Chapter 166: The Method of Performance

With two other major figures besides Mr. Fool actively opening the conversation, the Tarot Club's atmosphere began to return to its usual state—though this was also due to Young Lady Justice's subtle guidance; the Tarot Club could be serious, but a tense, stifling atmosphere was unsuitable for such an organization.

After Mr. Fool produced an artifact left by the Ancient Sun God—the "Cross of No Darkness"—Sun. Daleek requested to exchange for the item, and Miss Kelaien agreed.

At this moment, Justice. Audrey put forth a trading request to the group:

"Ladies and gentlemen, does anyone have the heart of a Dream Catcher, the crystallization of a Mind Illusion, or the complete brain of an adult Mind Dragon?"

"Our Silver City's warehouse should have the complete brain of an adult Mind Dragon—I'll confirm and let you know after I return." Sun. Daleek glanced at the copper-green cross; an adult Mind Dragon's brain retained some residual spirit energy that could affect the consumer, but with the Ancient Sun God's "Cross of No Darkness" present, it posed no problem.

Watching everyone speak in turn, Lu Mingfei gradually understood how the Tarot Club operated and communicated.

"Like a guild in a game—everyone gathers to chat, exchange strategies, and trade items."

Lu Mingfei hadn't expected Lao Zhou to create such an interesting organization; hey, he'd check out Lao Zhou's story in a couple days—it was said to be quite interesting, and all these things like "Ancient Sun God," "Seven Churches," "Adam," "The Imaginer," "The Tide of the Era."

"This is way too high-class—it instantly makes Lao Zhou seem incredibly cool in this world!"

Lu Mingfei nodded inwardly; after grasping the general structure of this organization, he remembered his own Sequence 8, the Manipulator, still hadn't been digested, so he imitated the opening words of the sweet-voiced Young Lady Justice and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to ask you—how do you digest the Manipulator potion of the Assassin Path? Do you have any information?"

After Lu Mingfei asked this question, the room fell utterly silent; everyone turned their gaze toward him.

"How do you digest the potion?"

"Have I somehow returned to the time when the Tarot Club was first founded?"

Whether it was Justice. Audrey, Hanged Man. Alger, or Sun. Daleek, all of them simultaneously formed this thought.

"How nostalgic—it was then that Young Lady Justice was still a novice just beginning to glimpse the path; back then, it was Mr. Fool who answered this question." Alger recalled the scene of the fifth Tarot Club meeting, when only Mr. Fool, himself, Justice, and Sun were present.

Everyone silently labeled this "Emperor" as a rookie, ruling out the possibility that he might be an Ancient God.

Such sincere tone was unlikely to be faked.

And most crucially—were you serious about the Assassin Sequence? You, "Mr. Emperor."

Lu Mingfei sensed a shift in the atmosphere and unconsciously scratched his cheek.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Hanged Man. Alger broke the silence first, chuckling softly, and said to Lu Mingfei: "It seems you've only just stepped into the realm of the occult. I originally thought you might be from the Lawyer Sequence, since that corresponds to the Black Emperor."

"I've only recently taken the potion." Lu Mingfei answered honestly; so his question was a beginner's one.

Lu Mingfei felt embarrassed—it was like a group of business tycoons discussing the future of the internet and finance, when suddenly he asked, "How do you apply for a business license?"

"Mr. Fool once explained this to us." Alger glanced at Mr. Fool at the head of the table, confirmed the man showed no attitude toward such trivial matters, then said to Lu Mingfei: "The core power of a Sequence potion is a heavily guarded castle; the residual, backlash-causing spiritual energies reside within it. Our goal is to eliminate them and truly become the master of the castle."

"And the Method of Performance is the most crucial and easiest way to storm the castle."

"Method of Performance?" Lu Mingfei repeated.

"You can treat the name of the Sequence potion as an invitation; you've received this invitation, but if you're not the invited guest, you'll forever linger at the castle's gate."

"Name." Lu Mingfei pondered, recalling how he'd digested the Assassin potion fastest when completing missions in the virtual reality game "Assassin's Creed."

"Play a corresponding role?" Lu Mingfei murmured—it was somewhat like role-playing? Or perhaps, this was role-playing.

"It seems you've understood." Alger nodded and continued: "The invitation clearly lists the guest's physical traits and corresponding demeanor. Therefore, we must disguise ourselves and 'perform' as the invited guest."

"So I should become a Manipulator?" Lu Mingfei's expression turned strange; wasn't this advancement requiring him to actually become an assassin, killing others and inciting them to do things? It didn't feel like a legitimate path at all.

Although in reality, turning one's weight into feathers and leaping from a hundred-meter building into a haystack unharmed was indeed appealing.

"But who am I supposed to incite?" Lu Mingfei fretted.

"No!" Alger's voice turned grave, filled with warning: "You are merely performing a role—too much immersion will cause loss of control, madness! Always remember—you are only performing!"

Seeing this, Lu Mingfei solemnly told Alger: "Yes, I understand."

"Thank you for your method—ah, I remember you're Mr. Hanged Man."

"What should I pay as compensation?"

Alger shook his head: "This time it's free; though lower-tier adepts know little, it's not significant information for the Tarot Club."

"You should thank the great Mr. Fool."

Lu Mingfei understood, turned to face Mr. Fool, and mimicked Su Lin's earlier gesture—placing his right palm over his left chest: "Praise you, great Mr. Fool!"

After all, his potion had been provided by Lao Zhou; Lu Mingfei was genuinely moved.

Su Lin leaned half his body against the bronze long table, raised his left hand, palm open, closed his eyes, and covered his mouth with the Hukou of his left hand—he feared he'd laugh out loud.

Zhongli glanced at Lu Mingfei, then swept his eyes over Su Lin across the table and Miss Kelaien at the head seat, and helplessly lifted his teacup.

You two enjoy yourselves.

"Are you connected to the Monujiao Sect?" Star. Lennard asked. Normally, they didn't inquire about members' real-world identities or backgrounds, "You don't need to answer me—I'm just giving you a warning: remain wary of the Monujiao Sect."

Magician. Forsyth added from beside him: "The Monujiao Sect worships the deity 'Primordial Witch'; its leadership is entirely female, and many extreme members aim to destroy others' physical forms, creating numerous bloody incidents."

"Its members come from multiple Paths, with only a few being Witch Path adepts."

Miss Kelaien silently added in his mind:

"The most crucial point: most of them were formerly male—this is said to be tied to Primordial Witch Qike."

"This person, before becoming the Primordial Witch, was male; after experiencing certain events… this Sequence was originally better suited for women, but the problem was that Primordial Witch Qike had originally been male. Forced into the Witch Path, he underwent a gender transformation—and ended up psychologically deranged."

Lu Mingfei didn't understand, but still nodded in agreement—after all, Star. Lennard seemed to be offering sincere advice.

"Though I only know one Gray Witch."

"Hmm, but I'm still curious, Emperor—may I ask you a question?" Lennard stroked his chin, his eyes beneath the gray mist holding a hint of mockery.

"Please." Lu Mingfei said.

"Did you find the potion recipe yourself, or did someone give it to you?"

"Someone gave it to me."

As expected.

"I think this person probably isn't a good one." Because of Xie Man's incident involving Xiū, Forsyth had no fondness for those who deceived naive young men into becoming assassins.

Lennard also intended to subtly probe whether this newcomer knew the Assassin Path was also called the Witch Sequence, and to remind him that at Sequence 7, he'd become female.

If this is his own wish, Leonard of course has nothing to say.

Lu Mingfei shrugged and said to Leonard, "Actually, I don't know anything about the Witch Church."

Lu Mingfei remembered the warnings from Kleine and Su Lin back in that small villa—that the "Fool" identity must not be exposed, and that "World" was Kleine's other minor alias.

"My potion was given to me by Mr. World," Lu Mingfei said. There's a saying: power itself is neither good nor bad—it all depends on how the user wields it.

Lu Mingfei now held the same view: although the Assassin's Potion's origin was dangerous, as long as he used it properly, there would be no problem.

Leonard nearly suspected the Emperor was babbling nonsense, slandering his former colleague's character. He turned to look at Kleine and found the man offered no rebuttal, merely sitting quietly. Unconsciously, he recalled some plot from a folk tale and silently stepped back two paces.

Forsyth's throat moved twice. Upon hearing the word "World," she felt like crying but couldn't, her limbs growing weak.

"I'm such a fool, really."

"I told Mad Adventurer Gelmann right to his face that he wasn't a good person."

"Will he turn me into a Divine Character?!"

"I just heard he's already ascended to Sequence Three!"

Audrey felt puzzled. After experiencing the Hall of Honesty, she understood Mr. World better—beneath his thick mask of persona, the man whose real name was Kleine would not mislead a novice utterly ignorant of the supernatural into this path.

She glanced at the copper-green cross on the Fool's desk—was he preparing to use the "Cross of No Darkness" later to extract the Divine Character from the Emperor's body?

To uphold Kleine's persona, Su Lin spoke up: "Now that you know the method, strive to fully digest it, then come to me for the Sequence 7 potion."

"I have great faith in your talent."

After speaking, Su Lin turned to Forsyth and smiled: "I had no choice before. Give me a chance—I want to be a good person."

Forsyth felt something stuck in her throat—it was a line from Emperor Rosell's play "Infernal Path."

Since the matter involved this ancient god who had revived from antiquity, everyone could only, beneath the veil of gray mist, cast a pitying glance at Lu Mingfei and said no more.

Only Emlyn was an exception—he believed his fellow enthusiast must have some profound reason for doing this.

Thump-thump—

Kleine, seeing this, lightly tapped the surface of the weathered long table and smiled calmly:

"I look forward to your performances in this transformation. If there's nothing else, this gathering is dismissed."

Everyone rose and bowed again.

Soon, figures vanished one by one from the palace, and the palace above the gray mist returned to stillness.