abilities. I've realized we're invincible this time!"

"I understand." Chu Hengkong took a deep breath. He noticed that the purple smoke around him was getting thicker and thicker. "Fan De, do you know how to exorcise ghosts in my hometown?"

"...Please take action?"

"When our place is haunted, we usually bombard it with field artillery until the haunting stops," Chu Hengkong said. "How are you going to deal with artillery with your invisibility technique?"

"Damn it, run!!!"

A sinister wolf howl echoed from within the purple smoke, and all matter within the 137th layer exploded simultaneously. Fragments rained down on the protective armor like bullets. Each layer within the sealed layer was protected by a divine power barrier equivalent to the limit of level 5, but before the terrifying "disorder disruption" of chaos, all defensive barriers were rendered useless; it was born to be the nemesis of order.

Chu Hengkong used his protective aura to deflect the fragments and continued his breakout downwards amidst the chaos. Fu Ruidan grasped a piece of wall debris, confirming his suspicions.

The two were indeed still inside the Great Archives. Their methods could block the view of chaos, but they couldn't handle the phenomena directly caused by physical disturbances. It seemed this was yet another new achievement from Twilight's secret research, although the ability looked strangely familiar…

"It's alright." Frudan disappeared with his hands behind his back. "You'll have to go rescue your companions eventually anyway."

·

On the 78th floor of the Great Library, Ji Huaisu stared at the ceiling, his face full of worry.

"Lico, did you hear anything? I have a feeling of commotion upstairs."

"Honestly, your auditory hallucinations are a bit severe. There are over a hundred layers of divine power barriers above you, and you can still hear 'crackling' sounds. You really need to doubt your brain." Lico bent down to examine the mushrooms.

“You said ‘ga la ga la,’ so you obviously heard it, right?”

"Maybe there's something wrong with the load-bearing column upstairs?" Lico wasn't sure. "I know it sounds far-fetched, but there are a lot of old buildings in Jingsha that lack maintenance..."

They were in room 127D on the 78th floor, one of countless standard rooms used to store evidence in pending prosecution cases. The box of Inspiration Mushrooms was in a cardboard box in the corner of the room, and the staff obviously didn't think much of it; the label read "Mushrooms: One Box".

"Phew, what a scare." Lico stood up and stretched, her youthful curves swaying like mountains. "Turns out the mushrooms were right here, all that hidden conspiracy was just wishful thinking on our part..."

"They've all been led astray by Vande; that guy's too good at making things up." Ji Huaisu yawned and stretched. "Alright, that's a wrap. Let's go to the hall and wait for A-Kong... Ah!"

Ji Huaisu suddenly froze, her face slightly flushed. Li Ke shrank back in fright: "What's wrong, Ji Huaisu?! Suddenly acting like a woman?!"

Something is touching me!

"Her auditory hallucinations have progressed to tactile hallucinations? There's no third one... Ouch!" Lico slapped her waist. "Who touched my waist?!"

The mysterious sensation transformed into a supernatural phenomenon: the two women were suddenly lifted into the air, one on each side, and held in mid-air by the air. Then, a sudden feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed them as they plummeted, crashing through layers of solid rock, carried by the invisible figures!

"Close your eyes, don't look at anything!" Chu Hengkong shouted. "Huaisu, you run in my place!"

He grabbed Ji Huaisu and Li Ke on either side; the previously invisible gaze was his rescue operation. Without a word, Ji Huaisu closed his eyes, donned his steel armor, and sped up: "What's going on?! Why are you so slow?!"

Given Chu Hengkong's normal speed, that leisurely "discovery" shouldn't have happened at all; they should have been outside the Great Archives after the first "Ah!" Vande yelled, "He's dead! The Great Demon is chasing us; if we're seen, we're dead!"

"Damn it, why do you guys get into this mess just because you brought a book?!" Ji Huaisu was exasperated.

"It came on its own, what's it to us! Hurry, it's caught up!!"

Ignoring the warnings, Lico boldly glanced back. Thick purple smoke billowed down from the 78th-floor ceiling, turning the walls and floors to dust layer by layer, as if an invisible giant were pressing down with its palm, intending to crush the building and the poor people inside into dust.

Amidst the thick smoke, scraps of paper flew everywhere. The large archives, already struggling to protect themselves, had no energy left to safeguard the documents. Long-forgotten evidence, letters, and files were reduced to flying debris. One document, barely intact, brushed past Lico. She spotted the words on the cover and quickly grabbed it.

"This looks like we're doomed! Call the police!!" Lico screamed.

"That's right, why haven't you Jingsha police arrived yet?!"

59, 35, 17, 9. The threat of death drew ever closer, the deafening roar like claws closing in on everyone's necks. Finally, Ji Huaisu landed on the first floor, and Chu Hengkong suddenly struck, sending the two flying. As they flew backward, they saw a thick layer of blood.

Dozens of gruesome wounds appeared out of thin air on the assassin's torso, twisted, broken, corroded, and reformed—the deadly gaze of a chaotic demon!

Chu Heng landed in the center of the hall, barely managing to stay upright thanks to his Divine Slash. His Undying and Indestructible Technique couldn't keep up with the speed of the destruction; the smoke coalesced into a deep purple wolf's head. The door to the Great Archives was also blocked by smoke. This building had been a hunting ground for demons from beginning to end; once you stepped inside, you couldn't leave.

“That ability to make one invisible seems unable to be used with multiple people.” Frudan raised his giant claw. “Well then, it’s over.”

The giant claw that heralded death clenched, and a sharp pain shot through the eyes of the three. The sense of impending death froze their blood like extreme cold.

Chu Hengkong drew his Qianlong Spear and aimed it at the door. His invincible strike from the Second Abyss shattered the barrier, casting a sliver of clarity. Taking advantage of the moment, Li Ke flung a yellow flower towards the outside of the Grand Archives, screaming, "Mr. Banningtik, help!!!"

Chaotic smoke had engulfed the hall, and under that deathly gaze, the three bodies began to disintegrate simultaneously. But then, a deep green light pierced the thick smoke, illuminating the entire library!

"According to Article 31 of the Constitution of the City-State of Jingsha, the personal safety of the citizens of the city-state is protected by the laws of the city-state."

Article 32. The city-state of Jingsha protects the legitimate rights and interests of foreign lives within its territory.

A green light swept in, covering every corner of the Grand Library. The three simultaneously felt a lightness in their bodies; their injuries had completely vanished, and vitality flowed with the light, instantly restoring their weakened bodies to full strength. The powder flowed back, transforming back into floor tiles and walls; the shredded paper flipped, coalesced, and pieced together to form complete documents, which then flew back to the various rooms on the 257th floor.

Wherever divine power passed, there was no damage whatsoever. In an instant, the order destroyed by the thick smoke was rebuilt, and a man in a dark suit stepped out of the light, his eyes behind his glasses devoid of any emotion.

"Article 113 of the Criminal Code of Jingsha City states that the crime of intentionally and illegally depriving another person of their life constitutes intentional homicide, punishable by death or life imprisonment."

Article 182 states that the act of intentionally and illegally harming the physical health of another person constitutes the crime of intentional injury, and if the injury is serious, the offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than thirty years but not more than one hundred years.

Article 24 of the Law on the Protection of Important Facilities in Jingsha prohibits the intentional intrusion into or damage to important facilities in Jingsha. Violators shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 20 years but not more than 50 years, and those whose circumstances are particularly serious shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 50 years but not more than 100 years…

A pair of gleaming handcuffs appeared out of thin air on Frudan's wrists, binding the demon's claws tightly. A pure white straitjacket followed, restraining the demon's power beneath the straps. The blindfold and shackles were reinforced one by one, and steel instruments of torture rose from the ground, pinning the chaotic demon to them. Iron rods descended from the sky, forming cold cells on the spot.

Banningtik continued reciting the legal statutes, his speech growing faster and faster until it became almost inaudible. With each crime he uttered, a new instrument of torture was placed upon Frudan. The chaotic forces erased the restraints, but the enforcers' severe punishments held absolute sway, leaving the demon no chance of retaliation.

Frudan leaned back in his iron chair and chuckled hoarsely, “This puppeteer has quite a personality. This is the first time I’ve heard so much nonsense.”

Banningtik adjusted his glasses slightly: "Fruidan Tanna Marikivis has violated 287 laws of the Jingsha City-State, committing 174 actual crimes. The situation is extremely serious and of a very high degree, posing a substantial threat to the citizens of Jingsha, the lives of foreigners protected by law, and the common property of the city-state. In the name of Oberyl Banningtik, the First Divine Guard Captain of Jingsha, I request direct enforcement."

【license】

An aged voice resonated in everyone's hearts; they knew it was the response of the Thorn Tree. Banningtik drew his sidearm and fired a bullet at the sneering demon.

"Sentenced to death, to be carried out immediately."

The bullet disintegrated the moment it touched Furudan, turning into a deep green color like paint. Large swaths of deep green splashed around the demon, as if an invisible hand was using a paintbrush to cover the figures on the canvas with paint.

Thus, the original figure ceased to exist; the dark green color erased its trace, along with the entire cell. First, the torso disappeared, then the limbs, followed by the exaggerated head, fangs, and hair…

In the blink of an eye, the space where Furuidan was located was completely covered by deep green, with only disordered patches of color surrounding his right eye, creating a gap for a mere instant. That single eye, enveloped in green, stared at Chu Hengkong, a cold smile in its eyes.

"See you next time," it said.

The final stroke of deep green completely concealed any trace of the demon's presence. Then, the color vanished, and the hall was empty.

With the execution completed, the spirit of Furudan was completely destroyed.

Chapter 328 Hiding in Seclusion (The End)

“Please wait a moment while I complete my routine check,” Banningtik said. “The corruption of evil often happens silently, so we must be vigilant.”

He conjured a handheld detector and scanned the three of them from head to toe, like going through security, making sure to pull Vande out for a second check. After doing all this, he said solemnly, "The external contamination clearly exceeds the critical threshold..."

"It's really contaminated?!" Lico exclaimed in shock.

“However, these are all recorded reactions, and the contamination from the chaos can be ruled out for the time being.” Banningtik put away the detector. “I’m sorry to have put you all in danger. This is undoubtedly a dereliction of duty on our part as the first team. But please allow me to defend my subordinates. They took action immediately, but they were no match for the power of the chaos. I was in a confidential meeting earlier and failed to receive the news in time, which was truly inappropriate.”

He bowed to the crowd in apology, while Van Der said irritably, "Seriously, this is just too ridiculous! This is Mansa Star Castle! The heart of Thorn Sha! How could that old bastard sneak into the Grand Archives right under everyone's noses?!"

Banningtik reached out: "I have nothing to say, but this is not without precedent."

"This kind of ridiculous thing has actually happened several times..." Ji Huaisu was surprised.

“This matter involves an extremely high level of secrecy, but since you have all experienced it firsthand, I can briefly explain it, but please be sure not to leak any information.” Banningtik pushed up his glasses. “The Chaos Demon has been lurking within the city-state of Thorns for a long time, and its existence can be described as the tragedy of Thorns.”

"How long ago?" Chu Hengkong suddenly asked, "After that assassination attempt?"

Banningtik gave a surprised "Oh," adjusting his scarf. "It seems you know something about the past. The timeline matches your thinking; after that, chaos often lurked on the back of the thorny path of history."

This isn't the first time in history that its fragments have been erased in this way. However, this won't truly harm the Great Demon's main body, so please don't let your guard down.

“We can’t blame the Divine Guards for this…” Ji Huaisu scratched his head. “That thing is on the same level as the Thorn Sacred Tree. Unless Thorn Sa himself takes action, I’m afraid there’s no way to really deal with it.”

"You really expect a tree to fight a demon?" Vande rolled his eyes. "Why don't you let Finger take on the Immortal Machine alone?"

Lico protested loudly, "You stinky one-eyed bastard, are you looking down on our Senluo pantheon?! Let me tell you, even with a 7-point mass, our Divine Tree is quite formidable! Right, Mr. Banningtik?!"

"..."

Prosecutor Banningtik fell into an eerie silence. He coughed twice and said, "Gentlemen, I am currently still in direct contact with the Divine Tree through divine power, so some of my remarks... are not appropriate."

"Feeling guilty! The captain is feeling guilty! Could it be that even when the Divine Tree reaches a high-quality point, it relies on its subordinates to fight?"

"There must be other ways, right? Spirit splitting? There will be spirit splitting, right?!"

"Enough, let's end this topic quickly! I'm really afraid the Divine Tree will be angry!"

Chu Hengkong swiftly stuffed Fan De into his pocket, stopping the latter from further rant. This guy had clearly gone mad with rage after regaining his composure; he was even capable of provoking the Divine Tree in front of the Captain-General.

Banningtik coughed a few times: "Although there's no relevant legislation, discussing deities is still disrespectful... This incident still needs further investigation. Afterwards, I will escort you all back to the Third Lineage. According to Lord Jing Sha's instructions, the data behind door Z-2978 can be kept by the original owner. However..."

He reached out to Li Ke: "Please return any materials that are not within the scope of this transfer to the Grand Archives."

Lico clutched the documents she had secretly hidden behind her back and said with an awkward smile, "Mr. Banningtik, you see, my father and you are old acquaintances, so this is, to some extent, a private matter for my family..."

"Personal feelings cannot be used as a prerequisite for handling official business." Banningtik was meticulous.

"Please! I'll only lend it out for one day!" Lico said with a forced smile. "This is really important to me!"

Li Ke's hands, which were behind her back, swayed wildly. Ji Huaisu took advantage of the chaos to glance at the documents and happened to see the title of a certain page in the file.

March 28, 2019, record of the Supreme Court trial of Jing Sha.

The defendant, Just Trek, commander of the First Guards of the Thorns.

(Back then, Old Cui was... the commander-in-chief? And he even faced a military court?!)

“You know what an important position your father held back then,” Banningtik emphasized. “Strictly managing the information related to him according to regulations is the only way to respect his work.”

"—Never mind, Mr. Banningtik. Consider this document our apology for causing such a big commotion."

Banningtik silently withdrew his attack. Lico's attempt had succeeded, but she showed no joy. She turned around, and there stood the masked man at the entrance of the Great Archives, nodding and smiling at her.

"From a personal perspective, and from the standpoint of an elder, I also hope that Miss Lico can view the past more comprehensively and grow from it."

Lico scoffed, "What, are you trying to curry favor with me to avoid trouble? Too bad, I won't stop searching for the truth. I'll keep trying to peel off your hypocritical mask, starting with this record!"

Parriman nodded and looked down at her; the silver mask that blocked his view resembled a smiling steel eagle under the light.

“I wrote this trial record,” Parriman said.

Lico's face was as pale as paper. She gripped the file tightly, as if she were holding a stack of worthless garbage.

Parriman, unperturbed by her lapse in composure, calmly stated, “At that time, a year had passed since I took over the front lines. I was interning as a clerk at the Supreme Court, which gave me the opportunity to personally record the trial proceedings. If you don’t believe me, you can turn to the second page of the record; there should be the clerk’s initials on it: Z.F. Parriman.”

He turned his head slightly, seemingly looking at the paper in Lico's hand: "What's wrong, Miss Lico? This is a valuable document that records the facts of the verdict. Why do you not value it at all?"

Chu Hengkong placed a hand on Li Ke's shoulder to prevent the enraged girl from lunging forward. Li Ke gritted her teeth: "You know perfectly well what I'm asking—!"

“I think you’re questioning the authenticity of this document.” Parriman raised his right hand, and specks of green light gathered into a crystal in his palm. “Here is another document, an audio recording of the entire trial, automatically recorded by divine power, without any transcription by a third party. If you are unsure about the written document, I can also give you this recording.”

"I don't want to!" Lico roared.

“I think so too, you will refuse.” Parryman nodded. “Why would that be? Because you don’t trust me at all. In your view, even information that passes through my hands must have been personally modified by me, so all information related to me is unreliable.”

"Then, from what sources can the information be trusted to be true? Should I entrust Mr. Banningtik to deliver it to you? And if Mr. Banningtik guarantees the objectivity of this information, would you really believe him?"

Parriman stepped forward and placed the crystal in Lico's hand. He chuckled softly, "I'm afraid it still won't, because this is still not the 'truth' you're looking for!"

"Let's be frank, what exactly is the definition of 'truth'? I think the so-called 'truth' is a part of the facts that everyone subjectively wants to believe, which has happened. The recorder of these facts doesn't necessarily have to be impartial; it would be better if they were considerate and righteous. In this way, even if the development of events is not as expected, we can use the fragments of the past to interpret them and thus obtain an explanation that is favorable to ourselves."

He gently tapped the mask on his face and chuckled, "Does this sound familiar? Like the game of sitting in a chair. That's right, the essence of 'reality' is the fact that an individual wants to believe. With a 'goal' to believe and a 'conclusion' to reject, the 'process' can be pieced together no matter what."

But no matter what truth is ultimately chosen, the past events cannot be changed. In this light, perhaps burying the truth in a vast archive might actually reduce trouble, like a final judgment.