Chapter 553: Message from A Meng

The angel-level "Cinderella" can not only alter her own appearance, image, and temperament, but as long as she masters sufficient correct knowledge, she can also gain part of the abilities of the transformation target as her image changes.

In this state, he sensed the environmental changes under the influence of the "Ugly Duckling"; the surrounding rules became unusually conspicuous, as if he could easily deceive and alter them.

Lei Ke Dun reached forward, pulled an illusory hat from the void, and placed it on his head.

His figure vanished along with it, erasing all traces.

A Meng, maintaining his mythic creature form, did not restrain himself; instead, countless Time Worms emerged from his body, merging into the swiftly moving, wandering light and shadows around, making it hard to tell which were real.

Moments later, a transparent figure floated out from the shadows of distant ruined buildings, gradually solidifying.

He looked very much like A Meng—both in attire and in appearance and temperament—except he lacked the signature single-lens glasses over his right eye.

Several wandering Time Worm silhouettes in midair suddenly merged, forming the image of A Meng wearing single-lens glasses; with one hand behind his back and the other reaching forward in a phantom grip, he spoke:

"Why don't you also wear the single-lens glasses? That would bring you closer to me, and your peculiar spell could produce greater effects."

Lei Ke Dun chuckled lightly and said:

"Then wouldn't I instantly become parasitized by you?"

As he spoke, his figure flickered rapidly, appearing throughout the city ruins, yet the silhouette before A Meng never vanished.

More and more A Meng silhouettes appeared around, all reaching forward to grasp, occasionally producing fragments of stone, rusted metal pieces, and other items in their hands.

His clash with A Meng turned into a continual stealing and being stolen of positions, twisting and altering the stolen targets.

A Meng duplicates kept appearing nearby; some were busy stealing, some gazed around, and some chatted with Lei Ke Dun: "You have a great talent for becoming a Thief; really not considering switching paths?"

"If I truly can help you steal away the 'Sage' and lower traits within your body, you can safely jump to a new path."

"The Thief and the adjacent path's apex are still vacant, and the summit of this path is still the pillar-level 'Old Days'; are you really not tempted?"

Snap! Lei Ke Dun, who had been unable to steal his own position, suddenly snapped his fingers, the sound amplified and warped into an air cannon capable of destroying a massive sailing ship.

The air cannon struck the A Meng standing before him; simultaneously, all surrounding A Mengs bore tearing marks, like a newspaper ripped by a gale, instantly shattering into pieces.

Lei Ke Dun warped the struck target, turning it into all the A Mengs present; essentially they were one person, and the distortion was completed with ease.

In midair, the shattered A Mengs became illusory and fleeting, once again transforming into Time Worm light and shadows, drifting and wandering everywhere.

"Interesting, so you carry the magical item of the Black Emperor path; no wonder you dare to oppose me on the level of rules."

"I recall when I last saw you you didn't have that magical item; where did you obtain it? Or perhaps you relied on that Fool to bring it from outside?"

"Huh, seems it's the latter."

A Meng's voice sounded ethereal and illusory, echoing from dust in the air, shadows in corners, stone slabs and soil beneath.

Lei Ke Dun did not answer A Meng, but tilted his head slightly upward, gazing at the sky intermittently streaked by lightning; a flash of deep‑blue‑purple light glimmered in his eyes, and he whispered:

"Light!"

His body took on a golden hue, countless radiant golden specks appearing around him, emitting successive rings of pure, clear, warm white‑hot light.

The moment the light blossomed, every corner of Chernobyl was illuminated, leaving no dead angle, not a trace of shadow.

Beneath the pure, clear light, the wandering Time Worm silhouettes in the air thinned rapidly until they vanished.

The affected surroundings instantly returned to normal; Lei Ke Dun stepped forward, and his figure vanished in an instant.

The next moment, his silhouette reappeared on a gray‑white street hundreds of meters away, restored to his original appearance.

Within five meters ahead, A Meng in a white lab coat emerged from the void; he raised his hand and pinched the single‑lens glasses over his right eye.

Boom! Boom! Silver‑white electric serpents sprang from nowhere, bearing a violently destructive aura as solid as matter, descending around Lei Ke Dun and engulfing his figure.

On the ground, the silver‑white electric serpents writhed, their crackling sounds filling the air.

The state lasted about two or three seconds; the dazzling silver faded, and Lei Ke Dun remained in the same pose, standing over a charred pit that still glowed with a hint of crimson and tiny arcs of electricity. He hovered there as if he barely existed, calmly watching A Meng; his figure twisted briefly, reappeared, and landed directly behind A Meng.

A Meng turned unhurriedly and asked:

"How did you discern my attack intent? Normally, such lightning strikes are hard to dodge without prior detection and evasion."

"Hard, but not impossible," Lei Ke Dun replied softly.

A Meng nodded thoughtfully and said, "I think I roughly know what you are."

Finishing, he stepped forward at a measured pace, passing Lei Ke Dun, heading toward Chernobyl's depths, speaking as he went:

"Deep within this city lies a pit that leads straight to the Earth's core, a passage to the Chaos Sea; would you like to take a look?"

A Meng's probing ended, and Lei Ke Dun showed no interest in further conflict; though he could suppress the other's stealing with his unique stature, beyond that he could do nothing to the opponent.

Keeping pace behind, he calmly said, "I'm more curious about the information on the third Knowledge Emperor trait."

A Meng, hands in the pockets of his white coat, said leisurely, "In the Second Era, the authority of the Hermit and the Perfect One scattered among various ancient gods; the most holders are Lilith, An Ge Er Wei De, and Su Ni Ya Suo Lie Mu."

"As far as I know, from the Second Era to now, only two Knowledge Emperors have definitively appeared; the first was An Ge Er Wei De's great lizard demigod, who fell long ago amid battles between giants and dragons, its trait lost; the second you should recognize, widely known."

"Luo Sai Er·Gu Si Ta Fu." Lei Ke Dun whispered the name, his brows furrowing slightly, finding it hard to accept that only two Knowledge Emperors have emerged since the Second Era.

A Meng lifted his hand, pinched the single‑lens glasses over his right eye, and twitched his mouth, saying, "I also think that without a birth in Sequence 0, the Knowledge Emperor's appearance rate is too low, though perhaps the extraordinary ones on this path are just unlucky; after all, the Seeker of Secrets tends to die easily."

Lei Ke Dun subconsciously looked up at A Meng. "He let me steal the thought in my heart again."

The two silent figures flickered a few times—one stealing a position, the other distorting distance—and within a breath arrived at the edge of the deep pit linking to the underground Chaos Sea.

It was an ordinary‑looking, roughly circular pit, its rim stained with a layer of black that could not be washed away.

Just as Lei Ke Dun stepped onto the pit's edge, a faint sound like whimpering wind, or strange murmuring, echoed in his ears.

He instinctively frowned, a look of disgust on his face, glanced down; beyond the blackness, nothing could be seen.

A Meng timely asked from the side, "Do you dislike the aura of the Chaos Sea?"

"Aside from those on the five omniscient‑omnipotent paths, I doubt anyone likes the Chaos Sea's aura, unless they wish to accommodate more authority."

As Lei Ke Dun spoke, he stepped back a few paces, the deep‑blue‑lavender glow in his eyes slowly fading.

The will of the "God" in the Chaos Sea isn't very strong; it hasn't even noticed my presence—perhaps because I haven't delved deep enough.

Thinking of the "God", he suddenly turned his head toward the other A Meng and asked:

"Do you think your father knows the whereabouts of the third Knowledge Emperor trait?"

"He is omniscient and omnipotent," A Meng said, chin slightly lifted, tone slightly arrogant, yet he did not answer Lei Ke Dun's question directly.

Lei Kedun looked at A Meng, scoffed, and said: "Heh, looks like you're not sure either."

A Meng showed no emotional fluctuation from his words, speaking in a very calm tone:

"Why don't you go ask the existing 'Omniscient One'? You and that traitor dragon are on pretty good terms, right?"

"What, you're also worried he'll betray you at the right moment, seize the authority of knowledge and civilization, and become the new 'Knowledge Demon'?"

Lei Kedun slowly shook his head, speaking with absolute certainty: "Absolute rationality lets Him make the decision most beneficial to Himself; this kind of blind impulsive gambling behavior is not something a mythical being born like Him could do."

"People can change; gods are no different."

A Meng let out a faint sigh, his form instantly turning into countless streams of pale light that flowed into the void and vanished.

Lei Kedun glanced at the spot where A Meng had disappeared, then lowered his gaze to the mouth of the passage leading deep underground to the "Chaos Sea," his voice hoarse as he said: "Your aura has always been repulsive."

As his words faded, his body instantly turned intangible, breaking into strands of tangled knowledge that shot off into the distance.

(End of Chapter)