Chapter 2299: Chapter 2300: Feng’s Thoughts

World Inside the Shell, Kingdom of Saint Ysha.

"I finally saw the Pope today, just as impressive as the rumors say."

"Tomorrow is the Holy Selection Conference, but I didn’t expect the Pope to appear early. It’s so exciting."

"It’s just a pity that the Pope wore a white mask, making it impossible to see what’s beneath it. Sigh..."

"Even though we can’t see the face, there’s still an air of grandeur and might. Perhaps, as the legend suggests, he’s as handsome as a deity."

A group of girls wearing Luthean Holy Church uniforms walked hand in hand, laughing and conversing in the dormitory hallway. The subject of their conversation was none other than the Pope they glimpsed today during the Holy Descent Conference.

Among them, a blonde girl walking slightly behind murmured softly to herself, "Imposing, my foot..."

The latter part of the sentence wasn’t audible, but a "candidate Saintess" close to her seemed to have heard her mumbling and turned around to ask, "Feng, what were you saying?"

The blonde girl called "Feng" quietly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said earnestly, "I was saying you all were right; the Pope is really imposing indeed."

"Really? You think so too? Oh, if only we could see what the Pope looks like."

Her voice immediately drew agreement from other girls, though one gossip-loving girl sighed, "I heard that ten years ago, while spreading the gospel in the Heart Kingdom, the Pope suffered a facial injury, which is why he wears the mask. Although it wasn’t big news at the time, the Pope never took the mask off in all these years, so the injury must have been severe. The Pope’s face might even be..."

"Quiet." Suddenly, a plump middle-aged nun in a loose uniform emerged from the side corridor, "How dare you speak frivolously about the Pope; that’s blasphemy!"

The harsh rebuke caused the group of previously cheerful girls’ faces to turn pale.

"We were wrong."

"Nun Maria, please forgive our loose tongues."

"We are willing to go to the confessional and pray for our mistakes."

Nun Maria gave them a fierce look, jealousy flickering in her eyes. She truly wanted to punish them, make these young, beautiful, slender girls pay some price. But with the Holy Selection Conference starting tomorrow and them being candidate Saintesses, no issues could arise now.

Suppressing her resentment and jealousy, Maria snorted coldly, "I’ll let you off this time, but if there’s a next time, I’ll send you directly to the tribunal for the minister to judge your sins."

The group of girls knelt on the ground, shivering and nodding.

"Get lost."

In the following corridor, the girls dared not speak further until they reached their own dormitories, where they finally broke the silence and bid each other farewell.

"Feng, we’re leaving now."

Once the girls left, Feng, standing at the dormitory doorway, turned back, her eyes cold as she looked towards the direction Nun Maria had been.

"Just a little longer, still not completely clear," Feng silently muttered, then retracted her gaze and pushed open the door to her room.

After entering the room, Feng immediately opened the bathroom door and began filling the large bathtub with water. Once the water was ready, Feng didn’t step into it to bathe but gently leaped, landing atop the water’s surface.

"Surrounded by water, good, the feeling of being watched has disappeared," Feng thought quietly as she stood on the water.

Feng stood on the water, pondering for a moment, recalling the scene from today’s Holy Descent Conference, then thought of the conversation of the candidate Saintesses, "Imposing and mighty... Hehe, that slender and petite figure described as imposing and mighty, it seems that when girls are infatuated, their eyes do go half-blind."

"Perhaps they don’t know that the object of their infatuation is female... A female Pope, interesting."

As Feng spoke, she suddenly felt a slight warmth from her earring.

She reached up to touch the earring.

"Rekton?" Feng murmured.

A familiar teasing voice came from the earring, "The more I see you in women’s clothes, the more I feel it suits you. How about dressing like this always?"

With her friend’s teasing, Feng angrily retorted, "Do you want to live a shorter life?"

Rekton’s laughter came through the earring.

After a while, Feng took advantage of the pause in Rekton’s laughter to ask, "So tell me, what’s the matter you suddenly contact me for?"

Rekton, "I happened to be passing near the World Inside the Shell and thought I’d test the contact channel, see how things are on your end... Do you need my support?"

Feng shook her head, "No need, things are relatively calm here. I just met the Pope today; she possesses a very strong mysterious aura. The Mysterious Object is in her hands."

"She? Another female? I recall your last mission was also a female, right?"

Feng nodded, "The last mission was also in the World Inside the Shell, involving the Heart Kingdom’s Ocalleg royal third princess."

"The World Inside the Shell is quite interesting, such a marginal plane, yet there are two Mysterious Objects with enough influence for you to sense them, and both are controlled by females," Rekton clicked his tongue.

"Mysterious Objects have nothing to do with gender, don’t make random conclusions," Feng knew Rekton’s ways well; due to long-term inability to connect with mysterious realms, he constantly pondered strange patterns hoping to find breakthroughs.

Rekton, "Who knows? After you finish this mission, I might explore the World Inside the Shell, perhaps even find some hidden Mysterious Objects."

The two Mysterious Objects Feng discovered in the World Inside the Shell were because their fluctuations were extremely strong, almost or already reaching the edge of disorder, thus detectable by Feng. Subtle ones were usually held by orderly and low-profile individuals, and unless major chaos emerged, Feng wouldn’t bother investigating.

"You can explore, but no need to come to the Kingdom of Saint Ysha; there’s only one Mysterious Object here."

"You’re that sure?"

Feng nodded, "The Mysterious Object in the Kingdom of Saint Ysha is the single one held by the female Pope. Based on my observations during my time here, I’ve summarized some patterns of this Mysterious Object."

"It’s primarily a detection-type Mysterious Object."

"Its detection range is currently unknown, but very extensive; even in distant wilderness, I feel its detection presence. I suspect its terrestrial detection has no limits."

"Its only weakness is that detection can’t surpass water surfaces."

"I haven’t been directly detected yet; hence its detection limit is unknown. However, from articles and news related to the Pope, she seems to know everything. Likely, this detection-type Mysterious Object can penetrate minds forcefully without the subjects’ awareness."

"Because of this detection-type Mysterious Object’s existence, the continent of the Kingdom of Saint Ysha absolutely won’t harbor another Mysterious Object. If there was, the Pope would know and have acquired it."

Rekton, "If there’s a Mysterious Object with strange effects, the Pope might not obtain it either, right?"

Feng: "Forcefully probing a person’s mind, as long as you can detect their thoughts, you can determine the rules of the mysterious object in their hands. Obtaining it wouldn’t be too difficult."

Rekton pondered carefully and it did seem to be the case: "If this is true, then acquiring this mysterious object could save us a lot of time on our missions."

Rekton hadn’t forgotten how Feng spent fifteen years to determine the traits of the mysterious object from the Heart Kingdom. Even when the third princess of the Heart Kingdom was just an infant fifteen years ago, Feng dared not take it by force.

After all, mysterious objects are extremely special. Even if an infant holds it, as long as it aligns with the rules, it can cause catastrophic effects.

If there were a mysterious object that could probe, it might save some time.

However, Feng thought differently: "This place is the Shell World, where there is essentially no existence of Extraordinary Power. The Pope dares to probe people’s minds because she is an ordinary person who has no reverence for the transcendent."

"But if you were in other worlds, try probing then."

In other transcendent worlds, once a mysterious object is used, not only would you not be able to probe, but someone might even come to seize it.

And if the one being probed is an extraordinary life with a mysterious object, the outcome would likely be worse.

To avoid paying the price with one’s life, it’s best to be cautious.

After Feng and Rekton discussed the state of the Kingdom of Saint Ysha, Feng then inquired about Rekton’s situation: "Why are you passing through the Shell World?"

Rekton: "I discovered in a secret book that in the Secret World, there’s a family that seems to possess a special alchemical method called Dark Alchemy. The name sounds a bit like the Darkening Technique, so I plan to check if there’s any connection."

Feng knew of Rekton’s obsession with the Darkening Technique, so he understood Rekton’s actions, but...

"Are you sure you want to go to the Secret World? It’s quite dangerous. I once saw records about the Secret World in the Temple of the Oracle... You should know about the Tyand series of rituals? It’s said that the Evil God Tyand worshipped is from the Secret World, and there are quite a number of high-energy lives there."

Rekton: "I know, I checked the situation of the Secret World before departing. The most terrifying part of the Secret World is the enigmatic surface, while the mortal surface is still normal and not too dangerous. The Northern Territory Wizards’ Realm even has a few wizard families that seem to have migrated to the surface of the Secret World. I’m going to the surface, not the enigmatic surface."

With Rekton’s assurance, Feng breathed a slight sigh of relief. On the long road of seeking truth, Rekton was a rare friend who resonated with him, and he did not wish for Rekton to come to harm because of adventure.

"Since you understand, I won’t say more."

Then Feng chatted with Rekton for a while longer before preparing to close the communication channel. Although Rekton was near the Shell World, such communication across realms was so energy-consuming that even a Legendary Wizard found it hard to bear.

"That’s all for now. Let’s talk later when there’s something... huh?"

Just as Feng was about to end the chat, he suddenly paused.

Rekton was about to put away the communication when he also stopped: "Feng, what happened?"

For a while, there was no sound, but the communication channel wasn’t closed.

It wasn’t until three minutes later that Feng replied: "Nothing, just a small accident."

Rekton noticed that Feng’s tone was a bit peculiar.

"Do you need my assistance?" Rekton asked.

Feng: "No, it’s not about the Kingdom of Saint Ysha; it’s that a wisp of my consciousness in the Southern Domain has disappeared."

"A consciousness left in the Southern Domain? I remember you only left an avatar in the Southern Domain..." Rekton recalled for a moment and seemed to think of something: "The follow-up of the Book of Kael?!"

Feng nodded, his tone incredulous: "That’s right, it was indeed an avatar arranged according to the evolution of the Book of Kael."

Feng murmured softly: "Such a complex arrangement, with the key in the hands of that old dragon in the Ice Valley, yet in the end, it actually followed the development in the Book of Kael."

Rekton obviously knew about this as well, and his surprise was no less than Feng’s: "When you mentioned it to me earlier, I still doubted the ability of the Book of Kael, but now it seems... the Book of Kael indeed lives up to its name."

Rekton sighed: "The only pity is that the Mad Hat’s coronation was still given away in the end."

Feng teased: "What, you’re still thinking about it?"

Rekton sighed deeply, his meaning clear.

In fact, it wasn’t just Rekton who was thinking about it; Feng, who appeared to be teasing, was actually thinking about it too. He had also considered that if the evolution of the Book of Kael ultimately failed, he would have to retrieve that mysterious magic pattern.

But now, there was no way.

This was the price the Book of Kael ordained, and it also stopped the Demon God’s catastrophe in the Southern Domain.

"The fall of the Demon God’s True Spirit in exchange for a mysterious magic pattern, is also worth it." While saying this, Feng was still a bit heartbroken, as that was an extremely special mysterious magic pattern.

"Since it’s the price of the Book of Kael, it can’t be reclaimed. But can it be borrowed?" Rekton’s eyes lit up: "Do you know who obtained the mysterious magic pattern?"

Feng shook his head: "The Southern Domain is too far away, and the energy of the consciousness in the painting isn’t enough to transmit information back."

Rekton’s eyes, which had just lit up, dimmed again.

Feng: "However, if you really want to find that person, it’s not impossible."

After all, the environment of the Tidal World is still very isolated. If that person wants to find the treasure, they will definitely meet those elemental creatures, leaving many traces.

Or, just directly look for Nami Midori, and you might find that person.

"For now, let’s just leave it. The Mad Hat’s coronation can’t let me truly access the mysterious realm. For now, I should go to the Secret World and see the situation with that Dark Alchemy. Once there’s an opportunity later, I’ll look for this lucky one."

But Feng wasn’t so sure about Rekton’s statement. To become the key figure in the fall of the Demon God’s True Spirit, it wasn’t just about being a lucky one.

After saying goodbye to Rekton, Feng remained standing quietly on the water’s surface.

He was still pondering about the person who could obtain the treasure.

Someone who could traverse countless barriers and eventually find the Treasureland in the Void, surely lacked neither wisdom, courage, nor capability.

"I truly want to see, who are you." Feng murmured softly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door: "Sister Feng, the procurement department has sent tomorrow’s Holy Selection Conference’s pigments and paper. Do you want to try them now?"

Feng withdrew his thoughts, which had traveled to the Distant World, and replied: "Alright, I’ll test them now."

Even if he really wanted to meet that person, he had to handle the situation in the Shell World first. Tomorrow was the Holy Selection Conference; hopefully, it could be used to test whether the mysterious object had any other offensive abilities. If not... it would be time to act.

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