Chapter 414: Witch Card News

After everyone rose, bowed, and took their leave, a deep red light surged instantly, carrying a lone figure out of the space above the gray mist.

Leiketon turned his head and looked to both sides, realizing he was the only one left behind.

He then looked at the chief Kelaien and asked in puzzlement,

"What's wrong?"

Kelaien mused, "Have you ever paid attention to your own mindset issues?"

Leiketon lightly nodded, sank back into his own high‑backed chair, and said calmly, "I have some doubts about whether my existence is real or false. I originally planned to wait until Miss Justice advanced another rank before asking her to give me some psychological counseling; actually Angelweide would be a better choice, but I don't trust Him."

Kelaien furrowed his brows, and after a moment of silence spoke in a deep voice,

"If you need help, you can come to me, though I'm not good at psychological counseling."

"But you could go to the Hall of Honesty and experience it, to add some humanity for me?"

Leiketon chuckled as he looked at Kelaien, seeing the figure shrouded in gray mist freeze for a moment; he leaned against the chair back and laughed out loud.

Hearing Leiketon's laugh, Kelaien shook his head helplessly, then changed the subject, saying,

"Luosaier's diary mentioned the Abyss; he even went in to explore, and there were only demon corpses, no living demon in sight."

"Do you think the place he went to was really the Abyss?"

Leiketon halted his movements, leaning slightly forward with his elbows on the table edge, and, with a pensive expression, said,

"Some anomalies have occurred in the Abyss; it has become unsuitable even for demons to survive."

"As for the cause, I suspect the influence of a higher being. The 'Cosmic Dark Side' hasn't exerted influence on the real world for a long time; His condition may not be much better than that Bound God hanging from a tree."

"The Bound God hanging from a tree?" Kelaien's imagination was slightly stirred, but it led him to nothing.

"You'll discover it after you interact more with the Rose School."

Leiketon gave a slight nod, not lingering on the topic.

Kelaien, seeing Leiketon's unwillingness to speak further, abandoned the line of questioning, leaned back in his chair, and said calmly, "That'll be all."

A deep red light rose, and Leiketon felt only a brief mental daze; when he came to, he had already left the area above the gray mist.

Xibailang, a coffee bean plantation on the south bank of Pas River Valley.

Leiketon followed Pulak through a grove of coffee trees; neither spoke until the circling Crow Anu landed on a branch.

Pulak gave it a deep, probing glance; Crow Anu's body froze instantly, and even without malicious intent, under the natural pressure of the high being along this path, it still recoiled slightly.

"Heh, not bad, little fellow; it has already digested the medium‑seer's demon elixir. Do you intend to let it continue advancing?"

Leiketon glanced at the crow perched motionless on the branch, chuckled, and said, "Let it be; I'm not really concerned about that."

As soon as his words fell, his inspiration was triggered; a light breeze passed, and an invisible nature spirit materialized nearby, communicating with Pulak in the language of the dead.

A moment later, his expression grew heavy; he waved his hand to dismiss the nature spirit, then turned to Leiketon and said,

"The kind of puppets you mentioned are indeed more than one; the spirit I sent out spotted their traces around Pas River Valley."

"They hide well; ordinary nature spirits and wandering souls cannot distinguish them from ordinary people."

Leiketon gave a slight, unsurprised nod and said,

"Those puppets entering the river seem like part of a ritual, aiding the Primordial Moon's descent of some power, or perhaps the coffin‑bearer who advanced to Sequence Three?"

Pulak shook his head, saying uncertainly,

"I don't understand the coffin‑bearer's ritual, but his ascent to ancient alchemist was not long ago, so it's unlikely he could have digested the demon elixir so quickly." "Perhaps he received a boon from the Primordial Moon; after all, the Red Moon is always present, and occasionally a Blood Moon night occurs."

Leiketon mused and voiced his own speculation.

Pulak, pondering, nodded,

"We can't rule out that possibility; I'll have people keep watch. Pas River Valley is crucial to us; we can't let that madman actually spread the contamination."

Before his words finished, his figure quickly faded and vanished, departing via spirit‑realm traversal.

The Crow Anu on the nearby branch seemed revived, flapped its wings rapidly and landed on Leiketon's shoulder: "Boss, let's go find the rabbit. The aura on this person is too oppressive; I feel as if I've seen a natural enemy."

Natural enemy? Is that an effect of the phoenix lineage? Leiketon mused, nodded, and his figure suddenly became transparent, turning into a statue of brilliant starlight.

The statue shattered instantly, dazzling star‑light rippled, enveloping Crow Anu, which then rushed straight into the spirit realm.

Mid‑Surnia Sea, aboard a passenger ship bound for Dilius Island.

In a first‑class cabin shrouded by hidden forces, the Prophet's avatar sat with Phoenix and Xiya at one side of the round table.

"So, that Yalina Soren is your father?"

The Prophet's avatar clicked his tongue lightly and repeated the words he had just heard.

Xiya gave an expressionless nod, his dark‑gold eyes restrained, and calmly narrated,

"Yes, he is my father, before he became a woman."

"We are only a collateral branch of the Soren clan. After the clan leader went berserk 200 years ago, the Soren clan declined. I think that rogue leader possessed more than one Angel‑level trait."

"He wasn't particularly gifted; otherwise he wouldn't have betrayed the Soren clan and defected to the Witch Church."

"I recall he was indecisive, volatile, and insane for a period. I secretly observed him then; he seemed confused by a tarot card."

"Witch Card?" the Prophet's avatar said, following his intuition.

Xiya, somewhat surprised, glanced at the Prophet's avatar and chuckled, "It seems that during your time away from Feineibote you have grown a lot, fully immersed now, not as restless as before."

"I wasn't that restless before, at most a bit impulsive."

The Prophet's avatar defended himself with a remark.

"Really just a little? Back then you were bold, unlike any detective apprentice should be. I have no doubt I'll receive news of your return to the Divine Kingdom one morning."

Xiya's voice was hoarse, sounding as if she were speaking about Leiketon, yet also about herself.

A bronze‑colored hand wearing a black ring set with an emerald gently placed itself on Xiya's hand holding the coffee cup, silently comforting her.

"Force‑feeding me dog food, huh!" The language‑realm avatar silently averted his gaze; he felt he wouldn't need dinner tonight.

After a brief silence, Xiya quickly steadied his emotions and said with a hint of a smile,

"You guessed right; that indeed is the Witch Card from the Profane Card crafted by Emperor Luosaier the Great."

The gathering effect that the Blasphemy Card inherently carries unintentionally let him collect the materials needed for promotion to Despair Witch; after being rejected countless times when applying to his family for promotion to Ironblood Knight, he chose a different path, even if it meant becoming a woman.

As for what follows, you can probably guess, right? Perhaps he truly has a talent for being a woman; the witch he becomes seems to have no hint of confusion or impact, at least on the surface.

Why did the Suolun family reject his application? No more traits left? Or internal faction infighting?

Fei Ni Ke Si, somewhat curious, asked aloud.

(End of chapter)