This was Chen Xiang's first glimpse of the world beyond the Eighth Ring.
He saw the Seventh Ring, where towering skyscrapers like those in the Eighth Ring were few, replaced instead by factories and vast fields of farmland.
As the hover car crossed the high wall between the Seventh and Sixth Rings, a mysterious mist enveloped the inner Third Ring, obscuring it from view.
Suddenly, the hover car descended slowly, finally stopping before an imposing building.
---
In the courtyard of the Happy Orphanage, Director Wang sat in the garden, calmly sipping tea.
"Is Wu Jinlu's son still at the Secret Adjustment Bureau?"
"Yes,"a servant replied carefully, pouring hot water into the teacup."He is still detained there."
Director Wang contemplated this.
"The day of the Divine Arrival is drawing near; the vessel is urgently needed. Before he died, Wu Jinlu reported finding a new vessel, but he didn't specify…"
The servant bowed respectfully."Bishop, it will take some time to investigate."
"Then investigate it,"Director Wang said, setting down his teacup, but suddenly his brow furrowed.
"What…?"
In the next moment, he began to cough violently, doubling over.
"Bishop?"
The servant stepped closer in surprise, but Director Wang raised a hand.
"Stay away from me!"
His face turned crimson as he ripped open a portal to the spiritual realm, where some of the pressure dissipated, but his coughing intensified!
Soon after, he coughed up chunks of internal organs.
Some of those fragments burned with dark flames.
"Black flames? A minion of the Abyss... when did this happen?"
He recalled a flicker of fire he saw in the boy's eyes.
"It must be him... with Wei Qi, from Dong Hongguo? A person from the Astral Observatory? Or..."
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Director Wang's expression twisted as his skin became dry, scars crossing his face...
The fragments of his organs, consumed by the dark flames, turned to pure white ash, scattering in the wind.
---
In the Fourth Ring.
Chen Xiang was flanked by two investigators as he entered the building.
They walked down a long corridor lined with holding cells. Someone stood up.
"Chen Xiang?"
Chen Xiang turned to see Li Dongyun.
"Quiet!"Zhang Zhibao barked, continuing deeper into the building. Along the way, Chen Xiang recognized familiar faces: Wu Shangpin lying on a bed and Lin Yulang, who looked grim.
At the end of the corridor, Chen Xiang was shoved into an interrogation room. Zhang Zhibao roughly pushed him inside and tossed a box his way.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Hand over your belongings."
Silently, Chen Xiang placed his phone in the box, hesitating before adding the hand bell he carried.
"Nothing else?"
Zhang Zhibao inspected the items, showing no interest in searching further. He nodded to another investigator.
"Old Liu, inform Mr. Lan that we have the cultist here."
"Understood."
Old Liu left quickly, while Zhang Zhibao sat down slowly.
"Chen Xiang, born April 1500, a formal teaching assistant at the Giant Academy."
He said flatly,"Briefly explain your conflict with the Crocodile Gate and why you were at the Wu estate on the evening of May 6."
Chen Xiang furrowed his brow but didn't conceal anything, recounting events straightforwardly.
"You killed Mandong and brought his head as a provocation?"
Zhang Zhibao chuckled."I've seen your records; you've been unremarkable until Lin Yulang took notice of you. What's your true strength?"
"I've been training consistently."
"You managed to fight against quasi-exceptionals without injury and have now entered the ranks of exceptionals, I see. An eighteen-year-old exceptional, huh..."
Zhang Zhibao propped his legs on the metal table.
"Now, tell me, which dark god do you serve? After leaving the Wu estate on May 6, where did you go?"
Chen Xiang's expression remained steady as he replied patiently:
"Officer, I'm not a member of any dark cult; I simply have good talent. After leaving the Wu estate, I went home, and besides..."
He sincerely asked,"Officer, what happened at the Wu estate? I saw in the news that it was a biochemical leak, which has nothing to do with me."
As he spoke, Chen Xiang recalled definitions of cults from the Giant Academy textbooks. There were ten legitimate god cults, comprising nine Outer Gods and the Titan of Death; all other sects were categorized as "evil god cults," with any self-proclaimed "true gods" also deemed "evil."
"Keep pretending!"Zhang Zhibao slammed his hand on the table."Explain your relationship with Lin Yulang! Why would he take you into the Giant Academy without reason? You, an exceptional, would be willing to become an assistant?"
Zhang Zhibao's intense gaze bore into Chen Xiang.
"Lin Yulang has already confessed; will you speak up?"
Chen Xiang laughed softly."Officer, I don't know what Instructor Lin said, but before May 4, I really didn't know him."
"Is that so?"Zhang Zhibao smirked, as if amused.
"You're part of the Void Cult, aren't you? They've marked out the boundaries for you cultists; if you want to cause trouble, go to the Ninth Ring, but the Eighth Ring is off-limits!"
Chen Xiang was genuinely confused by the mention of the Void Cult and the Ninth Ring.
What did he mean by "also"?
He sensed something was off, his expression turning serious."Are you implying that Instructor Lin is involved with this Void Cult?"
"Still pretending."Zhang Zhibao snorted and left the interrogation room, soon returning with a box.
He slammed it down in front of Chen Xiang and glared at him."Let me guess the story: Wu Jinlu, Lin Yulang, and you are all infiltrators of the Void Cult in the Eighth Ring. On the night of May 6, you staged a conflict to cover up a ritual or a large-scale offering, which accidentally summoned a celestial-level ghost... Am I right?"
Chen Xiang frowned."Officer, I really don't know what the Void Cult is."
"Lin Yulang has confessed; do you think I'm trying to deceive you?"
Zhang Zhibao opened the box abruptly and shouted,"Then explain what this is!"
Inside the box was an eerie hand. The palm was intact, each finger adorned with a ring, but the arm's flesh had entirely vanished, leaving only a pale bone, intertwined with ghostly hues and inscribed with twisted symbols, giving it a distinctly ‘ethereal' appearance.
"Wu Jinlu's hand?"Chen Xiang exclaimed in shock.
Zhang Zhibao smirked coldly."You might consider it luck; when the great ghost devoured Wu Jinlu, it bit off this arm, which was left nearby…"
He paused, then said frostily,"The inscription on the bone signifies the essence of ethereal transformation—this is a hallmark of your cult! You're being stubborn; I initially planned to strip the flesh from Lin Yulang's arm, but it seems starting with you is better!"
Just then, Zhang Zhibao produced a gleaming scalpel, ready to strike at Chen Xiang.
The interrogation room door swung open.
"Investigator Zhang!"
A sharp voice rang out."I signed on to assist the investigation, not to issue an arrest warrant. What are you doing?"
Zhang Zhibao jumped back, while Chen Xiang relaxed, moving his hand away from the crack on his wrist and looking at the newcomer—a young woman with a ponytail, attractive and dressed in sleek gear, exuding competence.
"Lan Sheng..."Zhang Zhibao nodded, nervously."We can confirm this person is a cultist; an arrest warrant can be issued…"
Lan Sheng raised an eyebrow, unimpressed."You really are… hmm?"
Her gaze shifted to the box containing Chen Xiang's belongings, and she immediately recognized the hand bell inside.
Very familiar.
Extremely familiar.
Lan Sheng's pupils contracted as she picked up the hand bell.
It belonged to Deputy Wu.
This boy… is Deputy Wu's protégé? Did Deputy Wu give him the bell for protection?
No wonder Deputy Wu wouldn't allow an arrest warrant to be signed…
As she pieced it together, Lan Sheng looked back at Chen Xiang, only to see him reaching into the box holding the ethereal hand bone.
"You're insane!!"Lan Sheng's scalp tingled.
Faint whispers echoed in Chen Xiang's ears.
"Ethereal authority…"
"Partially restored."
Unlike the last time, this time, in his daze, Chen Xiang saw a massive, towering deity.
The deity also saw him.