Chapter 209: Free Will, the Origin of the Holy Empress Dowager

“Mr. Zhong, this is my personal matter—please step aside.” Chu Danqing gave Da Bao a glance, signaling him to take Zhong Ting away.

This was naturally to avoid triggering the mandatory return punishment for leaking Paradise-related information.

The current penalty for leaks, though harsher than before, is merely a -1 reduction to all attributes—trivial compared to one’s life.

Zhong Ting sensed the aura of pressure emanating from Da Bao, so he nodded and moved aside to avoid suspicion.

After Zhong Ting left, the apostle was dragged over by Yue Lan Wu Ying.

He took two more punches, and his deformation slowly receded as his body suffered severe damage.

“Buddy, yeah, I did take advantage of your oversight, but you’re really—” Chu Danqing paused suddenly: “Wait, who are you? Do we have a grudge?”

Chu Danqing had assumed the apostle who attacked him was the one who had scavenged the Divine Spirit Foundation technique.

After all, the fellow had boasted he’d locked onto him with a tool—his sudden attack made perfect sense.

But once the apostle reverted to his true form, it wasn’t him—it was someone else entirely.

“Looks like you’ve made quite a few enemies,” the apostle chuckled. “Want to know why I came to kill you?”

“Let’s sign a notarized agreement. I tell you, and you let me go.”

“Then forget it—I’d rather just kill you.” Chu Danqing naturally refused.

From the apostle’s tone, he was certain of one thing: this wasn’t a crime of opportunity—it was premeditated.

With those words, Yue Lan Wu Ying moved to strike.

“Wait—I’m from Free Will. I bear a Vengeance Mark.” The apostle immediately said. “Kill me, and you’ll be hunted.”

Chu Danqing sneered. “So that’s it. I must’ve killed some high-ranking apostle’s pet under Free Will.”

The Vengeance Mark wasn’t a nuclear weapon. Chu Danqing didn’t want to provoke major factions—but to cower because of it? That would be laughable.

“Correct.” The apostle exhaled in relief, thinking his threat had worked. “You killed a seedling nurtured by one of our management-level apostles.”

“He spent enormous resources to get Paradise’s approval, moving this seedling from a dangerous high-fantasy world into a stable low-level martial world to develop.”

“Just as he was about to break through to Rank 3 for harvest, you killed him.”

“Now all his efforts are wasted. This won’t end here.”

“But brother, don’t worry—if you spare me, I won’t oppose you in this trial. We can notarize that.”

“His tool can only be used once. Paradise won’t allow him to repeatedly suppress a low-rank apostle with malicious intent.”

“If he insists, not only will Paradise punish him, but Free Will will suffer collateral damage too.”

“But if you kill me, the Vengeance Mark will last at least three trials.”

“If you kill the next pursuer, the timer resets again.”

“Endless trouble—like shit you never want to step in.” The apostle laid out the stakes, pleading not to be killed.

Chu Danqing fell silent—not because he hesitated to kill, but because he hadn’t expected the Holy Empress Dowager to be a dimension apostle deliberately planted in the previous trial world.

No wonder the setting felt so out of place. Now he saw: his Tieflin gene seed, Succubus bloodline, Blood Mage class, and Ninefold Hell Meditation weren’t original.

They belonged to this management-level apostle of Free Will.

And this act didn’t seem to be endorsed by Paradise—even after he paid a heavy price.

It wasn’t impossible. After all, Paradise doesn’t encourage profiting from low-rank apostles.

If you dominate your own rank, even if you’re ruthless, Paradise will ignore it—as long as it’s legal. That’s your skill.

Profiting from low-rank apostles might seem to harm negligible interests, but it cripples their growth.

Paradise’s foundation is apostles. How could it let you undermine them?

“How does your Free Will Vengeance Mark compare to the Dragon-Tiger Alliance or the Tiance Prefecture?” Chu Danqing smiled.

The apostle’s pupils shrank. He knew exactly what Chu Danqing meant.

Simply put: Chu Danqing had killed people from both those factions.

Free Will couldn’t possibly dare to pick a fight with them.

“I’ll pay a ransom for my life. Let’s notarize it.” He realized his Vengeance Mark threat had failed.

The Vengeance Mark wasn’t invincible. Many factions had been wiped out entirely by powerful individuals because of it.

High-ranks can’t interfere with low-ranks. Once a powerhouse grows strong, they just slaughter through—forget revenge, they’ll take you down too.

Paradise’s atmosphere isn’t brutally harsh, but with its vast numbers and endless opportunities, powerful individuals occasionally emerge from unknown corners.

And there are many lone wolves like Chu Danqing—strong, obscure, focused solely on self-improvement.

By the time you try to approach them, they’ve already advanced in rank—and you can’t even find them.

“Oh.” Chu Danqing replied calmly. Yue Lan Wu Ying moved instantly, snapping the apostle’s limbs.

But that wasn’t enough—she also destroyed his vocal cords.

The apostle instantly understood what Chu Danqing intended.

The Vengeance Mark only affects apostles—it has no effect on natives.

There are Vengeance Marks capable of tracing causality directly, but Free Will couldn’t possibly possess such a thing.

Even if Free Will had them, he wouldn’t be allowed to use one.

Destroying his vocal cords prevented him from leaking Paradise information and triggering mandatory return.

As for transmitting via mental will? He’d need to know how to do it first.

It’s not enough to just think of a solution—you need the means to execute it.

Chu Danqing called Da Bao and Zhong Ting back, explaining his plan.

Zhong Ting frowned. “Little Brother Chu, you’re asking me to prove my loyalty, aren’t you?”

“Not exactly—he’s just not ordinary.” Chu Danqing didn’t intend that, then added: “Do it, and I’ll give you the Centipede Pearl immediately.”

Hearing this, Zhong Ting knew he had no choice. He drew a dagger and slashed his own throat.

The apostle died with eyes full of resentment.

“So this man’s background is huge—big enough that Little Brother Chu isn’t afraid I’ll run,” Zhong Ting said, taking the Centipede Pearl.

He didn’t know the full truth, but he wasn’t blind to the situation.

“Technically, you’re not wrong,” Chu Danqing replied vaguely.

Zhong Ting wasn’t wrong—the Paradise’s origin was indeed immense.

On the other side, Yue Lan Wu Ying had already dug a grave and casually tossed the apostle—whose codename they didn’t even know—into it, then buried him.

Chu Danqing muttered to himself: How many did this Free Will management-level apostle send? Surely not just this one?

The possibility wasn’t small. Paradise is extremely strict about high-ranks interfering with low-ranks or factions suppressing individuals.

Sending three or five people to hunt a stranger, wasting so many resources—Free Will would be better off keeping them to strengthen themselves.

Especially since this is a personal grudge between Chu Danqing and that management-level apostle—not between Chu Danqing and Free Will.

If that management-level apostle has lost his reason, other management-level apostles will rein him in to prevent further losses.

Zhong Ting gave Chu Danqing a long, piercing look—he suspected Chu Danqing was a major warlord.

Otherwise, why would anyone be hunting him?

“Let’s go. It’s getting late—we shouldn’t delay.” Chu Danqing urged.

Killing one apostle? To Chu Danqing, it was just a minor incident—nothing significant.

As for retaliating against that Free Will management-level apostle—

If they crossed paths, he’d act. If not, he’d never waste his own resources on it.

Better to use them to strengthen himself. Revenge isn’t worth it.

Zhong Ting nodded and led Chu Danqing onward up the mountain.

As dusk arrived, the temperature dropped. By night, it would be even colder.

If they stayed outdoors, beasts and cold were secondary concerns—dangerous entities would begin roaming.

Day is yang; night is yin.

During the day, these entities fear the sun; at night, they have no such restraint.

Humans become the prey.

But only in the eerie Cangmang Guling would this happen. Elsewhere, it wouldn’t be this terrifying.

Even so, the death rate remains high. In this warlord chaos, today you fight me, tomorrow I fight you—commanders change every few days.

The two climbed to the summit and saw the Golden Dragon Temple.

“You’re sure this Golden Dragon Temple has no monks left?” Chu Danqing stared at the temple.

It was indeed dilapidated. Transporting materials here for repairs or bringing in craftsmen would be difficult.

But it didn’t look abandoned—just devoid of worshippers.

“That shouldn’t be,” Zhong Ting didn’t believe his uncle would deceive him.

This was inherited intelligence—no one knew if future successors would come to explore.

“How credible do you think your uncle’s information is?” Chu Danqing asked.

“At least eighty percent.” Zhong Ting carefully examined the Golden Dragon Temple. “But given its location in Cangmang Guling, it may have undergone some anomaly.”

Chu Danqing leaned toward Zhong Ting’s theory.

“Then let’s go in and test it,” Chu Danqing said directly. “If there are demons or monsters inside, we’ll eliminate them together.”

Since they’d come this far, any anomaly was a perfect opportunity for a reward.

Zhong Ting stared at Chu Danqing with a strange expression—your shadow’s monstrous entities count too.

As they entered the temple, a heavy scent of cosmetics hit them.

The smell wasn’t like a temple—it was more like a brothel.

(End of Chapter)