Chapter 137: 136 Just tell me—is it valid or not?

This… died just like that?

Seeing Li Ang kill the Si Jiao of the Scale Gold Sect with a single glare and then turn his fierce gaze upon them, the remaining people in the room all shuddered in unison.

The elder of the Masani family was the first to react, immediately dropping to his knees with a thud—just barely avoiding the invisible hand that had reached for his head.

“Spare me! I don’t know her!”

With the elder’s exemplary display, the three from the Rayne family quickly followed suit, one after another collapsing to the ground with thuds, their pleas for mercy rising in a chorus.

“I don’t know her either!”

“We truly have no idea what she did!”

“Your Grace! I’m a man of the old Duke!”

It must be said that those who climbed to high positions within such a vast family rarely reacted slowly—the three Rayne elders knelt faster than the last, and once they lowered themselves, their signature golden locks finally came into Li Ang’s line of sight.

Called me “Your Grace,” and has golden hair…

Looking at the three thin, balding crowns before him—and recognizing one as the old Duke’s steward—Li Ang paused slightly, then instinctively frowned.

“You’re from the Scale Gold Sect?”

“No no no!”

Fearing the Rayne trio would betray him, the elder of the Rose family rushed to speak first:

“We’re not part of the Scale Gold Sect! We merely asked her to help find someone—I’m the Count of the Rose family! Your Grace! We’re related to your house by marriage!”

“Yes yes, we have nothing to do with the Scale Gold Sect.”

“That’s right, we’re all from the Rayne family.”

“I’m the newly chosen head of the Rayne family, he’s the last surviving elder—we’re all yours!”

“…”

Damn, I should’ve just not asked.

Looking at the three little… old golden heads before him, Li Ang let out a faint, annoyed sigh.

Since these three Rayne golden heads survived the Rayne Blood Night without being directly killed by my [Heart of Ambition], they’re clearly not the worst of the worst.

But given the Rayne family’s outstanding average moral standard, while these three aren’t rotten to the core, they’re no better than good people—they’re barely human in the sea of bastards.

…

Though he very much wanted to pretend he hadn’t asked and simply dispose of them all, considering he still bore suspicion for orchestrating the Rayne Blood Night and the Chief’s repeated, adamant orders beforehand, Li Ang ultimately abandoned this tempting idea and asked with an unpleasant expression:

“So… this is still Rose Manor? It was that Scale Gold Sect Si Jiao who brought me back?”

“Yes yes yes! She did it all!”

Seeing Li Ang seemed to have abandoned his intent to strike, the elders present all exhaled in relief, then desperately dumped blame onto the headless corpse on the ground.

“You left a note and vanished—we only wanted to find you, but she insisted on doing it this way!”

“Yes yes, she wanted to trick you into joining the Scale Gold Sect, then use that cat spirit to drag you over!”

“She must have coveted… coveted your property under the Rayne family!”

“…”

After piecing together the general sequence from the elders’ slightly chaotic accounts, Li Ang said, somewhat stunned:

“So after she forcibly dragged me here, I got marked by the Scale Gold Sect—now I’m considered one of their followers?”

“This… we don’t know for sure, but she did say exactly that…”

“…”

Absurd… I just killed their Holy Spirit with my mouth, and moments ago I eliminated a high-ranking Si Jiao, yet now I’ve somehow become a full member of the Scale Gold Sect…

With a faintly exasperated shake of his head, Li Ang opened his badge panel and glanced at the flashing Holy Spirit badge.

[Practitioner (Silver): Having personally slain numerous heretical apostles and spread the Scale Gold Sect’s renown across the world, your tireless actions have earned deep recognition from its followers and Holy Spirits.]

[Wearing Effect: Greatly increased affinity with anomalies marked as “Sacred,” reducing usage cost while significantly enhancing effectiveness.]

[Advancement Path: Become a Si Jiao of one of the Scale Gold Sect’s three branches, or preach your understanding of its doctrine to three thousand followers and gain their approval—this badge will automatically upgrade to the Gold badge “Vicar,” with preaching progress: 0/3000.]

[Hidden Trait (no need to wear): Having embodied the Scale Gold Sect’s doctrine in action, your soul has grown firmer and purer, making you more likely to attract the favor of certain orderly entities.]

Hidden trait (no need to wear): By living in accordance with the doctrines of the Scale Gold Faith, your soul has grown increasingly steadfast and pure, making it easier to gain the favor of certain orderly entities.

Alright, this turn of events is actually a blessing in disguise—saved me a lot of trouble.

After glancing at the advancement path of the [Practitioner] badge, Li Ang frowned again, then narrowed his eyes at the elder with the rose embroidery on his chest and said firmly:

After glancing at the advancement path of the [Practitioner] badge, Li Ang frowned again, then narrowed his eyes at the old man with a rose embroidered on his chest and said with certainty:

“I… I didn’t…”

“Better not rush to deny it.”

Looking at the rose emblem on the elder’s chest, Li Ang spoke:

“Your Masani family has long been in collusion with the Scale Gold Sect—this is no secret. That’s why, after I vanished without notice, the other three came to you for help. Am I right?”

“Your family, the Ma Sais, have long been in collusion with the Scale Gold Faith — that’s no secret. That’s why, after I left without saying goodbye, the three of them came to you for help. Am I right?”

At that moment, the old steward cautiously interjected:

“Your Grace, in searching for you, Lord Sam charged a high price—and he said it wasn’t his own demand, but hers.”

“Not paid yet! The money hasn’t been paid! I don’t want anything now! And not just this time’s fee—I’ll return all the money you invested in Rose Department Store!”

Seeing that Li Ang clearly had no alliance with the Scale Gold Sect, the Rose family elder, after promising to repay every penny, wore a mournful face:

“Your Grace! My family truly has no collusion with the Scale Gold Sect—we’ve only had minor dealings. Please don’t…”

“I want to become a Si Jiao of the Scale Gold Sect.”

“I want to become the Hierarch of the Scale Gold Faith.”

Looking at the elder’s gaping mouth and bewildered eyes, Li Ang patiently repeated:

“Tell me—how do I become a Si Jiao of the Scale Gold Sect?”

“Tell me — how do I become the Hierarch of the Scale Gold Faith?”???

Wait—you killed their Si Jiao two minutes ago, and now that you find out you’re one of them, you switch sides without hesitation, accept your new identity, and actually intend to become a Si Jiao?

Isn’t your adaptability a bit too extreme?

Looking at Li Ang’s serious expression and confirming that this new Lionheart Duke wasn’t joking, the elder’s dry lips twitched twice, then he stammered helplessly:

“The Scale Gold Sect has three branches, each with at most three Si Jiao at once. To become one, you need at least two joint recommendations—from Si Jiao of different branches—and then pass three trials to gain the followers’ approval…”

“Too complicated. Is there a faster way?”

“Um… only if the True God personally appoints you, or if you gain the recognition of one of the two Holy Spirits—by being touched by their aura, you’ll be instantly acknowledged by the Scale Gold Sect.”

I see…

After hearing the Rose elder’s words, Li Ang frowned slightly.

The True God personally appointing him was impossible—he’d just killed their Holy Spirit with his mouth; the chance the True God would personally name him Si Jiao was far lower than the chance the True God would personally curse him to death. As for Holy Spirit recognition…

“Then let me ask you this.”

Touching the Holy Spirit pendant on his chest, Li Ang asked earnestly:

“If I killed one of the Holy Spirits and turned it into a… uh… piece of jewelry, and wore it constantly, would that count as being touched by its aura? Would I gain their recognition?”