Lord of Prayer

’Ke Feng, the Bishop of the Feng City Life Church, has defected and taken Forbidden Object B-022: Crimson Full Moon with him... A Regional Bishop actually defecting? What’s he after?’

’Crimson Full Moon is a key artifact for the Ghost’s ritual. Could Ke Feng’s defection be related to the Ghost?’

’It’s possible he’s like Li Miao, placed under a Curse Gu by the Ghost... but the Seed of Distortion can only be planted in the soul of someone who willingly gives up resisting. Ke Feng is a Regional Bishop, after all. Does he not even have that much backbone? Or did he defect of his own free will?’

’If Ke Feng was colluding with the Ghost, he must be having a breakdown right now. Orlando and the others have already taken care of the Ghost, and the ritual sacrifices in Soul Rest Cemetery have all been freed. Even with Crimson Full Moon, the ritual can’t proceed.’

’But if Ke Feng’s defection has nothing to do with the Ghost, and there’s another reason...’

’...then it’s none of my business.’

Lost in thought, Zhou Chen made his way to Dawn Church. Orlando had already returned and was waiting for him at the entrance.

"The Ghost is dead."

Orlando said bluntly, "He took one of my Sun Fists. Body and soul, reduced to ash."

"How did you hit him?" Zhou Chen asked, extremely curious. "The Ghost had Future Vision. If he saw that this punch would kill him in the future, he definitely would have done everything in his power to dodge it. With his methods, that shouldn’t have been difficult."

"Commander Wang Yaoting’s surprise attack created an opening for us," Orlando said, recalling the details of the battle. "The initial ambush worked, and we successfully trapped the Ghost. But he used an ability that exceeded our expectations to escape the trap. Fortunately, we had anticipated such a possibility and made thorough preparations, so he didn’t get away.

The ability to see the future is truly a pain to deal with. He neutralized our attacks time and time again. But then he made several small mistakes. It must have been you entering Soul Rest Cemetery that distracted him. We used that opportunity to injure him.

After he was injured, the effectiveness of the Ghost’s Future Vision was greatly diminished. We gradually gained the upper hand. Then Commander Wang Yaoting suddenly joined the battlefield, catching the Ghost completely off guard. I found the right moment and hit him with a Sun Fist.

The Sun Fist is a Secret Technique created by Noah long ago. It’s arguably the most powerful single-target offensive Skill in the Sun Realm. The body and soul of anyone struck by it are reduced to ash. I could clearly feel that I killed the Ghost."

"As long as he’s dead." With an expert’s confirmation, a great weight was lifted from Zhou Chen’s heart.

"But it seems the Ghost had accomplices. They took advantage of Commander Wang Yaoting being reassigned to launch an attack, massacring the Feng City Life Church." Orlando sighed. "It’s an absolute tragedy."

The Life Church immediately sent reinforcements after learning of the incident, but it was too late. The laboratory, located in a pocket dimension, was crushed by a mine. Only a handful of people survived. The rest were either killed by the traitor Ke Feng or crushed to death by the mine.

"Even if they have accomplices, they can’t perform the ritual. All the souls in Soul Rest Cemetery have dispersed. They have no sacrifices," Zhou Chen said.

"Let’s hope so." Orlando didn’t seem optimistic.

"Is something wrong?"

Orlando pondered for a moment. "What if... there was a second set of sacrifices, or even more?"

Zhou Chen fell silent. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it, but on second thought, it had taken the Ghost over a decade just to gather the sacrifices in Soul Rest Cemetery, and he hadn’t even finished. Preparing another set seemed unrealistic.

"That’s probably not possible." He shook his head.

"No, it is possible." Orlando’s gaze was profound as he looked toward the sky. He added a reminder, "Don’t forget who the Ghost used to work for."

Hearing this, Zhou Chen was suddenly alarmed—Grand Councilor Dupe!

"The Energy a Grand Councilor commands is far beyond your imagination. Gathering suitable sacrifices wouldn’t take much time at all. Besides, that man is very ambitious. He’s willing to take risks to cultivate a useful tool," Orlando said.

Zhou Chen thought for a moment. "What if the Ghost never told Dupe he was preparing a ritual? He wouldn’t just casually mention something that important, would he?"

"The Ghost might not have said anything, but Dupe would have investigated. He’s the type who likes to control everything. If he didn’t know the Ghost’s background inside and out, he never would have hired him."

As Orlando spoke, his brow furrowed slightly. "I just thought of another possibility."

"What is it?"

"Ke Feng works for Dupe."

Zhou Chen’s eyes widened in an instant.

「Eastern Continent.」

A quiet and elegant bamboo forest.

Dupe was having tea with a Judge from the Star Association’s Judgement Court.

"This whole Song Bensong affair is difficult to handle. If he hadn’t been caught, there would have been room to maneuver. Unfortunately, he was too slow. And this time, the Judgement Court is playing for keeps. They performed a memory extraction the moment they caught him, leaving no openings." The Judge shook his head slightly, indicating he was powerless to help.

Now that the memory extraction was complete, there was no room to do anything in the face of ironclad evidence.

The civil officials were now compiling the evidence of Dupe’s crimes based on Song Bensong’s memories. It probably wouldn’t be long before he was summoned. By then, it would all be over.

Dupe frowned slightly. The situation was more serious than he had imagined. "Who’s trying to take me down?"

"From what I know, the Speaker-General and three Grand Councilors are involved. There are people in the decision-making body who want you gone, too. Someone also secretly submitted evidence of your crimes, and some of the charges have already been confirmed. If you hadn’t been overseeing the tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia recently, you probably would have been summoned long ago," the Judge said helplessly. "I’m under a lot of pressure just for letting you in the door today."

"You owe me a favor."

Dupe tapped his teacup, thinking for a long while before speaking. "I need you to stall for as much time as possible."

"How am I supposed to do that?" The Judge sounded even more helpless. "I might be able to handle the Grand Councilors and the Judgement Court, but the decision-making body... they’re an institution above the law. Even the words of a Grand Councilor or the Chief Judge might not matter to them."

"There’s always a way."

Dupe stared at him silently, as if peering into his very soul. "Eight years ago, in Europe, you got drunk and forced yourself on a young noblewoman, didn’t you? It seems her family still doesn’t know about it. And that little girl is the most outstanding of her family’s younger generation, the one they’ve been grooming for success. Tell me, what do you think would happen if this got out?"

The Judge shuddered. After a long moment, he closed his eyes in resignation. "I’ll find a way to buy you some time."

After leaving the bamboo forest, Dupe leaned back against the soft seat of his car, closing his eyes to rest.

Just then, the Secretary beside him suddenly reported, "Ke Feng has obtained the Crimson Full Moon. The Ghost has been killed."

"Mm."

Dupe slowly opened his eyes.

"Begin the preparations. We have two days at most."