Chapter 567: Communication

Jia De Li Ya lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, then inhaled deeply, calmly nodded and said, "No problem."

Lei Ke Dun calmly glanced at Jia De Li Ya beside him and gently nodded, "After the gathering ends, I'll have someone deliver the blood to you."

He paused for two seconds, surveyed the other members with his gaze, then chuckled low, "Watch the Sun and Storm pathways at the demigod level for me; they could be lone extraordinaires or magical items."

"Moon" Ai Mu Lin looked at Lei Ke Dun in surprise, hesitated two seconds, then spoke:

"Our blood clan possesses such magical items; if you can help us retrieve the traits corresponding to a blood count or even a marquis, I think our high‑ranking members would gladly trade with you."

"Sure," Lei Ke Dun replied with a light laugh.

The Recluse Jia De Li Ya, who had just struck a deal with him, also voiced:

"I'll keep an eye out for you, but demigod‑level items are rare, especially on the Sun and Storm paths; most have been reclaimed by the churches of Eternal Blazing Sun and Lord of the Storm."

Lei Ke Dun gave a gentle nod toward Jia De Li Ya.

"I'll watch for you as well."

"Me too. I'll peruse the sealed‑item records held by Silver City, but my clearance only lets me see a few, and my contributions are far insufficient to redeem them."

"Chariot" An De Sen and "Sun" Dai Li Ke both pledged in turn; the remaining Tarot members stayed silent, the demigod‑level matters still too distant for them.

Next, Justice Ao Dai Li, Magician Fo Er Si, Chariot An De Sen and others initiated trades in succession—some succeeded, some failed.

After a brief silence, the relaxed Fool Ke Lai En, seated at the head of the weathered long table, let out a light laugh:

"You may converse freely now."

Hearing the Fool's cue, Justice Ao Dai Li swiftly raised her right hand, scanned the crowd, then said, "Today I met a member of the Psych Alchemy Council's advisory board; his true identity is the Ru En royal adviser He Wen Lanbis."

"He told me that the council's head was assassinated successfully, but that unknown head didn't truly die because of some peculiarity of the Observer Path; I don't know the specifics, and He Wen Lanbis didn't tell me."

"Because of this, the Psych Alchemy Council has intensified training of newcomers; they've already assigned me tasks to accumulate contributions to exchange for a Sequence‑5 'Dreamwalker' elixir."

Finally, she added, "I sense the council is entering a tense atmosphere; they're ramping up training of fresh recruits while ceasing to develop or accept new members."

"The Hanged Man" A'erjie sneered,

"They fear exposing themselves and attracting new assassinations, yet some of their original tasks still need someone to carry out."

"At this moment, newcomers like you, who have just joined and haven't formed deep ties, are just right; those who survive the turmoil will become loyal through the organization's intensive cultivation, and those who die won't be mourned much."

Ao Dai Li stared blankly for a moment, her face clearly shocked; as an inexperienced noble maiden, she had never encountered or deeply, darkly contemplated such matters.

"Tsk, you humans are truly vicious!" "Moon" Ai Mu Lin perched on a high‑back chair, clicking his tongue in exclamation.

Beside him, Chariot An De Sen also shook his head, then said, "Although such speculation about human hearts is overly dark, many times it is the truth."

"Recluse" Jia De Li Ya sized up the noble maiden, her voice calm,

"Members of the Psych Alchemy Council study the mind and spirit realms deeply; you must be cautious—He Wen Lanbis may have left psychological suggestions or hidden influences on you."

Ao Dai Li subconsciously glanced at the figure shrouded in gray mist at the head of the table, her tone tinged with relief,

"He indeed did that, but I prayed to the Fool in advance and received an angel's protection."

It's still possible? The Fool sometimes offers tangible aid to Tarot members, Jia De Li Ya thought, briefly astonished, her mind racing.

During this, Ao Dai Li had obtained Fool Ke Lai En's consent to materialize the portrait He Wen Lanbis had shown her, displaying it before everyone. Lei Ke Dun glanced at the gray‑brown parchment image, his mouth twitching slightly. It seemed Adam wasn't prepared to help them; he hadn't even given a portrait, and he even proactively concealed my traces in Eden, preventing the Psych Alchemy Council from obtaining answers through divination or prophecy.

Thinking of that, he chuckled, "That portrait looks nothing like me; seems they didn't get Adam's help."

"Having lost the original body and its most active identity, it's uncertain whether your council's head still retains a demigod stature; he may be guarding against possible backstabs from the advisory board elsewhere."

"Justice" Ao Dai Li looked at Lei Ke Dun with mild astonishment, pursed her lips, and hesitantly said,

"Mr. White Tower? You're the one who assassinated the council head? Why?"

Lei Ke Dun reclined leisurely against the chair back, his voice calm, "I traded a Dreamweaver trait with a person to acquire a Seer trait."

Finally, he added, "By the way, I still have a trait from the Observer Path, Sequence 4 of level 9 left; if you need it, you can buy it from me before I use it up."

"Dreamweaver" and "Seer"—the former should be Observer Path, Sequence 3, the latter likely belongs to the Reader Path. Yet Mr. White Tower barged straight into the council's headquarters; that's just… downright audacious.

Ao Dai Li thought for a moment, quickly steadied her emotions, and calmly said,

"When I successfully advance to Sequence 5, I'll purchase that trait from you."

"But I'm still curious—what does losing the original body and its most active identity mean? Why did He Wen Lanbis say the assassination succeeded, yet the head didn't truly die?"

The Observer Path's Sequence 3 'Dreamweaver' can separate out some of one's former identities, turning them into living beings; even if those identities die, the original body won't collapse. If the body falls first, they can awaken self from the split‑offs to achieve revival.

"However, traits already lost won't return; I killed the council head's body and the 'Black Seat King' over the sea, taking their traits."

"Aside from the Black Seat King, his remaining identities likely don't reach demigod level; the identities split off by Dreamweaver lack real power and must acquire strength by assimilating traits."

"I understand," Ao Dai Li nodded lightly, replying. She suddenly yearned for the Dreamweaver, which could turn past experiences into a real identity, just like a story character stepping into reality.

The ability to split off former identities resembles a precursor to a fantasist's power. Fool Ke Lai En, at the head of the weathered table, weighed this in his mind.

The exchange continued, and this Tarot gathering gradually approached its conclusion.

After everyone rose and bowed, shafts of deep red light rose, carrying those on both sides of the weathered table away from the space above the gray mist.

Watching the hall suddenly empty, Ke Lai En leaned against his chair back, sighed softly, waved his hand, and made the "World" at the far end vanish.

"No one wonders whether this new card is a profane card, or what it is? Perhaps they noticed but have no proper reason to ask me."

As he spoke, he reached for the upside‑down new card on the table, taking it in hand. Its face depicted a cathedral, before which stood a group of differently dressed Rossel Emperors—some in sailor uniforms, some with captain hats. At the front, the tallest Rossel wore papal robes and a triple crown.

In the card's upper left, a line of ancient Gufsak script read: Sequence 0: Tyrant! He twirled the Tyrant card twice in his hand, then tossed it back onto the table and left the gray mist.

In Jianghai County's Conston City, Lei Ke Dun opened his eyes on a recliner by the inn's window, glanced at the wall clock, and saw it was only 3:30.

Today's Tarot meeting ended a bit faster than usual; as sequences rose, everyone's needs clearly lessened, and the gathering's focus unintentionally shifted toward the final exchange‑sharing segment.

While sighing inwardly, Lei Ke Dun placed his left hand in the sunlight streaming through the window, his thumb nail lightly scraping his middle finger's pad, leaving a small wound.

Pale blue glimmer, entwined with specks of starlight, seeped from the wound; the surrounding sunlight dimmed instantly, and the inn's room, the street outside, passing pedestrians—all warped unnaturally, like a stretched image on an old TV with a bad signal.

Within two seconds, everything returned to normal; the sunlight remained bright, and pedestrians on the street continued walking and chatting as if nothing had occurred.

(End of Chapter)