Chapter 20

Your Excellency, has the attempt ended? Can we go back now?

While Klein was thinking about how to fool that calm-looking mysterious man, a soft voice sounded, and the tall girl spoke up.

He glanced at the other party, sensing that their figure was somewhat illusory, clearly just a projection-like thing, and he could sever the connection at any time, letting them return. Klein's confidence grew, he maintained his casual posture, gave a light chuckle, and said: "Of course, if you ask, I can send you back right now."

Seeing that this mysterious figure seemed to have no ill intent, Audrey couldn't help but sigh in relief, her expression relaxed a little, and she regained some of her girlishness.

However, at this moment the noble girl no longer wanted to go back directly; instead, she anxiously and eagerly asked about how to become a Beyonders.

On the other side, Windy was like an outsider, multitasking: on one hand, he watched Audrey, who had gradually recovered her girlishness after the initial panic and was asking all sorts of questions, with no joy or sorrow; on the other hand, he watched Klein coaxing her.

Meanwhile, he was also sensing the changes within himself as he gradually digested the Audience potion in this special state.

"My spiritual power seems to have undergone a slight change, my mind has become more penetrating, my observation sharper, and even my intuition seems to have gained a bit of enhancement."

"Is this the Audience Sequence? Not bad; although it doesn't directly boost strength, from a certain perspective it suits me better, after all, compared to other one-sided Beyonders in this world, I am not lacking in direct combat means."

Even though he is merely an alternate‑plane doppelgänger in this world, if the world's other Beyonders deal with the current Windy using the methods they employ against ordinary low‑Sequence Audience pathway Beyonders, he will make them know what cruelty is.

Just as there is a difference between ordinary Audience pathway Beyonders and Adam, the difference between Windy and ordinary Audience pathway Beyonders is heaven and earth.

Who said the low‑Sequence Audience pathway lacks combat power?

Hum

While Windy was multitasking and sensing his own changes, the surrounding gray‑white mist suddenly surged.

The next moment, a towering, majestic building resembling a giant king's hall appeared, and everyone found themselves inside the hall.

At the center of the hall appeared a rectangular bronze long table, with ten chairs on each side, and two somewhat special seats at the front and back.

At this moment, Windy and Klein happened to occupy the two end chairs, facing each other.

He lightly stroked the edge of the bronze table, and a hint of sentiment appeared in Windy's eyes.

"This counts as my witnessing the birth of the Tarot Club!"

On the other side, seeing that the gray‑fog space underwent such a great change merely at his thought, and feeling himself like a deity whose word is law in this place, Klein's last trace of worry vanished completely, and he grew ever more confident.

As this place underwent a change akin to a miracle, Alger, who had been secretly observing, was also stunned.

He seized the opportunity, spoke up skillfully, and without changing his expression helped Klein answer Audrey's question, explaining to her how to become a Beyonders.

Windy, seeing this scene from the side, couldn't help but marvel at how keen Alger's insight was—the original novel's character jokingly called the 'inverted political commissar'.

If Klein were to answer, he, who has not yet truly made contact with the Beyonders world and become a Beyonders, would actually be unable to answer Audrey's question.

In this world where gods truly exist, the various churches are naturally not mere decorations; they enshrine true gods, that is, the Sequence 0 True Gods.

To become a Beyonders, the simplest and safest method is to join these orthodox god‑worshipping churches.

However, as the daughter of a top noble of the Loen Kingdom, Audrey naturally knows this as well.

What she understands more clearly is that joining these churches and becoming a church Beyonders means losing freedom, which she cannot accept.

Although she is curious about the mysteries of the Beyonders world and wants to become a Beyonders, she also does not want to lose her freedom.

Precisely for this reason, Audrey came here, was fooled by Klein into thinking he was a big shot, and only then asked him how to become a Beyonders.

In the end, Alger and Audrey reached a deal, selling him the potion formula they held, and they wanted Klein, whom they viewed as an utterly mysterious big figure, to serve as a witness to prove the formula's authenticity.

But at this moment, they realized they had not yet asked this mysterious being how to address him.

After realizing this, they both hurriedly bowed respectfully to Klein and said in turn: "Your Excellency, how should we address you?"

As someone who had not actually set foot in the Beyonders world—a novice—Klein, while appearing to listen to a child's story with an indifferent expression during his recent exchange with Alger and Audrey, was in fact highly focused, listening with relish and feeling that his knowledge had grown considerably.

Hearing their question, his heart also couldn't help but jolt.

But then, a scene he had previously experienced suddenly flashed in his mind: fingers interlaced, resting on his chin, smiling at the two, he spoke lightly:

"You can call me"

"The Fool!"

Boom

Although the two words "The Fool" were not loud, when they sounded in Windy's ears, it was as if a stone had been dropped into the lake of his heart, sending ripples spreading.

The Fuxi aspect and concept that had settled in his innate spiritual light trembled; a certain power melted away a bit, merging with his spirit and truly becoming part of him.

In a daze, Windy seemed to see an illusory long river deep in his eyes, branching into different tributaries, displaying different scenes.

At this moment he seemed to stand at a crossroads of fate, witnessing an ancient history scroll slowly unfurling, seeing the great trend of fate like a surging great river rushing forward.

Yet he seemed to be in another dimension, quietly watching the surge of the river of fate, observing how past and future fate converge here.

He is an observer of fate, and also seems to be a witness of spacetime and fate.

Hum

In this special state, Windy's heart suddenly gave rise to a mysterious feeling, as if a shattering sound rang out; a special power deep within his heart dissolved, merging with his spirit and becoming part of him.

"This is the Audience potion fully digested."

Without anyone reminding him, Windy naturally understood the cause of this change.

He himself hadn't expected that, in just a short while, the potion that originally would have taken three months or even half a year to digest was completely digested outright.

"It seems that as a transmigrator, I am truly well suited to the Audience pathway."

With this thought arising in his mind, Windy also sensed that another, even more exalted power within him had melted away a bit—namely, Fuxi's aspect and concept.

It seems that because the Audience potion's full digestion facilitated the accommodation of Fuxi's aspect, and also because this state of witnessing fate is highly compatible with Fuxi's aspect, he gained a slightly clearer grasp of spacetime and fate.

Streams of information merged into his spirit, concerning the understanding of yin‑yang trigrams; although still superficial, it gave him a new insight into the principle of the Yi.

At the same time, he felt that his eyes had been refined by some concept, vaguely enabling him to see things that were different.

(End of chapter)