Scheme After Scheme

“As long as I can restore our ancestor's glory, no sacrifice is too great!” “You will turn into undead creatures eventually anyway, so you might as well serve as my nourishment.” “Do not blame me. Your deaths are not without value. If you must harbor hatred, hate Rust Crow! It was Rust Crow who sold me this ritual. I will avenge you in the future—by killing Rust Crow.” Watching Zuvendas brutally slaughtering his own kin like a madman in the projection, the crowd backed further away from him. “Weeping Red Hat” Cleios even raised the muzzle of her gun slightly, looking ready to aim at any moment. Just as with Annan, Zuvendas's ritual was skipped over by Gospel, jumping straight to the celebration phase following the ritual's completion. “Zuvendas sat within an eerie blood-patterned magic circle, encircled by the corpses of Kasri clansmen. They had been severed at the waist by Zuvendas, their upper torsos positioned outside the circle with hands clasped in prayer, while their lower halves knelt with legs together before their bodies. Not a single drop of blood remained in the desiccated corpses; all the blood had converged upon Zuvendas's forehead, forming a diamond-shaped blood mark.” “‘Destiny... I see it...’ Light swirled in Zuvendas's pupils. ‘Everything will inevitably march toward its end.’” “Zuvendas Kasri has obtained the reward: ‘Blood Mark.’” “Blood Mark: Can be activated with 100 milliliters of blood from a Kasri clansman. Once activated, the Blood Mark lasts for 10 minutes, during which the sorcerer's cognitive capabilities are enhanced by 15%.” The projection had ended, but its aftershocks lingered on. “Kasri,” Mercury weighed his words carefully, “this is an internal matter of your clan, and I will not pass judgment. However, you can no longer represent the Kasri clan, which means you cannot participate in dividing the spoils. That said, I guarantee in the name of the Mercury clan that all intelligence obtained by Mercury will be shared with Kasri.” Mercury's carrot-and-stick approach took considerable calculation. The Future Board had explicitly exposed Zuvendas's future atrocities; if Mercury did not seize the chance to kick him out, it would be a total waste of Gospel's assist. Yet he still needed the combat power of the Kasri sorcerers, if only to keep them nearby to deter Sennheiser, so he gave Zuvendas plenty of face. “Heh.” Zuvendas let out a soft laugh. “I beg to differ. You may ask Kasri yourself; the clan patriarch will still place his trust in me.” “Quite confident, aren't you?” Qinna arched an eyebrow. “If Sennheiser ever produced a traitor who butchered his own kin, I would make sure he burst like a firework. Or are you confident you can convince your clansmen that the Scheme Board's ranking is just Gospel framing you?” “No, I am quite certain this is my future,” Zuvendas replied. “I truly revere Ancestor Cross. If given the opportunity, I would stop at nothing to lay hands on Ancestor Cross's destiny faction... In fact, I wouldn't even need outside pressure. Merely to break through the Sanctuary realm and ascend to Legendary, I would do it. After all, I have run out of road.” When Zuvendas said he had “run out of road,” the Sanctuary Sorcerers fell silent. All of them had immersed themselves in the Sanctuary realm for years, were frequent visitors to the Distant Sky Realm, and had achieved secular feats revered by countless people. Yet the anxiety of having “no road ahead” still tormented their hearts day in and day out. Some poured their feelings into their family, like Qinna; some threw themselves into their careers, like Aina; some pursued rankings, like Cleios... Sanctuary Sorcerers were almost all blessed darlings of heaven brimming with brilliant talent, making them the very people who found it hardest to accept that their talent had reached its limit. It was like believing oneself to be free, only to discover that one merely lived in a slightly larger cage. When Zuvendas claimed he would go to such insane lengths for strength, everyone believed him without hesitation. If the others would not do the same, it was not that they lacked the desire, but that there were things in their lives more important than sheer power. “Yet the truly dangerous person on the Scheme Board isn't me,” Zuvendas said. “Behind one scheme lies yet another scheme.” The crowd was slightly taken aback, looking down at the Scheme Board as it continued to update. “Scheme Board, Rank 8: Morgan's Understanding Fusion Ritual” “Summary: Morgan Dawn was a Legendary Sorcerer of the mind faction, adept at romance miracles. During his lifetime, men and women, young and old, Silver or Legendary—all were infatuated with him without exception. To obtain Morgan's power, on April 10, 1678, Joel Hopkins decided to murder 1 male Sanctuary Sorcerer, 1 female Sanctuary Sorcerer, 100 males of various ages, and 100 females of various ages as sacrifices to activate the Understanding Fusion Ritual.” “Mastermind: Joel Hopkins” “Joel Hopkins is a Two-Winged Sorcerer from Modora,” Mercury said with a grave expression. “He is highly talented and regarded as a Sanctuary seed; it wouldn't be surprising if he reached Sanctuary within ten years.” Yet no one paid heed to Mercury's intelligence. Everyone noticed the bizarre information revealed by the Future Board. “Scheme Board, Rank 7: Napoli's Merciful Purification Ritual” “Summary: Napoli Dégier was once a Legendary Sorcerer of the truth faction, regarded as the ‘Legendary closest to an angel.’ To inherit the power of Ancestor Napoli, on April 10, 1678, Jeremy Dégier destroyed the Abyss seal, inciting an Abyss riot and letting deep-abyss monsters ravage the city to activate the Merciful Purification Ritual.” “Mastermind: Jeremy Dégier” ...... “Scheme Board, Rank 3: Colentina's Glory Forging Ritual” “Summary: Ancestor of the Mercury clan, Colentina Mercury, wielded gods with a mortal body. His immense power remained undiluted across generations, granting every generation of the Mercury clan talent in the shadow faction, while also making them photophobic, short-lived, and fragile. To inherit Ancestor Colentina's power, on April 10, 1678, Renn Mercury dragged an entire city into shadow, offering 7,853,454 people as sacrifices to activate the Glory Forging Ritual.” “Mastermind: Renn Mercury” Noticing the gazes everyone turned toward that shadow Sanctuary Sorcerer, Yaxiu knew without asking that his name was Renn. Compared to these Sanctuary Sorcerers who casually murdered their entire families or sacrificed whole cities, Annan, who had merely killed everyone at a banquet, seemed positively pure and wholesome. Yet compared to the crimes Renn, Zuvendas, and Annan would commit in the future, what everyone cared about even more right now was the intelligence revealed by the Future Board— “Who on earth is Rust Crow?” Cleios could not help but ask. “How does it seem like every single ritual came from his hands?” In all the projections shown so far, although the masterminds were different each time, there was one person who connected them all—Rust Crow! Crown Advent, Wisdom Reappearance, Understanding Fusion... These sacrificial rituals, all exorbitantly costly and extraordinarily wicked, were all the handiwork of Rust Crow! While Annan and the others were the masterminds, they were also consumers; Rust Crow, who provided the ritual knowledge, was the true root of all evil, the scourge of this world! What was more, the seven schemes and seven rituals shown so far had all taken place on the exact same day: April 10, 1678. This was definitely no coincidence, yet it was impossible for the seven of them to have conspired together to make big news—at the very least, Annan could never have had any intersection with them. Furthermore, the Future Board providing such a specific date was bizarre in itself. This was not a Past Board; why would the Future Board lower its own margin for error like this? “Yaxiu,” the Purple Moth suddenly leaned close to the cult leader's ear and whispered, “did you notice... these seven schemes, though incomplete, are all related to resurrection.” “Yeah.” Yaxiu's face was grim. “And then?” “Nothing after that, but don't you think I'm very clever?” “If you were Lisi's age, I could pat your head. But since you're this big...” Yaxiu reached out and scraped the tip of Annan's nose with his finger. “I'll begrudgingly allow you to give me a hug.” Annan hammered furiously at his ribs. It was obvious the young lady was in high spirits—now that everyone's attention had shifted to the board and Rust Crow, Funeral Agency received far less scrutiny. As long as Qinna took a firm stance next, all of them might very well make it back to Fanmula, though this time they would probably never escape Qinna's palm... At that moment, the board updated once more, and another familiar name leapt into view. “Scheme Board, Rank 2: Everton's Foundation Condensation Ritual” “Summary: Ancestor of the Berdette clan, Everton Berdette, was a Five-Winged Sorcerer, a demigod angel who once commanded multiple gods. To dominate Ancestor Everton in his undead form, on April 10, 1678, Evalline Berdette burned away the psyche of all those under her domination to activate the Foundation Condensation Ritual.” “Mastermind: Evalline Berdette” Holy shit! Everyone gasped inwardly, a deep surge of admiration rising toward Evalline. This was by far the boldest move seen yet—Evalline wasn't resurrecting her ancestor or inheriting her ancestor's legacy at all; she was aiming to directly dominate her own ancestor! Only Berdette could pull off a stunt like this. After all, the ancestors of the others had their souls entirely returned to the Void Realm, whereas Berdette's Angel of Necromancy was still lingering on in some mausoleum. It just so happened that Berdette's ancestral arts belonged to the dominance faction. With every key element present, not attempting to dominate their own ancestor would truly be squandering destiny's arrangement. In the distance, Evalline, who had been leisurely spectating as an onlooker all this while, frowned slightly. She had not expected the Berdette clan's many years of scheming to be laid bare just like this. Indeed, this was not her idea alone. Generations ago—perhaps starting from Everton's son—Berdette had been pondering how to dominate this Angel of Necromancy. However, because there was never any existential pressure, the plan had undergone continuous refinement without ever being put into practice, especially since it contained numerous significant flaws that could not be overlooked. Evalline herself had never entertained the notion of enacting it. Yet upon seeing the projection, Evalline instantly understood the sheer brilliance of the ritual Rust Crow had sold her: she would burn a colossal amount of mental power to warp reality, weaving a physical body out of nothingness, and then summon a wisp of the Angel of Necromancy's consciousness via bloodline rites, imprisoning that consciousness inside the body. Because every single cell of this body was under Evalline's absolute domination, the cage thoroughly trapped the Angel of Necromancy, achieving indirect domination. In an instant, Evalline was tempted, itching to try it right away. Yet everyone shared the same question she had: who on earth was Rust Crow? Soon, the Book of Gospel would thoroughly answer all their questions— “Scheme Board, Rank 1: Yaxiu's Kingdom Resurrection Ritual”