Chapter 657: Progress

Justice Ao Daili replied in time:

"This is normal; not everyone can become a legendary adventurer like Mr. Ge Erman. Most of us are just spectators sighing at the newspaper."

Fo Ersi nodded in strong agreement, and gave Justice Miss a grateful smile, thanking her for steering the conversation back and sparing her further embarrassment.

Ke Lai En, noticing the scene, thought a soft nod and said, "Having an empathetic audience in the organization is truly essential."

Lei Kedun lazily scanned the surroundings, slouched back against the chair, and chuckled:

"Heh, that's all I need, thanks to everyone for offering help."

"If you have any extraordinary traits or need magical items, feel free to come to me; after all, those are never scarce on the battlefield."

After everyone responded, Justice Ao Daili smiled, took the floor, and stated her request: "Ladies and gentlemen, who among you has a Dreamcatcher's heart, a Soul Illusion crystal, or a complete adult Mind Dragon brain?"

As Ao Daili finished speaking, Sun Dai Li Ke raised his hand and replied:

"Our Silver City warehouse should have a complete adult Mind Dragon brain; I need to go back and verify, then let you know."

Justice Ao Daili looked at Dai Li Ke with surprise; she hadn't expected such a smooth result.

Since Sun Dai Li Ke has a recollection, it's likely the item truly exists; Silver City lacks audience‑sourced formulas and also lacks craftsmen, making it hard to utilize these materials, so they remain idle.

Collecting her thoughts, Ao Daili looked at Dai Li Ke, smiled lightly and asked, "Alright, if you have it, what will you trade it for?"

"Uh, I haven't decided yet." Sun Dai Li Ke blushed slightly, almost instinctively raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

Ao Daili nodded gently, her tone calm, "Hmm, then tell me after you confirm, and if possible check whether there is adult Mind Dragon blood as well."

This is one of the harder‑to‑find auxiliary materials; in the real world, dragons have long vanished, and if she hadn't previously seen an ancient dragon in the dream world, she would even think dragons exist only in legends and stories.

Everyone's strength keeps growing; Anderson needs a team to prepare for striking a demigod, and soon the Tarot Council may gain another demigod. With that thought, Ke Lai En chuckled aloud:

"Feel free to chat among yourselves."

After speaking, he again operated the small device "World" and looked at Lei Kedun, asking:

"How's your condition?"

"It still needs some time."

Lei Kedun replied calmly; he understood Ke Lai En's meaning—when he could help Azk accommodate the other half of his soul and awaken from slumber.

"World" Ge Erman Spalo nodded lightly and fell silent.

Noticing the scene, assuming Lei Kedun and Ke Lai En were discussing the "Ghost Empire", Moon Ai Mu Lin interjected: "My progress in collecting those antiques is poor; those guys refuse to sell their collections, even if I raise the price."

Ke Lai En fell silent, then sighed inwardly, not too surprised—those capable of hoarding relics rarely lack money, unless you can find items that entice them more than the relics themselves.

After a pause, he, using the identity of World Ge Erman Spalo, asked, "What are your thoughts?"

"Barter; they're not cash‑strapped blood clan, so something related to the blood clan is best," Ai Mu Lin replied simply.

Lei Kedun leaned against the chair back, sighed, and said:

"I have nothing related to the blood clan, but anything tied to the Primeval Moon I can produce at any time."

"Who would want that? To commit suicide?"

Ai Mu Lin's mouth twitched, and he muttered a wordless retort.

Justice Ao Daili's curious gaze swept over the few people, then she raised her hand and joined the discussion:

"Everyone, what kind of antiques do you need? Perhaps I can help."

Ai Mu Lin directed his inquisitive stare toward the lowest seat at the weathered long table, where World sat.

Ke Lai En thought briefly, felt no need to conceal, and let World Ge Erman Spalo speak:

"We are gathering items from the Fourth Era Te Lun Suosi Te Empire, preferably personal belongings of the royal members at that time."

"Is there any special method of identification? If so, I can recommend some collectors who enjoy such ancient items."

"There's no way." Moon Ai Mu Lin answered bluntly, paused, then added, "Mr. World offers a gold coin that can make a person briefly lucky, so I can greatly increase the chance of picking a useful item."

Relying on luck, a straightforward method, yet in this mysterious extraordinary world such seemingly unreliable means can surprisingly be simple and effective—provided one is truly lucky enough.

After a pause, Ao Daili suddenly recalled the honored name of Mr. Fool, "The Yellow‑Black King Who Holds Fortune," so that lucky coin must have been gifted by Mr. Fool?

With that thought, Ao Daili instinctively turned her head toward the highest seat at the weathered long table, looking at the relaxed Fool seated on the high‑back chair.

Noticing Justice Miss's gaze, Ke Lai En was somewhat puzzled, "What are you looking at? You don't think that lucky coin came from me, do you?" Ao Daili only tilted her head slightly, quickly withdrew her gaze, looked down toward Moon Ai Mu Lin and World Ge Erman Spalo on the right front, and smiled:

"It seems I can't offer effective help, but if you need to broaden the search for such items, I can recommend a few collectors; their collections likely contain Fourth Era Te Lun Suosi Te Empire items, though I can't guarantee they're from royal members or personal belongings."

"These kinds of items are certainly most collected by our blood clan; in the age when the gods walked the earth, the Blood Moon Empress was the queen of Night Emperor Te Lun Suosi Te, and the blood clan was a major supporter of the Te Lun Suosi Te Empire."

"Ahem—of course, if those old stubborn ones forever refuse to trade with me, I may have to trouble you, madam."

Moon Ai Mu Lin lifted his chin slightly, answered with a hint of pride, then realized Justice Miss was offering him help, which seemed impolite, so he added:

"In matters concerning the blood clan, Mr. Moon is always arrogant and has a strong sense of racial honor. Justice Ao Daili wasn't angry at Ai Mu Lin's words; she just found Mr. Moon's behavior rather childish at times."

The topic soon concluded; Hanged Man A'erjie scanned the surroundings, then looked at Lei Kedun, who, noticing the gaze, politely nodded at him.

A'erjie cleared his throat lightly and, weighing his words, said:

"The high ranks of the Storm Church seem to have taken a side between Indis and the new regime of the Southern Continent."

"Are they helping the Southern Continent?" Magician Fo Ersi asked curiously.

"After all, it's well known that the Storm Lord, Eternal Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom churches look at each other with hostility; since Indis's Eternal Sun Church plans to attack the Southern Continent, the hostile Storm Lord Church will likely side with the Southern Continent."

"No." A'erjie shook his head slowly, rejecting Fo Ersi's speculation, then explained:

"Based on the intel I've gathered, the Storm Church's high ranks seem inclined to support the God of Steam and Machinery Church, but that's still just a notion; they're currently watching, and I suspect they're waiting for the decision of the Knowledge and Wisdom Church over in Lunburg."

"'The Church of Knowledge and Wisdom will not support Indis, nor will it support the God of Steam and Machinery Church; they've already chosen their investment target, have invested heavily, and have no way back.'"

"Hermit" Jia De Li Ya responded calmly, and while speaking she turned her head toward Lei Kedun, then glanced with the corner of her eye at the highest seat of the weathered long table where Fool sat.

"This was a question she had asked in prior correspondence with Bernadette, and she had received an answer from them."

"Jia De Li Ya did not conceal her gaze, which the other Tarot Council members keenly noticed, prompting a sense of insight among them."

"Leonard recalled earlier sightings and information he had heard from Parles: from past events, Mr. Fool seemed to stand opposite the True Creator, yet the old man said he was closely linked to the Hidden Sage; the church's attitude toward the Southern Continent was also odd. Perhaps the seemingly close relationship between the Hidden Sage and the True Creator is not as harmonious as it appears?"

"As thoughts drifted, Leonard heard Mr. Fool at the highest seat of the weathered long table announce the end of today's gathering."

After everyone rose and performed their salutations, strands of deep red light rose out of nowhere, merging the silhouettes of the crowd, and then vanished within this ancient, magnificent palace.

After everyone had left, Kèláiēn raised his hand, causing the "World" seated opposite him at the long table and the grey mist shrouding his front to dissipate.

He glanced at the empty, vast hall, leaned back against the chair, and sighed softly.

"The conflict between Yīndìsī and the South Continent's new regime is actually a conflict among the gods; the Seven Gods thus split into two factions—no, three factions, with the Earth Mother Goddess wavering."

"They and the War God are mother and son, so they would likely ally with the War God, but they seem to also maintain a good relationship with the Hidden Sage, making this mother‑son bond somewhat delicate; I always feel the Earth Mother Goddess looks down on the War God."

"The alliance between the Hidden Sage and the True Creator is also delicate; from the affair of Pàlièsī it can be seen that their relationship is not entirely harmonious, and on certain matters their views are not unified."

He let out a long sigh, Kèláiēn gathered his scattered thoughts, and then left the space above the grey mist.

(End of chapter)