As the anti-cult lecture in the sanctuary of Lichtenstein Castle drew to a close, the voice of the young man seated behind the lecture table deepened, like wind fading into the distance.
"When we suspect that we, our friends, or our loved ones may have fallen prey to a cult, we must seek professional help without delay."
The surrounding challengers listened in silence, their eyes filled with rapt attention and thoughtful reflection.
Under the blazing afternoon sun, light pouring through the stained-glass windows bathed Lanqi in a radiant glow, making him look as if he were guiding souls toward the shores of truth with a sacred canticle.
"..."
As Hyperion listened to Lanqi lecture, she wondered why on earth she was sitting in a Shadow World listening to a classmate give a presentation, and a seed of dread began to sprout in her heart.
She had already shifted closer to him to ensure his safety.
She was terrified that if Lanqi kept this up, the two traitors would snap and lunge at him in desperation, even without him summoning the Poet of Great Love.
Putting herself in the shoes of those two Resurrection Church cultists, Hyperion doubted her own sanity could have held out.
They had undoubtedly run into super-elites whom the Resurrection Church had spent a fortune cultivating to blend seamlessly into ordinary society.
Precisely because of that, the threat those two cultists posed extended far beyond this Shadow World—they were just as terrifying in the real world.
No one could predict what prominent, dignified positions they might quietly worm their way into out there, gnawing away at society like venomous insects until the right moment came to deliver a fatal blow.
While Hyperion stood on high alert, Lanqi concluded:
"Let us work together! By raising our vigilance, actively learning, and promptly seeking assistance, we can resist the scourge of cults and protect ourselves, our families, and our society!"
"Well then, that brings today's lecture to an end."
Lanqi stopped speaking and declared the session over.
Rising from behind the long table, he asked the assembled challengers, "How is everyone feeling right now?"
"Aside from being a little tired, pretty good. Class is finally dismissed."
The young merchant scion felt as if he were back in school, with the headmaster himself stepping in to substitute teach—no one had dared daydream.
Yet the atmosphere of the lecture hadn't been oppressive.
The challengers knew the entire presentation was a relentless psychological torture session aimed at the traitors, and several times they had struggled to hold back their laughter.
Now that the lecture had finally concluded, everyone felt what little tension they had harbored melt away, leaving them completely refreshed.
"We have learned much, Mr. Lawyer."
"That you never joined our church is truly a tremendous loss for us."
The three clerics from the Northern Continent seemed to have gained fresh insights and takeaways, thanking Lanqi profusely.
They had even begun drawing parallels and discussing how to apply this novel lecture-based method of identifying cultists in the real world.
"Think nothing of it. High Priest Loren and I are close friends, and I will do everything in my power to assist you."
Lanqi nodded in return, a warm surge of responsibility rising within him.
He felt all the more convinced that he needed to equip these clerical friends from the Northern Continent with more practical methods for dealing with cultists.
After all, this concerned public safety across the entire Northern Continent.
It was, without question, an act of great virtue and boundless merit.
"So what's next?" the young merchant scion asked, looking at Lanqi with curiosity, wondering if he had any more ideas up his sleeve.
Having seen plenty of the world, the young scion now found himself filled with anticipation; he had never imagined a Shadow World could be this entertaining.
After all the Lawyer's meddling, this fifth-tier Shadow World—initially thick with panic, dread, and suspicion—seemed to have veered entirely off the rails from its "killing game" theme. If the Lawyer kept toying with them like this, the two Resurrection Church cultists would probably be left with lifelong psychological trauma whether they won or lost, provided they couldn't kill him first.
First the Detective, and now the Lawyer had warped the very nature of the game.
"Of course. What comes next is actually the most critical part."
Lanqi gave a calm nod, a smile creeping back onto his face.
"Listen carefully, everyone. I have a way to make everyone's true emotions show clearly on their faces in a moment. I'll cast a spell after a countdown. If any of you see someone displaying obvious fury, you can be basically certain that person is a traitor."
At those words, surprised looks appeared on everyone's faces.
He had an ultimate move like that?
So the Lawyer had been tormenting the cultists half to death all along just to create a stark emotional contrast between the two sides!
Never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined it.
This five-day, five-night game of deduction was going to reveal its answer before the very first night had even fallen!
"Everyone must steady their hearts and concentrate completely. Understood?"
Lanqi's penetrating gaze swept across everyone present, his voice deep and forceful, like boulders crashing through the wind.
Under his scrutiny, regardless of what they were thinking, everyone nodded nervously.
The tension inside the sanctuary wound tight once again, like a string pulled to the verge of snapping.
"Three..."
Lanqi's voice echoed through the silent hall like an ancient bell tolling against their hearts, filling the air with breathless suspense.
"Two..."
"One..."
Under that eagle-sharp gaze, he continued counting down to the final beat. Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats, as if the world were about to turn upside down the very next second.
"Hey, I'll cast it in a second. Let me see who panicked first."
A mischievous grin tugged at the corners of Lanqi's lips, and he spread his hands casually.
Nothing happened.
Everyone froze in utter bewilderment, their heartbeats thrown into disarray by his sudden, playful grin.
"*Damn it!*"
"Mr. Lawyer, you had better catch those traitors during the day, because if you don't, I shudder to think what they'll do to you once night falls."
Still, every challenger knew that two people's hearts had probably been on the verge of exploding just now.
Pulling an abrupt halt like that was the ultimate mental torment.
"All right, for real this time. Three, two—"
Lanqi's expression snapped back into solemn gravity, as if playtime were over, prompting everyone to instantly choke back their words.
Because his countdown was noticeably faster, their hearts leaped into rapid thumps alongside it.
Then he suddenly laughed again.
"Did anyone panic?"
Lanqi acted as though he were just coming clean about a joke meant to lighten the mood; the spell hadn't existed in the first place.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
After a prayer ritual and an educational lecture, now he was doing stand-up comedy.
He had fabricated a terrifyingly intimidating spell out of thin air, tempting the traitors to weigh whether they should strike preemptively before their identities were exposed—it was pure psychological warfare.
If he had spooked a traitor into acting just now, he would have won everything for nothing. Even if he hadn't, it would only leave them seething with humiliation and rage.
Unable to tell truth from fiction, the traitors had to keep their nerves pulled taut with every decision, letting Lanqi toy with their heartstrings as he pleased!
Swinging back and forth between relief and terror, their minds battered and broken, a few more rounds of this and the traitors might genuinely collapse.
The only pity was the time.
Looking out the French windows, the cloud layer had grown thick and heavy, tinged with a golden-orange glow.
The time they could safely remain gathered together was running short.
Most likely, they would have to wait until tomorrow, when they had an entire day to let the Lawyer organize activities to torture the traitors again.
Yet remarkably, none of the challengers felt any psychological pressure anymore.
Not only had the tables turned that morning, followed by an afternoon of games, but now the nocturnal dangers hardly seemed to concern them at all.
Because all the hatred had been drawn onto a single person—
Tonight, the two traitors wouldn't care about their task's remaining two-day deadline.
They could even let the werewolf and the witch off the hook.
But there was no way in hell they wouldn't risk their lives to hunt down the Lawyer!
Single-handedly, Lanqi had inflicted an indescribably potent taunt debuff on both traitors.
"..."
Just as everyone assumed Lanqi's third round of antics had ended in anticlimactic failure—
Lanqi, smiling, raised his right palm and, as lightly as tossing a flower petal, set an Orange Epic card free.
Chapter 133