Chapter 291: 290 Blessing and… A Touch

It's over.

Gazing at the power armor squad rapidly approaching, then glancing at Liang, who had suddenly collapsed far away and couldn't rise for a long time, the middle-aged Joshua took a deep breath, turned away with a hollow look, and pushed open the door without a single backward glance.

The events about to unfold, he had seen countless times before.

This man who had stolen the rebel's power, just as he broke out of the encirclement and his mental defenses were at their loosest, was bitten by the Snake Spirit of Chengjin Sect—his mental shield shattered, his immortality temporarily sealed, leaving him with no last resort left.

Facing the arriving power armor squad, he would struggle to rise, barely topple two power armors, then be riddled by machine-gun fire, reduced to a shapeless pile of unrecognizable meat, crushed into the soil by a falling power armor, leaving nothing behind.

Goodbye, you bastard who nearly ruined my plan—or rather… never again!

…

"You thousand-fold-cursed black maggot!"

Watching the small black snake injecting pale gold "venom" and the veins on Liang's arm gradually glowing, the Black Goat muttered angrily:

"If it wanted to poison you, we could've saved you in an instant—but this black maggot's playing dirty! It didn't even attack you; instead, it granted you a blessing, directly injecting a portion of the Sacred Spirit's primordial essence into your veins!"

Fuck! My power clashes with its power—until these primordial essences settle, both my heart and I are crushed to the bottom, and that pendant that saved your life? It got eaten too!

Kid, take it easy from now on!

My heart's power is suppressed; I can't detect criminals tens of kilometers away, and the substitute death ability no longer works. Though my Blood War Without End still functions, its effect is crippled—if you lose an arm or leg, it'll take four or five minutes to regrow…

Damn it! This cursed black maggot! When I was still a Great Demon, it dared not even fart in my presence—now it dares play dirty right before my eyes! If I'd known, I should've crushed it back then…

So that's how it was…

Amid the Black Goat's furious curses, Liang's entire body burned with searing pain in his veins, too agonized to stand—yet his eyes gleamed with sudden understanding.

Joshua's arrival here wasn't just his own will—there must have been a hand behind it: the Aquarius Director's.

My 【Sacred Spirit Pendant】 and 【Heart of Ambition】 are both registered anomalies in the Clearance Bureau—the Aquarius Director must have reviewed my file and devised a targeted strategy.

He likely paid a heavy price to summon a fragment of the Chengjin Sect's Snake Spirit's power: first breaking the pendant's defense, then bypassing and sealing the 【Heart of Ambition】's substitute death effect by granting me this blessing, shattering my immortality.

I never reported the repair of the 【War Horn】 to the Bureau, and the Black Goat was originally smashed by the Director—its true abilities were never recorded, so he made no preparations for it…

"Stop cursing and get to work!"

Sitting up from the ground, Liang grabbed the Black Goat's forehead and gasped through the agony:

"Where's Joshua? Is he still here?"

"Huh? Why are you looking for him?"

"Because I can't tell if I'm in the real 'now' or the 'future' he saw! If I'm not in the 'now' but in the 'future,' and he sees I'm still alive, he might devise a new plan—so I must ensure the loop closes!"

…

What now? What future? What plan? What loop?

Confused by Liang's words and too proud to admit he didn't understand, the Black Goat grumbled reluctantly:

"Ah, I see… That bastard's already gone. I didn't see him at all."

He left before seeing me killed? That's not how someone behaves when briefly visiting the future to gather information—so the 'timeline' I'm in now must be the real 'now.'

With the loop confirmed fully closed, Liang exhaled deeply, then struggled to his feet, eager to leave this place as soon as possible.

But he'd taken only a few steps when the searing pain spreading through his veins surged fully through his body, sending him reeling and crashing to the ground.

【Chengjin Sect's Sacred Spirit, "Life-Swap Black Snake," consumed part of its primordial essence to bestow upon you a Sacred Blessing. You have obtained the Silver-Rank Identity Badge: "Chengjin Chosen (Devourer of Wealth)"】

【Chengjin Chosen (Devourer of Wealth): A human favored by the Chengjin Sect's Snake Spirit, a Chosen of the Devourer of Wealth lineage】

【Effect: Status equivalent to Chengjin Sect's Candidate Abbot; eligible to compete for the position of Abbot of the Devourer of Wealth lineage; may directly ascend if the Abbot position becomes vacant】

【Advanced Path: None】

Hidden Trait (No need to wear): As a human favored by the Snake Spirit, when purchasing life, health, talent, or other items from the Snake Spirit by paying money, you receive a discount.

…

Though he knew the snake wouldn't grant a good blessing, he hadn't expected it to be this utterly useless.

Struggling free from the agony of his nearly burned-through veins, Liang stared at the new badge's traits and effects, and let out a silent, exasperated "tsk."

To become an Abbot of any lineage, one must gain the Sacred Spirit's approval—but I'm the Chengjin Sect's enemy. It would never recognize me as Abbot. Even if I killed an Abbot and took his place, the snake could erase me with a single thought.

As for the discount on buying things from the snake? Even more absurd.

First, what kind of insane snake would sell anything to its enemy? Second, the Chengjin Sect's prices are far beyond what a lowly civil servant like me can afford—unless I blackmail the old steward of the Rayne family, or just go grovel at the Princess's feet… Wait, what's that?

As Liang regained mobility and prepared to leave, a glint caught his eye.

When he turned to look, the shining object in the sunlight turned out to be two gleaming silver buttocks—and just beside them was the water bottle the Director had borrowed from next door to store Senior Pi'oni's tea.

…

Hmm… Should I take a feel?

Staring at the metallic-gleaming buttocks on the grass, Liang hesitated briefly, then extended his right index finger and cautiously poked the side, well away from the buttocks and the gun-like protrusion.

"Sssss…"

【Name: Mayebis Curse-Silver (Curse, Flesh, Metal)】

【Appearance: Lustrous silver metal with extreme toughness and hardness, capable of flowing freely under will; once fully fused with flesh, it grants the body identical properties to the curse-silver】

【Abilities: Curse Amplification, Flesh Assimilation, Metal Body】