Chapter 736: I Am the First Clock Hand He Shaped When He Descended

"Praise our Lord — praise Time!"

"Praise our Lord — praise Time!"

The first was Lao Deng's cry of shock and devotion. The second came from Cheng Shi, confirming his "identity."

No matter how bold the clown was, he'd never dare impersonate Time on Time's own turf. That earlier joke was merely a minor power play.

But from Deng Sui's perspective, it was anything but a joke.

He could tell this wasn't his Benefactor. But an entity that could joke about the Benefactor here — could that be someone simple?

Absolutely not!

His expression grew even more apprehensive. He carefully raised his eyes toward Cheng Shi:

"I always assumed Time was rigorous and Existence was solemn. Meeting you today, I realize my understanding of our Lord's will was far too narrow. So Time also possesses a lighthearted humor.

"..."

Cheng Shi was stunned. The last time he'd met a player this skilled at flattery was when he'd "recruited" Long Jing using his Yu Xi identity.

'But Little Deng, you've got it wrong. Time really is quite serious. The fun one is me — no, the Fun God.'

But Cheng Shi didn't correct him. He needed leverage. So he scoffed and continued his pressure:

"Good. Decent instincts. But I must warn you: excessive cunning will skew your will toward the Void. I can sense your devotion — but inflated devotion is not true devotion.

Time is not Deceit. And time does not need to be embellished."

Deng Sui's heart lurched. He quickly bowed: "I stand corrected."

"Stand. Existence is equal. You and I are both His followers. No need for this — I am merely an ordinary gatekeeper."

'Ordinary?'

Deng Sui twitched the corner of his mouth. 'Someone who guards His temple and calls themselves ordinary? In what universe?'

But who'd kneel when they could stand? He hurried to his feet and began examining the platform with growing excitement:

"Please forgive my presumptuousness once more. How should I address you, sir?"

Cheng Shi's eyes flicked. Without a second thought, he improvised a brand-new identity:

"I have no name. I am merely the first clock hand He shaped when He descended into this world. If you insist on a title, call me Hour Hand."

Deng Sui trembled from head to toe. His mind buzzed. He'd registered nothing else — only one word: "shaped."

Shaped — by hand!!!

This being before him was the Benefactor's first creation upon descending!

Could it be that this entity was, like Memory's Mirror of Delusion, a Servant God-level creation of Time!?

Almost certainly. No — definitely!

Deng Sui's eyes lit up. He felt enlightened.

'No wonder!'

'No wonder Time's followers scoured every trial and never found a single trace of their Benefactor's Servant God-level creation. No wonder all he'd ever managed to find was that half a God Audience Contract with nothing written about Him. It turned out He'd been guarding the Benefactor's temple all along!'

'He'd probably been serving before the divine presence since His creation. If not for using that half-contract in desperation today, who could have ever found Him!?'

'So this truly was Time's gift. So this was Time's miracle!'

Those earlier followers who'd tried to use the contract to become the first to meet Him had failed. Yet untold ages later, today — he'd used that half-contract to truly become the first to find the "Hour Hand"!

'Praise Time! Today wasn't misfortune at all. It was fortune.'

'And here Destiny thought She could interfere with Time followers' fates? Laughable!'

Deng Sui was ecstatic. In this era where faith fusion had clearly accelerated, he'd maintained an aura of mystery toward other players. But in truth, that mystery hid no real secrets — it was more about preserving his prestige, concealing the fact that he'd never once received an audience from his own Benefactor.

But now he didn't need mystery anymore — because he'd seen Him!

At the very least, he'd reached Time's temple. At the very least, he'd met a Servant God-level creation: a self-aware "Hour Hand."

With such a golden opportunity, Deng Sui naturally wanted to extract as much as possible. But Cheng Shi would never let the other lead this "audience." He cut off the questioning and said, in a tone dripping with significance:

"Time is not Destiny. He is always at our side. So as His followers, there's no need to deliberately chase His guidance.

Every second and every minute ticking in this world is a divine oracle He delivers to us.

Feel it carefully. You'll gain something from it."

Hearing this, Deng Sui furrowed his brow slightly and actually fell into contemplation.

Seeing such a devout expression, Cheng Shi nearly broke character. 'Bro — I was completely making that up. And you actually believe it.'

Fighting back a laugh, he pressed his lips together and continued: "As for why you were able to come here today..."

"?" The contemplating Deng Sui snapped back to attention, looking up in bewilderment. "Hour Hand, sir — wasn't it because of the God Audience Contract?"

"?"

Now it was Cheng Shi's turn to be stunned.

'What contract? There's a contract for divine audiences?'

He looked the other up and down, gaze lingering on pockets and inner folds. Finding nothing, he cooled his expression and continued:

"The contract is merely the means, not the timing.

If He wishes to see you, no contract is necessary. If He does not, then even if you paved the river of time with contracts, you would never arrive here.

So — why do you think you came to this temple today?"

'Why?'

Deng Sui's brow knotted tighter. He began solemnly reviewing the day's events, connecting the "timing" from the Hour Hand's words to the Torchbearers' ambush.

Obviously, he'd used the contract only because he was fleeing for his life. So this summons must be connected to today's Torchbearer attack.

And one of those two Torchbearers was Destiny's Chosen. Could this audience actually be about... the war between faiths?

Not impossible. In fact, during the preceding trial, Deng Sui had already been reviewing his clash with the Torchbearers.

He'd noticed that Qin Xin didn't seem like a Memory follower. Aside from item-use moments when Memory power swirled around him, there was never a trace of Memory energy — not even in his most ferocious attacks.

Add to that Qin Xin's abnormally high physical stats and strength, his unusually sharp observational skills — against a top-tier assassin like Deng Sui, the man consistently managed to find him in the Void's shadows.

And Deng Sui had only ever experienced that level of detection from elite hunter-class players. So he'd been speculating whether Qin Xin might actually be a hunter of a different faith.

Especially... the combat-oriented War!