Chapter 1519

NO. 135: Newcomer 'Trainer' and Club 'New Member'

"Although I'm glad you returned safely, where are you planning to go, High Priest?"

Backstage of the stage area at Canaan Racecourse.

The chief of the Chasers Club sat beside the stage control room, not interfering with those people's operations, merely gazing at the stage about to end on the big screen, with a hint of reluctance in their eyes.

Such a mood was hard to share with that hurriedly passing priest, so the department head merely raised a glass from afar.

The high priest's manners were quite good; he had noticed that from the start of their cooperation, and now he also paused and turned back because of a sentence from him.

"Gu Lan Ji Nie Er Ju Yuan, do you have any suggestions?"

Asking that, it actually made the department head's expression turn strange.

"The one in the Boundary Gate District?"

"Yes," Yuechi Xiangzheng replied, a hint of doubt appearing on his face, "In my impression, this should be an old theater in the Falu district, long since banned; have I misremembered?"

"It's not exactly a misremembering, but there are some problems."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been banned for a thousand years; such a long time can't be dismissed by simply calling it an 'old theater.'" The department head gave him a subtle look.

"Or are you saying the high priest actually exceeds my expectations, that you're a longevity being?"

"No," Yuechi Xiangzheng said after a moment of silence, "Then what about that thing in the Boundary Gate District?"

"A uniquely distinctive spiritual successor, specializing in the horror faction, with a quite strict age review system; called a theater, but even the Bamboo Zheng Opera King never considered choosing it, the one closest to the center to exert its influence."

"What do you mean?"

"..." Upon hearing that, the department head stood there for two seconds as if he'd told a bad joke and had to explain the punchline, then coughed twice and said, "In other words, it's a non-mainstream theater; personally I don't really recommend going there—it's bad for both heart and mental state."

"I'm not going there to play."

"The staff there aren't exactly normal either."

"Really?"

The high priest's response was rather bland, leaving the department head unsure whether it was perfunctory; having said all that, he at most added: "If you really must go, you can get an amulet from the Blessing Gospel class."

"?"

"Don't look at me like that—I know you're the leader of a religious group, but do you have any divine blessings? Can you counter the spiritual pollution from certain upper-tier existences? The Blessing Gospel class's work in this area is decent; if not, you could also turn to Buddhism or Daoism, both of which are religious options where you can simply pay for actual services."

"..."

"Your Excellency Li Mingqing? Did I say something wrong?"

Looking at the other's face, which was already slightly backlit and grew even more gloomy when distracted, the department head spoke with extreme caution.

"No," Yuechi Xiangzheng said, shaking his head.

"What you said is correct, but precisely because it's correct, I can't help wondering what kind of person the Lord would bless."

"emmm… that's not something I would know."

"Rather, you as the religious leader don't even understand your own god's mind—who could? You ought to be the one who knows the doctrine best, shouldn't you?"

"Such remarks, the club chief naturally wouldn't dare utter; no matter how he thought about it, they were too risky to be seen as provocative, although the root cause is perhaps that their religion itself seems rather incomplete."

"A religion that can't even please its god—what sect is this… just blind worship?"

"The chief of the Light-chasers Club, who has always been manipulating public opinion and guiding people's hearts, has always had a subtle impression of these powerful yet oddly state collaborators."

"This subtlety, in a sense, is like interacting with horse girls—those young ladies who, despite their tender age, already bear astonishing power, possess considerable danger, yet remain mentally immature."

"Admittedly, they often have trainers nearby, those adults who style themselves as guides."

"But the Light-chasers have never recognized those so-called guides."

"Because they believe that if the trainers' guidance were useful, they wouldn't miss out on witnessing the legendary they long for—in the end, they'd still have to rely on this side's efforts to forge those glories; shouldn't we ourselves be more qualified guides?!"

"Holding such a view, each Light-chaser's activities are especially vigorous; and when their chief suddenly brought a group of dangerous travelers proposing an alliance, they didn't raise strong objections, but rather fully opposed."

"Because they're really quite similar."

"These guys are just like those free-spirited, easily uncontrollable horse girls; a few casual chats let them grasp that especially similar essence, and thus understand why the chief collaborates with them."

"The opportunity to truly act as guides lies right before them, with many members eager to try, hoping to borrow these otherworldly monster wielders to perfect their own monster-industry foundation, which they've long been exposed to but never truly understood."

"Even in a law-based society, even in an information age where technology alone can easily achieve goals, pure strength remains a necessity for their activities."

"That strength is not merely physical; it also encompasses knowledge, ability, and multiple domains! It is also their yearning to do better and reach higher! In the current situation, as if being stared down by those carrot fanatics, this is all the more important, worth everyone taking a risk."

"Accept them, for this group from another universe is more like a patient mutual aid society than a religious sect, just as people once accepted the three goddesses and the horse girls they created; it's practically emulating the ancients in crafting a good tale, and also like seeing the present, becoming an alternative trainer—the chief naturally takes special care in this."

"The result is obvious."

"Just as trainers find those willful horse girls impossible to handle, he finds the high priest who is now going to Gu Lan Ji Nie Er Ju Yuan equally impossible to deal with."

"But just then, as the high priest who seemed deadlocked and about to head to the Boundary Gate District suddenly extended a dark-red light blade from his raised wrist—until he thought it was empty ground, but in the next second a black-pushed-up 'I'-shaped masked figure emerged from the Hei'an."

"Your Excellency Li Mingqing?" the department head exclaimed in surprise.

"Yuechi Xiangzheng doesn't recognize him—how could he fail to recognize this newly joined club member? Not to mention recognition, the contract admitting him was even stamped by his own hand, for he is one of the viewers of 'From the Shen yuan,' and thus holds a considerable fan-biased filter toward it."

"But before he could exchange pleasantries and ask how he ended up here, a wave of moans and cries quickly followed, making his gaze sweep downward—one after another, casualties were pushed up from the Shen yuan by rolling black tentacles onto the ground, prompting him to instinctively turn his head toward the staff in the control room."

"Nothing unusual."

"It was as if they had all gone blind and deaf, none of them looking over."

"Carrot Hero—Kusanagi, is that your call sign? What a splendid stance; before her, I can only bring them back, Chief."

"Oh!" Upon saying that, he finally understood what had happened—after all, he had also inquired about the security arrangements there—"I didn't expect you yourself to be deployed; I thought it would be other reinforcements."

"I'm afraid even if there were, it would be hard to pinpoint exact coordinates," Li Mingqing said softly, then turned his head toward Yuechi Xiangzheng, who still held his sword aimed at him, "Who is this? Oh, quite a nice energy blade—you can even feel a strong will emanating from the energy."

"The high priest of the Beast Sect, a partner, a partner, the high priest of the Beast Sect, this is the newly joined club member, Your Excellency Li Mingqing—not an enemy; please sheathe your sword."

"He said that, but the high priest, unmoving, stared at the 'Li Mingqing' and said, 'What are you?'"

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

"Why do you have no life fluctuations?"

I see, so you have a similar detection ability? But that's a long story; do you have the time for it?

Oh right, time...

Although the other party seemed to have mentioned it casually, Yuechi Xiangzheng still belatedly gave a grateful glance at him:

"You're right, Minister, I'll take my leave first."

"Eh?! Your Excellency, the Grand Priest!"

The minister still wanted to raise his hand to detain him, but hearing the low roars, cries of pain, and moans that only these three could hear on the ground, he had no choice but to first draw the terminal.

"Your Excellency, Dawn Qing."

"Please speak."

"Could you wait a moment? I need to first summon some people to arrange them."

He glanced curiously at the control room, and also swept over the closing scene on the big screen on the stage; the face beneath the I-shaped helmet felt the wonder of multiple perspectives existing simultaneously in his mind, yet he still gave a gentle nod:

"Of course, no problem."