Yes, Exactly!

*Snap.* Karen broke off a piece of dark ice, dropped it into a cup, and held one palm facing downward over the rim. A wisp of black flame imbued with the aura of light was released, gently swirling inside the cup. Soon, the dark ice melted into an icy slush. Its intensely jarring effect on the soul was neutralized by the power of light, reaching an exquisite balance. A single sip brought an indescribable physical and spiritual bliss. Unfortunately, he lacked the means to transport this dark ice away, and manufacturing it outside would carry an exorbitant cost. Holding his cup, Karen kept his eyes fixed on the projection before him. Rielsa's self-destruction had come so abruptly that Lord Dal had fled in great haste as well, leaving him no time to tidy up his lair. Even the puppet he had dispatched to scout the situation was still broadcasting the scene. When Karen saw Rielsa charge through the gate and lunge straight at Lord Dal, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Though he knew laughing at such a moment was rather unkind, he couldn't help himself. He had warned Lord Dal—more than once, in fact—but the other man had refused to listen, insisting on using his face. And Karen couldn't go so far as to explain why his face shouldn't be used, so he could only let him have his way. In the projection, Lord Dal wore a look of utter astonishment. He had no idea why Rielsa's hatred toward him burned with such intensity; at the end of the day, he was merely the porter moving the seal. While that was an offense against Rielsa, it hardly amounted to an irreconcilable blood feud! What Lord Dal didn't know was that earlier, when Karen had led his squad to the Pool of Mourning, he had been marked by the slumbering Rielsa. At first, what caught Rielsa's attention was Raniedal's aura on Karen. Later, when Karen actually managed to pass through the Throne of Order, Rielsa (Linda) immediately realized Karen's "true identity." One could even say that Karen had triggered Rielsa's premature awakening. This showed just how boundless Rielsa's hatred for the God of Order was. And now Lord Dal not only possessed Raniedal's aura, but also wore an identical face to Karen's—a perfect match! Karen took another sip of ice water. All this time, he had been the one taking the blame for the family dog; this time, the blame had finally been tossed right back. Fortunately, Rielsa had let out her roar only after entering the gate, and her encounter with Lord Dal had also taken place inside. The Gate of Samsara separated the interior from the exterior. If she had screamed outside, or if Lord Dal had appeared outside with his face and been spotted by the eyes of the major churches—especially by the high-ranking figures of Order—it would have caused Karen no small amount of trouble. Now, that was no longer an issue. Lord Dal could have all the fun he wanted playing with Rielsa. Without further delay, Karen walked out of the space to find the members of his squad. Earlier, Karen and Lord Dal had been sipping drinks and watching the broadcast in the frozen space, while his squad members had been putting on an air of relaxed ease while trembling with anxiety inside. Their intuition hadn't been wrong: at the beginning, Lord Dal had indeed intended to kill them and turn them into specimens for study. Karen clapped his hands and said, "Pack up your things, everyone. We're heading back." In truth, there wasn't much to pack. They quickly gathered and followed Karen into the frozen space, locating the teleportation formation. One could tell that everyone was curious about many of the things in this space, but none dared to touch anything, unaware that Lord Dal had already departed and was currently being hunted down by Rielsa. Karen didn't offer any explanations. With Mars's help, he quickly found the specific teleportation array. The formation activated, and all twelve of them vanished from the chamber. When the glow of the formation faded, they appeared on a meadow. Before them lay an expanse of ruins, and behind them stood the majestic, sacred Gate of Samsara. "Where is this?" Ventura asked. Karen replied, "The central hub of the Church of Samsara inside the gate. Think of it as the Samsara Valley within the gate." The destroyed buildings had all been wrecked by Rielsa earlier. With such a massive form accompanied by all manner of anomalies, everywhere she passed had naturally been reduced to rubble. Muri asked in confusion, "Why are there only ruins here, with no sign of battle?" "Probably because the Church of Samsara inside the gate put up no resistance against Rielsa at all." Just then, a large black bird appeared not far away, with several people standing atop it. Upon spotting each other, both groups instantly took defensive stances. Karen raised a hand, signaling his squad not to attack first. The great black bird above merely circled. A moment later, a figure descended from the sky. It was a young man with ordinary looks, but the twin scimitars strapped to his back were quite distinctive, and the poised air he exuded signaled to everyone that he was no ordinary person. "I am Lango, a trialist of the Church of Samsara. Are you trialists of the Church of Order?" The divine robes worn by both sides had already identified them. Karen said, "I am Karen, a trialist of the Church of Order. We are planning to leave." "What a coincidence; so are we. Let's go together, then." "All right." Lango signaled upward, and the large black bird landed. Five people stepped down from it, Peide among them. "Are we waiting for the other squad?" Karen asked. The Church of Samsara had sent two squads totaling twelve people, yet counting Lango, there were only six here. "Only six of us are left. There were some unexpected incidents along the way." Lango smiled as he looked at Karen. "Your team is remarkably intact." During the purge unleashed by Rielsa against trialists, the Samsara trialists—originally situated in the safest zone—had been attacked by the Samsara priests beside them, suffering heavy casualties. "We were a bit luckier. What about the other squad?" "We don't know their status yet. There might be survivors, or there might not. But there's no way to search for them now. If any of them are still around, they should arrive at the altar within the designated time to await teleportation." "Then as for us..." "Things outside are in chaos right now. The gray moon in the sky has only just halved. I doubt anyone outside will remember to teleport us back early until the gate is about to close, so we intend to activate the teleportation array ourselves and leave first." "So we're hitching a ride?" Karen smiled. "Mm, an apt description. But if we hadn't shown up, were you planning to pass through the Gate of Samsara on your own?" "Yes, I had intended to. We don't want to linger here any longer, not knowing what other dangers might arise." "Do you have any idea what kind of pressure you would face walking through the Gate of Samsara on foot? The divine might of that gate is enough to scatter the souls of at least half your people, leaving them unable to exit." "I didn't know," Karen admitted candidly. "I suppose if we ran into that, I would have aborted in time and pulled my team back instead of trying to be a hero." Lango drew the twin scimitars from his back and plunged them into the ground. A gray sheen radiated from the blades, and the ground beneath the meadow began to swell. "It will take a little time to brew. I'll summon two lost giants to carry us through the gate back outside." "Thank you for the trouble." "Don't mention it. By the way, your name is Karen, right?" "Yes." "Then you probably know him?" Lango pointed at Peide standing behind him. "Did you teach him a lesson before?" "I know him. We've interacted." "Heh, useless trash. Getting beaten outside and not even thinking about improving himself to hit back—instead, he took the chance upon entering the gate to whine to his elders, hoping to use the church's hand to take revenge on you. The Simosen family, just like this Church of Samsara, is going downhill by the day. Tell you what, he annoys me too, so why don't you give him another thrashing right now?" "It's nothing. Just young people being foolish." "Heh." Karen noticed that when Lango said this, Peide merely flushed red without making any other move. That meant Lango was no ordinary trialist; he was likely an elder of Peide's with high seniority. Considering the age limit for entering the Gate of Samsara, was this Lango a member of the Church of Samsara from inside the gate who had possessed a trialist's body? The ground of the meadow surged upward, and two lost giants emerged from the center, each bearing a large iron cage on its back. "Let's hurry outside. I'm worried something else might happen shortly," Lango said. "All right." The iron cages on the giants' backs were very spacious, easily accommodating twelve people. Light flared across the meadow. The giants crouched, then leaped forward. The violent jolting lasted quite a while. When it ceased, the two giants stood upon the massive stone steps outside the Gate of Samsara. Looking out, traces of warfare were everywhere ahead, corpses strewn across the land, and thick, acrid odors permeated the air. "Was there a war here?" "Did they intercept the Mural God here?" Because his squad members hadn't had the privilege of watching the broadcast, they had little idea what had unfolded outside. Karen surveyed the surroundings, pondering how catastrophic the Church of Samsara's losses would be after this battle. Following two consecutive crushing blows, could the Church of Samsara still maintain its status as an orthodox church? One thing was certain: right now, the Church of Samsara truly lacked the bandwidth to attend to the trialists from inside the gate. Long after they had emerged, no one came to direct them. In the end, Paxio took out a flare from the Church of Order and fired it. The retrieval team sent by the Order delegation actually arrived faster than the Samsara personnel sent for Lango and his group. The delegation's campsite was not far, located on the outskirts of the town. Upon entering, Karen and his companions received a warm reception. Church doctors began examining each person, while Growen and several senior priests checked everyone's soul condition, took notes, and listened to reports. The first two rounds of inspections wrapped up quickly. Next came time for everyone to wash up and freshen up. Once all that was done, they were assigned to their respective tents to rest. Having taken a bath, Karen walked into the tent with Ventura. Ventura spread out Karen's bedding, then slipped into his own blankets. Seeing Karen just sitting there, Ventura asked with slight confusion, "Captain, aren't you going to rest?" "I still have business. Just wait a bit." Sure enough, barely had the words left his mouth when Growen lifted the curtain, glanced at Karen, and then walked away. Karen stood, stepped out, and followed Growen to his office tent. Along the way, he noticed the lingering traces of formations—likely arrays used to teleport war machinery. *Sigh...* At the thought of leaving so many precious war implements behind inside the gate, unable to bring them out, Karen's heart ached a little. Muri arrived as well; neither of them was surprised by this. The nominal purpose of this trial was for everyone to find a suitable contracted soul, but the two of them carried a hidden, vital mission. Growen's office tent was fully stocked. When Karen entered, he discovered a grill over the brazier in the center, with an ice bucket nearby filled with sausages. "Corn-flavored or pure meat—which do you prefer?" Muri replied, "Corn-flavored." Karen sat down, picked up the tongs, and began setting sausages on the grill. He didn't care for corn flavor, so he placed all the corn ones before Muri. Growen poured a glass of brandy for each of them and asked, "Who's reporting?" Muri spoke up, "I will." Growen nodded. "Give me details. I need to put this in the report." They had actually recounted their experiences inside the gate once before, but this time required a more systematic and thorough debriefing. Muri began recounting. What to say, what not to say, and how to frame it—Karen had rehearsed the script with him beforehand. His status as a member of the Benda family was proof enough of his "loyalty" to the church, lending far greater credibility to his words. When the debrief finished, Growen asked, "Both esteemed lords sacrificed themselves to cover your escape?" "Yes, exactly," Muri affirmed. "And neither of you formed a soul contract?" "Correct." "That's right." Muri truly hadn't formed a soul contract because there hadn't been time. However, he had absorbed the soul power that dispersed when Gaitanbert was obliterated by the restriction, gorging on a grand tonic whose benefits were every bit as potent as forming a contract, if not more. Karen's side was a bit awkward. He had known long ago that Furnites couldn't possibly possess his body, yet he had never shown much personal initiative in seeking a soul contract partner. Yet Karen hadn't come away empty-handed either; imprisoned within his body right now was a Thousand Charms. Karen hadn't made a contract with it, merely keeping it sealed. By intuition, Karen knew it was quite a fine little creature, but as for the specifics, he would wait until he returned home and let Kevin and Pu'er examine and play with it first. "In other words, the mission for the two of you was a failure?" Growen scratched his head. "Don't take it to heart, though. This was an extraordinary situation; even a god showed up. The higher-ups won't hold you accountable. But once we return, there will be some investigations that will need your cooperation—just standard procedure." Hearing this, Karen caught the stir of temptation in Muri's eyes. Yes, he wanted to pocket that yellow memory bead. If the Mural God's awakening hadn't happened, they would have had to account for failing the mission to recover the two esteemed lords. But now, with the Mural God causing such upheaval, many matters became trivial, even negligible, and their explanations were far easier to believe. After all, under such chaotic circumstances, anything could have happened. Captain Muri, once fiercely loyal to his family and church, was now starting to pilfer public property. The boy was being corrupted. Karen picked up a sausage, took a bite, and said, "Lord Gaitanbert entrusted something to us." Muri immediately chimed in, "Yes." He drew the yellow bead from his robe's pocket, and just as he was about to hand it to Growen, Karen spoke: "However, Lord Gaitanbert instructed that it must be handed directly to an elder at the bishop rank or above. So... Commander, our apologies." Muri instantly pulled his outstretched hand back, making it seem as if he had just dangled it in front of Growen. "No, it's fine." Growen stared at the bead in Muri's hand. "You did very well. I can tell you've completed your duty—no small feat. Keep eating; I'll report to the superiors. Another unit is stationed on the island we return to. I'll request an official document so the appropriate person can receive it." "Yes, Commander." Once Growen left, Muri looked at Karen with confusion, wondering why Karen had voluntarily brought it up. Karen shook his head and said, "When you're starving, a dish that's too exquisite takes too long to prepare—you can't afford the wait. It's better to fill your belly with a few grilled sausages first." Hearing this, Muri nodded. "You're right." Karen lifted his glass, frowned slightly, and took a sip of liquor. *Sigh, I wonder how Lord Dal is doing right now.* ... *Boom!* A mountain was sliced clean away by Rielsa, forcing Lord Dal to take to the air once more and flee. "Just how long are you going to keep chasing me?!" Most of Rielsa's body was now bare bone, yet she still refused to relent. Finally, amidst a thunderous roar, a painted mountain blocked Lord Dal's path, and Rielsa's skeletal arm clamped around him. With half her face reduced to bone, Rielsa could only communicate through soul ripples. "Order... go die!" "I'm not Order! I am Raniedal! Have you forgotten?! I am Raniedal!" At this moment, Linda's phantom appeared before Lord Dal. "I've finally caught you, Mr. Karen... oh, no, Great God of Order." *Karen? The God of Order?* Lord Dal was dumbfounded. *I was almost suspecting my true body had become your dog, heh.* *Did my true body find its place once again?* Lord Dal immediately sent out soul ripples that penetrated straight into the depths of her mind: "I am not Karen! I am Raniedal's mental imprint! The only reason I chose his face is because I thought he looked handsome! Go catch him now, or else he's going to leave this place! Once he's out the gate, you'll never catch him again—you don't have the strength to leave the gate a second time! Go, hurry!" Step by step, Linda walked along the skeletal arm until she stood before the gripped Lord Dal. Her body began to divide, splitting off another, fainter phantom of Linda. The fainter Linda asked, "Let me ask you: which street is your home on?" "I have been sealed in slumber! If I must name a dwelling place, the current name of the area is Blazing Valley!" The fainter Linda nodded. Then she turned around, looking at the more solid Linda, and looked back at the colossal Rielsa who was already reeking of thick death qi. She answered: "Yes, exactly. Mr. Karen lives on Valley Street." Lord Dal: "..."