Chapter 547: His Name Is Yu Xi |
Hu Wei came back down — plucked from the divine staircase by a giant hand formed of chaotic yellow fog.
The moment he descended, Da Yi swiftly pocketed his phone, even sneaking a furtive glance at Lord Ultraman — terrified the lord had noticed his mischief.
He'd assumed that a Herald — especially one so close to Them — would at least be above such petty interests.
He was wrong. A sidelong glance revealed the lord behind him, watching him with a not-quite-smiling expression. Da Yi's brain went white with a buzz. Once it caught up, he immediately lowered his head, shut his mouth, and attempted to play dead until the moment passed.
Cheng Shi stifled his laughter and didn't call him out. Instead, he turned to Hu Wei, who was gradually regaining clarity.
Hu Wei's face was dark. Though he had no idea what he'd done on the stairs, the realization that he'd failed after only five steps left him staring back at the path to the temple with shock in his eyes — eyes that mixed defiance with a undercurrent of genuine fear.
That long staircase had nearly a thousand steps, yet he couldn't even get past the beginning. He could feel that it was the limitations of human existence that had stopped him from going further. But the question was: even with His blessing, he still couldn't climb a few more steps on the Chaos Steps?
Did one truly have to transcend humanity and become one of Them to reach the summit?
Then who could possibly finish the climb?
'If it were this lord, he could probably walk the entire staircase in one go.'
After all, He was one of Them. Even as merely a servant god, He was still a god!
Cheng Shi naturally had no idea what Hu Wei was thinking. Seeing how quickly the man recovered from his disappointment, he assumed an approving expression and nodded:
"Impressive. Reaching the fifth step in a human body is more than enough to prove your talent.
Worthy of being Chaos's favorite."
"!!!" Hu Wei's eyes blazed briefly. 'What — the fifth step is enough to earn the lord's recognition?'
'So I'm actually not that bad! It's just my human body holding me back!'
Da Yi, hearing this from the side, looked like he wanted to collapse in on himself with regret.
He kept cursing himself internally. Why had he flash-stepped? Why had he tried to show off? Why couldn't he just walk normally? Now Lao Hu was "Chaos's favorite," and him?
'Heh — just a Chaos clown who flash-stepped off the map.'
Seeing both men's expressions growing stranger by the second, Cheng Shi knew he couldn't let them spiral further. He cleared his throat, changed the subject, and formally closed this chapter of the stairway journey.
"They've begun to revive."
It was the familiar opening gambit. Cheng Shi knew this routine by heart.
He hadn't originally wanted to reveal too much of his plans on Chaos's turf. But now he'd changed his mind.
Since Chaos had given him this opportunity — and this time hadn't forced him to claim the Ultraman identity — he might as well tacitly accept it, reclaim this alias, and use it for his own purposes.
Regardless of what Chaos was planning, regardless of whether His goal was to pull Cheng Shi away from Void — when the benefits were right there, take them first. When they became too heavy to carry, that was the time to worry about what came next.
'If the sky falls, the Benefactors will hold it up. And if the Benefactors can't hold it... well, switching jobs isn't off the table.'
Cheng Shi had grown more vigilant. He truly couldn't afford to stake his entire future on Void's two Benefactors.
Deceit's purpose remained unclear. Fate was destined ultimately for nothingness. Neither path might be the one he wanted. Though he didn't know what road he'd walk beyond winning Old Jia that top scholar title, it was better to be prepared than not.
So while he could still borrow external forces, why not return the warm gestures of those recruiting from outside? Become a clown who danced between all the gods — rather than performing solely under two gods' noses.
Perhaps that would be better for everyone.
Of course, if the Benefactors ever asked about these things, the only thing coming out of his mouth would be devotion.
After all, Cheng Shi never lied.
"They?!"
As expected, the first sentence stunned Hu Wei and Da Yi. Da Yi had actually heard all this before, but a Time reset had turned him back into a clueless "Xiao Bai."
"Indeed — Them." Cheng Shi smiled and continued with an enigmatic expression. "The Eternal Sun has been redeemed. The Gate of Joyous Lust has reopened. The Mother Tree of Fear is rooted deep in the Sea of Desire. And even Dizel — the former Shadowless Crown — has begun the path of revival.
Servant gods lost to history are stepping back onto the stage of this era, one after another. Each seeks something different, but their ultimate goal is the same: to weather the tide of the era's end."
Da Yi's gaze sharpened. Clearly, he was remembering the Herobos that Lord Ultraman had told him not to provoke during the last trial.
'So he's one of these soon-to-revive Heralds too...'
Hu Wei evidently knew about a few of them already, but he sensed the lord's real point lay elsewhere. He furrowed his brow, pondered momentarily, and probed:
"My lord, is the 'era' you speak of different from the era as we understand it?"
'Look at that — he is the Grand Marshal for a reason. Sharp hearing.'
Cheng Shi smiled and nodded:
"Indeed. The era marches forward. Before Void's collapse, everyone wants to accumulate enough chips — and I'm no exception.
The deeper implications are beyond your current standing to grasp. But drawing closer to Void is never the wrong move."
Both men nodded with partial understanding, savoring every word Lord Ultraman said.
"Getting close to Fate is just one of many plans — a new experiment that I can handle alone.
But Void isn't only Fate. There's also..."
"Deceit!" Hu Wei and Da Yi spoke in unison.
"Exactly — Deceit!
He is far harder to fathom than Fate. To find new chips in this era's tide, we can't afford to reject proximity to Him either.
I told you — They've begun to revive. And Deceit also once had a Herald who was lost in a long-forgotten age. Based on recent activity within Void, He...
is likely nearing His return."
"!!!" Da Yi's eyes went wide with disbelief. "A Void servant god?"
Cheng Shi smiled mysteriously: "Yes. A Void servant god."
"Hiss—"
As far as players knew, Void had never had a single reported servant god. Even the History School couldn't find the slightest clue or historical fragment about Them.
So this news was nothing short of explosive for these two Chaos believers.
Hu Wei furrowed his brow tightly, eyes narrowing. He knew Lord Ultraman never spoke without purpose. Since they'd reached this point, their next task would likely be connected to this Void servant god.
The unknown meant difficulty. Whatever the mission, if it touched beings no one had ever heard of, it wouldn't be simple.
But Hu Wei wasn't afraid — he was calculating which resources he had that could help complete this upcoming mission of approaching Void. After thinking it through, he could only come up with three people.
Three Void players.
One was Zhen Xin, a highly cooperative magician. One was the Blind One, a rather mysterious prophet. And the last one...
Honestly, the person Hu Wei thought of was Cheng Shi.
Despite every Cheng Shi he'd encountered so far turning out, through a series of strange coincidences, to be a fake — after being reminded so many times, he still thought of this brother of his.
His instinct for reading people was sharp. From the very first time he'd been matched with Cheng Shi, he'd known the man was no amateur. But everything afterward had moved too fast — he'd never gotten the chance to reunite with his brother before being burned by one fake Cheng Shi after another.
'Sigh — as expected of a Fate believer. His fate's complicated enough. I wonder what this good brother of mine — whom Lord Ultraman has already taken notice of — is up to right now...'
Cheng Shi had no idea where Hu Wei's mind had wandered. The Ultraman identity was working perfectly — it would be such a waste not to put his good big brother to work.
So he continued:
"I know some of His story. I know He's been collecting His masks."
"Hm? Masks? My lord, you mean this Deceit Herald lost His masks?"
"No — the story behind it is rather complicated and hard to explain simply. Think of it as His mask shattering into many pieces. And when He finds all the mask fragments...
He will return."
Hu Wei nodded. He understood.
Since Chaos wanted to draw closer to Void, and the lord was personally working on approaching Fate, then their next assignment would surely be seeking out mask fragments for this Deceit Herald — thereby approaching Deceit.
In that case, they'd probably need to deal with the History School, since no one was better at digging up historical traces than they were.
It seemed it was time to go meet with her.
Da Yi guessed it too. He silently committed every word the lord had said to memory, then asked with curiosity: "My lord, what is this Void servant god's divine name...?"
'Good question!' Cheng Shi thought.
He smiled, and with an air of deep mystery, spoke:
"His name is Yu Xi. The Yu Xi who makes fools of all living things."
...