Chapter 162

 Ye Zheng and Bai Muqing changed into their Royal Academy uniforms and entered the academy in a low-profile manner.

“Hey, did you hear? The Crown Prince actually lost…”

“I thought since the Divine Academy forfeited, our team would win without any suspense.”

“What do you mean he lost? The official results haven’t even been announced yet. Don’t jump to conclusions just because of rumors.”

It was break time at the academy. In less than half a day, news of the ability competition’s outcome had already spread throughout the entire school. The final victor turned out to be a contestant from the Middle District. This was nothing short of a thunderbolt for the proud students of the Royal Academy.

The Royal team had both the Crown Prince and the Saintess, yet they were defeated by an unknown nobody. Before His Majesty the Emperor personally presented the award, no one was willing to accept such a result.

Ye Zheng walked through the chorus of complaints and sighs, leading Bai Muqing straight toward the Royal Academy’s library.

As the most luxurious academy in the empire, the Royal Academy’s library didn’t just boast an extensive collection of books, it also housed numerous priceless artifacts. Items that would cost a fortune at auction were simply placed in glass display cabinets here, left out for students to observe, study, and admire at their leisure.

For instance, there were well-preserved monster specimens, specimens of Aberrant plant, and all kinds of peculiar minerals sourced from aberrant realms.

There weren’t many people in the exhibition room. It was only bustling for a short time when new students had just enrolled. The older students had long since lost any sense of novelty toward this place. Besides, visiting the exhibition room didn’t help improve one’s abilities. At most, couples would sneak into this vast and secluded space during campus romances to get intimate.

Fortunately, Ye Zheng didn’t run into any secret couples fooling around in the exhibition room today.

She guided Bai Muqing over to a glass cabinet. Resting on the soft cloth inside was an irregular green crystal. It was crystal clear, its green hue so reflective it could almost mirror a person’s face.

A label was affixed to the glass cabinet: Core of S-class Aberrant Realm 【Spatial Turbulence】 — Green Mirror (fragment).

Bai Muqing kept her gaze forward, yet her hand moved unerringly to the label beneath it as she read aloud, “Spatial Turbulence… it’s the core power source of the empire’s main stations.”

The empire’s main stations were the transportation hubs linking the Upper District, Middle District, Lower District, and every surrounding neighborhood. Both Ye Zheng and Bai Muqing were thoroughly familiar with them. The express trains that ran through the empire’s main stations could carry them to the Lower District in just ten minutes, making it their most efficient option for traveling there.

The exceptional speed of the empire’s main stations originated from the S-class Aberrant Realm 【Spatial Turbulence】.

This aberrant realm contained no monsters, only chaotic, constantly shifting spaces. A genius ability user had taken advantage of its properties and transformed it into a functioning station. Its core, known as the Green Mirror, was stored deep underground at the empire’s main station.

What was displayed inside the glass cabinet was merely a small fragment of the Green Mirror. It might not even be genuine, it could simply be a replica.

But Ye Zheng hoped that it was real.

She took out a small pouch and spread several green fragments before Bai Muqing. They refracted a pale white light.

“What is this?” Bai Muqing asked.

She suddenly blinked, her movements slow and deliberate. “It… and that one… they’re giving off the same aura.”

Bai Muqing pointed first at the fragments Ye Zheng had taken out, then at the green crystal inside the glass cabinet, confusion clearly written across her face.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze, the corners of her lips lifting slightly with a trace of cunning. She had guessed correctly.

She weighed the fragments lightly in her hand and said, “This is a part of Wen Xiaoxing’s body.”

Bai Muqing immediately grasped the implication. “Wen Xiaoxing… was created using this thing?”

“How could Pope Wen Jian possibly possess such an ability…”

“This is his ability 【Mother of All Things】. It allows him to create new life based on anything.”

Bai Muqing fell into silence. So Wen Jian had been using that Middle District welfare institute, and perhaps many other innocent people, as testing grounds for his ability, turning humans into unknown monstrosities.

Ye Zheng set the fragments down on top of the glass cabinet. Visually, there was no difference between them.

Judging from the properties of the Aberrant Realm 【Spatial Turbulence】, its core, the Green Mirror, possessed the ability to graft space. Wen Xiaoxing’s 【Fate Singularity】 seemed to be an infinitely amplified version of that ability, it could even graft entirely different world lines.

However, the world lines that 【Fate Singularity】 could graft were still limited. The system had once mentioned the term “coordinates.” This ability could only extend to coordinates adjacent to the main world she currently inhabited.

The two-dimensional plane world she had entered back then was the limit of what 【Fate Singularity】 could reach, the farthest coordinate from the main world.

Perhaps it was also the coordinate closest to the higher-dimensional world where the readers existed.

Ye Zheng couldn’t help but pick up one of the fragments. Beneath the pale white light, the green crystal appeared even more translucent. Within it, Ye Zheng could see her own slightly dazed eyes reflected back at her.

A very useful item, she thought.

Unfortunately, its inherent function was limited. The 【Fate Singularity】 was a masterpiece born from the combined blessing of Wen Jian’s 【Mother of All Things】 and a mysterious force originating from a higher-dimensional world.

Across the surface of the green mirror, Ye Zheng’s eyes suddenly widened, resembling another pair of dark, luminous mirrors.

The instant she’d taken the fragments from Wen Xiaoxing’s hand, he’d revealed a look of desperate fury. Perhaps the 【Fate Singularity】 hadn’t truly vanished. The fragments now resting in her hand were likely the key to activating it once more.

“Someone’s coming,” Bai Muqing suddenly said.

Ye Zheng snapped back to her senses and carefully put the fragments away again. After confirming the origin of the green shards, she now understood what she needed to do next.

“Come with me to the empire’s main station again, Muqing.”

Generally speaking, an ability on the level of 【Fate Singularity】 couldn’t be activated so casually. She’d heard that the ability user who originally constructed the empire’s main station had only succeeded in transforming the Aberrant Realm 【Spatial Turbulence】 into a facility that benefited the public through incredibly intricate design.

If she could comprehend the structure of the empire’s main station, she might also discover a way to harness the 【Fate Singularity】.

The two of them left the exhibition room and walked at an unhurried pace along the tree-lined path. Bai Muqing’s steps were slightly slower, and she gradually fell behind Ye Zheng without realizing it. Ye Zheng stopped, turned back, and waited until Bai Muqing finally caught up and walked beside her once more.

“You seem like something’s on your mind, Muqing.”

Bai Muqing thought for a moment before speaking. “Ye Zheng, can you prove that those fragments came from Wen Xiaoxing?”

As soon as the words left her lips, she quickly added, “I’m not doubting you.”

“I was thinking, if we can prove this point, and combine it with the evidence I uncovered about Wen Xiaoxing’s connection to the Pope, along with the evidence concerning the welfare institute, then Wen Jian will face the trial he truly deserves.”

The trial he deserves? Ye Zheng glanced at Bai Muqing’s profile and fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

The autumn sunlight was warm and soft, casting its glow over Bai Muqing’s fair face, yet for some reason it seemed unusually dazzling. Ye Zheng blinked instinctively.

Things weren’t that simple. Wen Jian had been the Pope for several years, after all. The vile acts he’d committed in secret were far more numerous than just this one. Trying to bring him to trial through ordinary procedures would be incredibly difficult. If she, as the Saintess, were the one to report him and file an appeal, the upper ranks of the church would undoubtedly side with Wen Jian. Although Bai Muqing’s status held considerable weight, that weight came from her family. Would the Bai family really be willing to offend the Pope without clear cause?

At that moment, as Ye Zheng observed the determination on Bai Muqing’s face, she knew the Bai family wouldn’t agree so easily. But once Bai Muqing chose this path, she wouldn’t turn back.

She might truly be able to secure a fair and just trial.

But for now, Ye Zheng had to stop Bai Muqing from going down this path.

Because the key to the 【Fate Singularity】 couldn’t be made public as evidence.

“I understand Wen Jian’s methods. He can control the church’s tribunal. Besides, I don’t have solid evidence to prove these fragments are connected to Wen Xiaoxing.”

It was a lie. These fragments had once been Wen Xiaoxing’s eyes. When she’d wrapped the white cloth around his hollow eye socket, she’d clearly seen the traces left within.

Ye Zheng gave a helpless smile. “Sorry. I should’ve paid more attention back then.”

A flicker of disappointment passed across Bai Muqing’s face. “It seems we still need to find stronger evidence.”

“By the way, why are we heading to the empire’s main station?”

Ye Zheng replied without hesitation, “Wen Jian most likely stole the core Green Mirror buried beneath the empire’s main station to create Wen Xiaoxing. We might be able to find evidence there.”

Bai Muqing’s expression lit up. She nodded in agreement. Ye Zheng had always been the smartest among her peers. She’d never doubted that.

She occasionally did things that seemed outrageous, like mixing a fake sword with the real Divine Sword of the God of Hope, quietly killing Yinkong, and this time was the shocking final winner of the ability competition. It might also have been related to Ye Zheng. But she knew that Ye Zheng acted with firm and noble intentions.

Knowing that alone was enough.

Without realizing it, Bai Muqing quickened her pace until she was walking side by side with Ye Zheng. She was slightly shorter than Ye Zheng, and with her unique vision, her steps were a bit slower.

She noticed that Ye Zheng’s pace seemed to have slowed slightly as well.

Today was the first time they’d walked together for so long. Under the sunlight, Bai Muqing gently tilted her head upward. Her white pupils were half-closed, and a clear smile appeared across her usually cold and distant face.

Now, they shared a common goal, and there would be many more days of walking together in the future.

Ye Zheng walked along the inner side of the road. The trees behind the fence cast scattered, overlapping shadows. Light and shadow danced across her face, making even her smile seem to drift.

From the corner of her eye, she kept watching Bai Muqing. Although Bai Muqing could use 【Divine Domain】 to sense activity across a wide area, her vision wasn’t very sensitive to certain subtle movements.

Ye Zheng had worked with many dangerous individuals before. Not to mention Sela and Sykes, even the most despicable Wen Jian, she could tolerate cooperating with him briefly under special circumstances.

Among all the partnerships she’d formed, Bai Muqing was the kindest and strongest, yet she was also the one Ye Zheng least wanted to work with.

“Someone from the Bai family works at the empire’s main station. I can ask him to pull up the visitor records and check if any suspicious individuals have come or gone.”

“Good idea. But it’d be even better if we could personally enter the area where the core is stored.”

Ye Zheng let out a soft sigh.

Bai Muqing thought for a moment before saying, “You’re right. Let’s give it a try.”

✧✧✧✧✧

Lower District.

“Pei Xi, Wen Xiaoxing should return to Cloud Soarers Academy. He was originally a student there, not one of our teammates. Why should we take him in?”

“Lu Qi might not be as sharp as him, but don’t you all think this guy is a little too sharp?”

Inside the hotel, Roy pointed at the innocent-looking Wen Xiaoxing, his tone full of agitation.

Pei Xi pressed his fingers to his brow, a headache forming. “Lu Qi has always been a member of the Cloud Soarers team. That won’t change. Wen Xiaoxing is only staying with us for now. After all, we’re the seniors here. Let’s be a bit more understanding toward our junior.”

Roy’s tone turned mocking. “Understanding this, understanding that, and in the end we still lost the championship just like that.”

Pei Xi fell silent for a moment. He knew Roy had been wary of Wen Xiaoxing from the very beginning. The fact that he’d released the sedative at the wrong moment, allowing Wu Shu to seize the opportunity by pure coincidence, was enough to make anyone suspicious.

But Wen Xiaoxing had no reason to help Wu Shu. Wu Shu wasn’t a noble from the Upper District and couldn’t offer him wealth or power. Moreover, judging from Wen Xiaoxing’s attire, his family background seemed quite well-off. He wasn’t the type who could be easily bribed.

Pei Xi consoled himself with the thought that if he hadn’t lost the championship, he wouldn’t have left in dejection on his own and just happened to save those innocent workers.

The kind-hearted Kyle glanced at his teammates. He first pulled Roy over and gave his shoulder a reassuring pat, then awkwardly tried to comfort Wen Xiaoxing with a few words. After all, Wen Xiaoxing was their junior, and they really shouldn’t be treating him with such harshness.

However, he didn’t expect that Wen Xiaoxing, who had seemed perfectly normal just moments ago, would suddenly push himself up from his chair. As though he’d suffered an enormous grievance, he pointed at his left eye wrapped in white cloth and said:

“For the sake of the competition, my eye ended up like this, and you’re still blaming me. I don’t want to stay with you anymore!”

The three members of the Cloud Soarers team froze in shock, completely blindsided. They watched as Wen Xiaoxing stormed out in anger, slamming the door behind him with a deafening bang.

The moment he stepped onto the street, Wen Xiaoxing’s expression darkened instantly. The anger and grievance from earlier vanished without a trace. He rolled his remaining right eye.

Damn it! After losing the 【Fate Singularity】, even some random blond guy could push him around now. Did that Roy really think he was Sykes?

His left eye had been taken by Ye Zheng and discarded. In truth, he’d later suspected that Ye Zheng had secretly kept it. But now wasn’t the right time to demand it back from her. Every time he recalled the condescending look in Ye Zheng’s eyes last night, it felt as though the cold evening wind was coiling around him once more.

But Wen Xiaoxing had thought it through the entire night. He refused to accept this fate. Even Ye Zheng had managed to claw her way back to the main world from the layered malice of the 【Fate Singularity】. So why should he give up?

Today marked the nineteenth day of his life. From Ye Zheng, he’d learned a crucial lesson, one even more valuable than anything Wen Jian had ever taught him:

Never yield to fate. It was a principle as vital and unyielding as the human spine itself.

Since Ye Zheng had taken his left eye, he’d simply create a new one for himself. The 【Fate Singularity】 would, sooner or later, return to his grasp. When that time came, Roy, Sykes, Wen Jian, Ye Zheng… every single one of them would fall under his control!

With that thought, Wen Xiaoxing’s steps grew noticeably lighter.

He was heading toward the empire’s main station. He’d sneak into that place. There had to be a way to awaken the 【Fate Singularity】 once more and free himself from the fate that Ye Zheng had imposed upon him!

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Authors Note  

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However, Zheng says: Over me?! (GIF of an arm floating with fingers spread open)