Chapter 1. Who Told Him I Wasn't Dead!

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"Hey, isn't the Hero coming to our city today?"

"It's today! How could you forget something so important? Idiot."

Between the seats of the colosseum, two young servants cleaning the aisles whispered to each other.

But it wasn't just them—the entire colosseum was abuzz with talk about the Hero's arrival.

"I was just curious," one servant muttered, glancing up at the nobles also discussing the same topic above.

He lowered his voice, "Isn't that Hero supposed to be the most benevolent one of all the legends? For a place like our colosseum... Do we even dare open our doors in front of him?"

A colosseum, a place that turned human lives into entertainment—surely the Hero, famed as the kindest among all chosen by the gods, wouldn't like it here.

What if, on a whim, that noble champion of the gods obliterated them all...

"Nothing to be done about it," the other, slightly older servant sighed.

"After all, it's because the other even more troublesome Chosen of the gods wants to watch..."

"Enough noise."

Before he could finish, a cold female voice rang from above.

In an instant, the previously bustling colosseum was plunged into silence.

The two servants surreptitiously raised their heads, looking up to the highest place in the colosseum.

Seated in the highest position—a symbol of the colosseum's supreme status— reclined a young girl.

She leaned lazily, long ashen-white hair spilling from beneath the hood of her nun's habit.

Across her chest, the insignia marking her as one of the Chosen of the gods dangled carelessly, dripping with irreverence.

Sunlight streamed down through the dome above the colosseum, illuminating her indifferent golden eyes and the lingering trace of a wicked smile on her lips.

Jiang Cheng, the Black Saintess, the current Saintess chosen by the gods—although, the title people spoke of more often was her other name:The Most Wicked Saintess in History.

Jiang Cheng swept a casual glance over the minor nobles below, chuckling inwardly.

Not a single good person among them, which made sense—who but the vile would come to watch the bloody sport here?

But... so noisy. She wondered when she'd be in a bad mood and just kill them all; after all, they weren't good people anyway. Lyle, my dear Hero, you wouldn't blame me for that, would you...

Lost in thought, Jiang Cheng cast a glance at the bloody combat in the arena, a flash of distaste in her eyes.

Though she regarded herself as a villain, she didn't care for such spectacles.

She'd only come today because she was forced to open the place, intending to give Lyle, who had just arrived in the city, something to occupy him—and to find a chance for a 'first meeting'.

Bored, Jiang Cheng reached for a nearby newspaper. She glanced at the headline about the Hero's arrival, but then her gaze caught on a story buried in the corner.

Her hands trembled slightly as she quickly turned to the relevant page.

"The Hero, through prophecy, learns that a dear friend is alive, vowing to search for this cherished one,"

And in that article, the people named were all so familiar to Jiang Cheng—

They were her previous identities.

"Pfft, you really blew it this time," the system crowed gleefully at her ear.

In truth, it had long been bothered by Jiang Cheng's actions.

Even though she'd only become a girl due to its own mistake, that was no excuse to go about her tasks like this!

Clearly, the system's mission for Jiang Cheng had been to properly guide Lyle into becoming an outstanding and powerful Hero.

Yet she'd insisted that only the teachings of the dead leave a lasting impression,

Then, using her three identities, she mentored Lyle—before having each one die at the hands of demons, and all right in front of Lyle.

Jiang Cheng ignored the system, though for the first time in ages her heart clenched with unease. She'd thought nothing in this world could make her nervous anymore.

But evidently, she still wasn't good at handling things like this.

The very thought of Lyle's feelings for those identities made her panic, even giving her a headache.

But... as for the Prophet, cultivation requires many special materials—especially at this level...

As far as she knew, there was only one powerful faction capable of producing such a prophet...

"Which faction's prophet did this? Make them commit suicide."

Summoning her spirit messenger, Jiang Cheng sent this order to the Temple of the Gods.

Ha, just in time for a bad mood... she thought, standing up.

Below, the minor nobles all sneaked glances her way, wondering what new bout of trouble the most wicked Saintess might stir up.

That one there was behind the slave trafficking ring. That one controlled a whole group of kidnappers. That other one regularly twisted justice in the courtroom...

Under the nervous stares of the minor nobles, Jiang Cheng pointed one by one and finally spoke:"You. You. And you lot. Go down to the pit and fight. I want to watch and be entertained."

...

The colosseum was silent as death. The nobles she singled out went cold with disbelief—surely they hadn't heard her right.

Someone peeked fearfully at the monstrous creature in the arena below.

It stood a full three meters tall, the largest corruption beast the colosseum had brought out, solely for Jiang Cheng's amusement today.

Jump in, and survival was basically impossible... Even for a Saintess, wasn't this too much?

Clearly, one noble thought just that. He took a step forward.

"Saintess, are those not rather overboard words? Take them back and we'll pretend nothing happened."

Jiang Cheng glanced at the man and gave a light chuckle.

She remembered him; just yesterday she'd seen his men drag someone away.

Such a person... even if she killed him herself, Lyle wouldn't blame her, right? He certainly wouldn't, would he?

Thinking this, Jiang Cheng raised her hand. How nice—it seemed she'd have some fun killing again.

Yet the minor noble didn't flinch; he showed no fear of Jiang Cheng.

His confidence didn't stem from any power backing him—after all, what backing could compare to a Saintess chosen by the gods?

No, his confidence rose from his own strength—and a piece of intelligence:The intelligence was simple: the Saintess could only use divine arts, or so it claimed.

Divine arts, though far stronger than spells of the same level, always came with a price.

While usually not lethal to the caster, these costs brought immense pain; the Temple of the Gods claimed it was to help practitioners realize faith through suffering.

At the level of high-tier divine arts, the pain would be enough to kill ordinary folk several times over.

Even the best divine spellcasters had to use rare materials to numb their nerves, and Jiang Cheng had only arrived in Adventure City barely half a year ago. There was no way she could use a high-level divine art.

As for the lower tiers... As an advanced machinist, he wasn't worried at all.

Smirking, he stood his ground, sneering at Jiang Cheng.

Just a Saintess! How dare she be so arrogant? He'd show her—here, power was everything.

Lost in his delusions, he failed to notice Jiang Cheng had already raised her hand.

With her fingertip, she slashed wound after wound into her forearm, forming a cog-shaped divine sigil.

Next moment, a massive mechanical arm materialized above the minor noble's head.

Wait, what the—?

He felt the force bearing down. His legs quaked and he collapsed, powerless.

"High-rank divine art?! You... lunatic."

He managed those last words before he was smashed to a pulp.

—drip, drip—the blood trickled down Jiang Cheng's arm, but her wounds healed instantly.

She swept a cold glance over the rest. Without a word more, all the other minor nobles hurled themselves down into the arena.

It was better to give it a shot; after all, they had exoskeletons on, and maybe—just maybe—they could take down that three-meter corruption beast...

Anyway, no one wanted to experience the power of a high-rank divine art again.

That lunatic!

Jiang Cheng smiled faintly, slipped on her hood, and left the colosseum.

Since her plan had changed, she couldn't be bothered to waste any more time in a place like this.

Stepping outside, Jiang Cheng raised her hand. A ripple of energy—and the spirit messenger delivered a reply.

She opened the letter, and her pale golden eyes narrowed.

"Regarding the prophet, the temple is investigating. We can confirm this was not the work of anyone from the temple. The paper bears a truth formation; you know this is not a lie."

Not from the temple? Then who could possibly produce such a high-level prophet?!

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Ruthless outside, but a good person inside...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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