Snowflakes drifted gently from the sky.
Since the Qilin Immortal Palace had opened, the Order World had suffered consecutive losses of key figures: the deaths of Tianzhou and Xingye, the two Saints; the deaths of two Minister-level officials; and the demise of several Omega members due to infighting.
Of course, the You Ying Group experienced even greater losses.
The Night Watchers exchanged uncertain glances.
The people from the Judgement Court wore pale expressions, their faces as white as paper.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Vice President Rhein seemed calm when he left, but in reality, he had already sensed imminent danger, seething with anger.
Originally, if Minister Zhang Xuzhi were brought back for interrogation, it would have proved this matter to be his personal act—be it abusing authority to conspire to murder internal members or colluding with the Dusk evolvers.
But now, Zhang Xuzhi was dead.
Dead without leaving evidence.
This meant everyone had to suspect.
Was Rhein orchestrating everything from behind the scenes?
Given the President's naturally suspicious character, doubts would inevitably arise.
The battle for the position of the next President was bound to intensify.
And for Rhein, the most intolerable scenario was for any mishap to occur before he completed the handover of power.
As for the significance of the President's position?
Even the upper echelons of the Ether Association only vaguely understood part of it.
It was not just about authority.
It represented supreme power.
Now, the Judgement Court's arrangement had nearly collapsed entirely.
"Codename: Qilin."
Chen Bojun meditated on the codename repeatedly, commenting, "Impressive, truly a lawless force."
"Director Chen."
Fu Qingxuan, though aware this youth had saved him, hadn't interacted much at all and asked curiously, "Has the kid always been like this? After all, we're talking about Vice President Rhein here—what audacity he has."
But then again, for a student of the King of Qing, such behavior seemed fitting.
Profound Yin Saint stewed silently for a long while, his face darkening to the extreme, before blurting out, "I feel there's something we need to seriously consider: Gu… Mr. Gu's earlier actions reminded me of someone—Gu Ci'an! The sudden onset of the blizzard and Mr. Gu's abrupt appearance, this isn't the first time something like this has happened."
Indeed, this wasn't the first occurrence. Those deeply familiar with the Ancient God Realm could leverage certain supernatural mechanisms to achieve their objectives—killing many lives in the process.
Take Gu Ci'an back in the Fusang Divine Palace, for instance, when he once clashed with an Ascender organization from another country. He leveraged a sudden Heavenly Fire, annihilating twelve Sixth Ranks, and made his name in one fell swoop.
Later, it was proven that the Heavenly Fire originated from the anger of a Primordial.
That such a figure reemerged now was terrifying.
"At least for now, we should trust his character. He doesn't seem like someone utterly depraved."
"Are you referring to the morality of the Chair Killer?"
"What Chair Killer? His name is Qilin! Speaking of which, that's quite a noteworthy title."
From a certain perspective, this wasn't entirely bad news. The final battle to conquer the Sea of Eternal Life was fast approaching.
Gu Jianlin could provide critically important intelligence.
If all went according to plan, the Sea of Eternal Life would be the ultimate gateway to the next layer.
Gu Jianlin turned around, his gaze falling upon the two dying Omega members.
"Do you want me to kill you too?"
Li Hanting coughed painfully, kneeling on the ground, struggling to rise.
Zhou Hanye's pupils abruptly dilated.
"Your grandfather and my teacher belonged to the same generation. Logically, my seniority should surpass yours."
Gu Jianlin looked down at him from above, speaking calmly, "My teacher didn't kill your grandfather, so why should I kill you? I don't even know if you belong to The Order of the Hidden and frankly have no interest in you. Or is it that you wish to protest on behalf of Councilman Zhang? Or avenge your grandfather by defeating me?"
"If you have the courage, then go find that Profound Yin Saint to heal you now."
He stated indifferently, "One against two—deciding both victory and death."
Back when he faced off against four Twilight Candidates, he was only of the Third Rank.
Thus, Ancient God Transformation was necessary.
Now, as a Fourth Rank, merely activating the Evolutionary State would suffice to handle one against two, effortlessly.
Zhou Hanye's throat shifted, staring at the youth's cold, indifferent gaze and the Skeleton Giant looming around him.
Li Hanting recalled the astonishingly deadly achievements of wiping out five Twilight Candidates prior.
Could they possibly win?
Even at their peak, victory seemed improbable.
Moreover, their Growth Type Mythical Weapons had shattered.
"I don't even need Growth Type Mythical Weapons."
Gu Jianlin said flatly.
Ultimately, Zhou Hanye and Li Hanting lowered their heads.
Back when the King of Qing freed himself from the shackles of Heaven's Punishment, elevating the Evolvers to a rightful place in history.
The Judgement Court hadn't dared utter a single word.
And now, Gu Jianlin was once again trampling rules directly under their noses, killing Minister Zhang on the spot.
Vice President Rhein hadn't intervened.
What could they possibly do?
Especially now, with Gu Jianlin possessing the talent for profiling and having gained early access to the Sea of Eternal Life.
The intelligence he held was of utmost importance.
At this critical juncture, he was indispensable.
"If even this you cannot handle, then my senior brother was correct—the Judgement Court's faith is indeed laughable. Your so-called defense of order is merely a guise to consolidate your power. The rejection of Evolvers stems from jealousy over power not in your grasp. And as for your relentless eradication of the Fallen and the Unclean—it's beyond absurd."
Gu Jianlin spoke with cold indifference: "If you think I'm wrong, do you not even dare challenge me?"