Chapter 658: The Puppet and the Unseen

Mist clung between the dead trees like rotting cotton, oozing dark red resin from cracked bark, reeking of rust and decaying flesh.

The ground seeped sticky dampness; the four figures’ shadows stretched tall in the fog, their boots occasionally crushing unknown white bones, producing brittle, grating snaps.

The pallid, rotting moon cast a sickly bluish-gray glow through the haze.

“I really don’t get why you’re so obedient to him.”

On a pure white cloud, Medlin initiated the conversation.

Because one of her calves had been severed, she could only move by sitting on Laila Starword’s cloud.

Haley, having just endured a fierce battle and nearly exhausted her magic, was too embarrassed to touch Luo De in front of others, so she sat there too.

At the front was Luo De, leading the way.

Laila Starword trailed behind him with a small notebook, peppering him with questions.

She chattered endlessly; Luo De replied only once every long while.

Yet the celebrity still delighted in it, eagerly scribbling and doodling in her notebook.

“What?”

Haley had just exited her meditation to recover, and hadn’t heard clearly.

“I said, if you need a frontman, just tell me. Why go out and find all these random people?”

“Luo De is my friend, and why should I tell you? Would you give him to me if I did?”

“Haven’t I introduced him to you before? You just never go.”

“Then you’d just mock me anyway. What’s the point?”

“I was just joking! How can you be such a grown-up and not take a joke?”

“Get lost.”

As she spoke, Haley saw Medlin pull out a handful of green herbs, crush them, and try to apply them to her injured eye—but kept missing the target.

Haley frowned, snatched them away, and pressed down on Medlin’s shoulder to treat her instead.

Medlin’s expression twisted; she looked aside and muttered irritably:

“My mother said she’ll pay your father’s nursing fees. Honestly, even if you fail the trial, it doesn’t matter.”

Haley blinked: “Your mother said that? Your family’s that generous?”

“Our family has always been generous. It’s just that another family never appreciated it. If only your father hadn’t betrayed my mother back then—”

“Wait, wait—what do you mean my father betrayed your mother? It was your mother who betrayed first.”

“What are you talking about? If your father hadn’t stood her up, none of this would’ve happened. Forget it. We don’t need to revisit the past.”

The two exchanged glances and fell silent.

Medlin stubbornly turned her face away, letting Haley bandage her.

Though it was just like before, their old resentment and friction had eased considerably.

“There. Ah! What are you doing?!”

Haley had just finished wrapping the bandage.

Suddenly, she noticed Laila Starword had also sat on the cloud, gazing at them both with tearful emotion.

“Ancient grudges between generations—resolved in the face of death. Best friends reconciled! Waaah! Indeed, just being near Luo De, even without involving him directly, still lets my inspiration flow like a spring!”

“Who’s her best friend?!” “Exactly!”

Ahead, Luo De suddenly halted.

His large hand shot out, signaling silence; the chatter died instantly.

His gaze pierced the mist, fixed on the unknown region ahead.

“The high-backed throne.”

He said.

Medlin’s face darkened: “It’s the Throne of Silence. I told you earlier—the Silent Zone has grown abnormally strong, with potent mental influence. Even an eighth-rank mage can’t focus inside.”

“What about the mana grid spell slots?”

“Spell slots are fine, but I’ve already used mine all once. I probably can’t help. Besides, my magic puppet is under mental control—maybe I can lure it out first.”

Laila raised her hand: “I’ll go with Luo De.”

Medlin immediately objected: “Stay put. You dared to crave whispers and listen actively before—you’re no different from a madwoman.”

Luo De shook his head.

“You all stay here. I’ll go alone to investigate.”

Medlin objected again: “No. What if you die in there? We’re already weak—we can’t afford to lose combat power.”

Laila stared at him strangely: “He won’t die. He’s—”

“Cough! Cough!”

Though he’d been called by name countless times, Luo De still clung to his desire to conceal his identity.

Luo De is a common name. No problem.

“The masked hero?! That’s a great theme!”

Laila, thrilled, ignored everything and buried herself back in her notebook.

Luo De waved his hand and walked into the mist without looking back.

Medlin watched the man vanish into the mist and panicked: “Hey, Haley! He’s your friend, right? Stop him!”

“He won’t have any problems.”

“As captain of the Security Division, you should have basic situational judgment. You’re getting him killed, do you understand?! I misjudged you completely!”

CRASH!!

Ssshh—ssshh—

The moment she finished speaking,

a metallic hum of vibrating strings echoed from deep within the mist, like hundreds of strings snapping at once.

The sound wasn’t like clashing blades—it was too fine, too dense, as if something were slicing through air, flesh, bone—but not a single roar from Luo De could be heard.

Perhaps he couldn’t make a sound inside the Throne of Silence’s Silent Zone.

Medlin gripped her robe, her face pale.

Another grating slicing sound followed, then a heavy thud as something fell.

“We’re done. I’m the only sane person left in this team.”

Suddenly, a silver thread pierced the thick fog and drove into the ground before them, its end tangled with wood shavings, gleaming blindingly.

Then, all noise ceased.

The entire episode lasted less than five minutes.

Hhh—

Suddenly, a figure burst through the mist, crashing onto the ground like a discarded rag, dragging a long scratch behind it.

Skin with wooden grain, metallic joints of a puppet, a dark green velvet corseted gown, silver threads knotted into bundles.

Both arms forcibly torn off, still connected by threads, dangling loosely around the body.

The puppet was not incapacitated.

With a face devoid of emotion, it struggled to free itself from the tangled mass of silver threads.

Medlin’s impending scream froze in her throat.

“Click.”

She looked up, startled, toward the direction of the footsteps.

There stood the man named Luo De, calmly parting the cotton-like mist, expression blank.

Not a single wound. Not a single tear on his clothes.

“Y-you—”

“Forget ‘you.’ I want to know—what’s the trial of the Throne of Silence?”

Luo De noticed the puppet’s multifaceted eye roll toward Medlin, then open its mouth, flashing silver light.

He casually stomped on it.

CRASH—the dirt splattered, the puppet’s head sank into the earth, twitching intermittently.

Medlin shrank back, staring at Luo De with disbelief.

“.Just activate the mechanism on the throne. Who are you? My puppet has defense comparable to a high-eighth-rank body cultivator—how could you just tear off its arms—”

Luo De cut her off again: “The mechanism on the throne? What is it?”

Haley, seeing her old rival stunned and dazed, spoke up: “It’s a crown embedded with half a skull—the Crown of Silence. That’s the token.”

Luo De held out his hand.

“That’s strange. Around the throne, surrounded by twelve stone pillars, there’s no Crown of Silence—and no skull at all. It’s empty.”

(End of Chapter)