"If that's the case, he's already obtained enough faith power," Shen Lu lightly tapped Xue Jinhuai's shoulder with his index finger, a small habit when he was deep in thought.
"He's collected so much faith power, he must have attained the 'divine position' he desired," Xue Jinhuai said coldly.
"Let me catch my breath," Yan Shao rubbed his temples. This information was too horrifying, overturning all their previous understandings.
The original founder of this school was Shao Xinran himself.
If the truth was as such, Shao Xinran had orchestrated such a grand scheme, with everyone in the world as his pawns. His meticulous planning and foresight were terrifying.
All for his path to godhood.
"Who is the strongest deity we know of?" Shen Lu asked Shen Qi, his smile not reaching his eyes.
Shen Qi looked back, remaining silent.
"In the foreign divine realm, the strongest deity is that mysterious High Priest," Yan Shao answered.
Jiang Yue, uncharacteristically quiet, said, "Among the three major deities recorded in the foreign divine realm, there is Daniel, the God of Fury, and Silifen, the God of Prophecy. Both are high-level deities who bow down to the High Priest."
The answer was already obvious.
The High Priest was Shao Xinran.
"I say, my dear son, you've never met the High Priest?" Shen Lu's sudden change in tone eased the increasingly tense atmosphere.
Yan Shao and Jiang Yue's eyes revealed their admiration.
From the moment they emerged from the cage, Shen Qi and Lu Zhi could no longer be treated as ordinary people.
But in Shen Lu's eyes, Shen Qi was simply the son he had raised.
"No, I haven't," Shen Qi accepted Shen Lu's address with great calmness and openness. "He is very strong."
To receive a "he is very strong" from Shen Qi was enough to explain everything.
Shao Xinran was an unprecedentedly powerful deity.
"Sorry, I need to take a call," Xue Jinhuai suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Yes, go on."
Whatever was said on the other end caused an uncharacteristic flicker of emotion in Xue Jinhuai's eyes. He directly activated the speakerphone.
"General, everything I'm saying is true."
"A rabbit and a pig were fighting, and a cow was trying to mediate."
Everyone: ...
Lu Zhi, who had been silently staring at Shao Xinran's portrait, finally looked up.
—
Half an hour later, at the Zhaocai Farm.
Zhang Xu, the person in charge of the farm, was eagerly waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing the police car, he immediately stepped forward, "You're finally here."
Jiang Yue was driving, and Yan Shao had also come along.
After all, a scene of a pig and a rabbit fighting with a cow mediating was too rare to miss.
Ever since the Twelve Zodiac deities had reappeared, any news related to them was reported directly to Xue Jinhuai.
Yan Shao: "Are you Zhang Xu, the farm manager?"
"Yes. Didn't the government say to call you if we discovered any anomalies?" Zhang Xu said fearfully, "I'm worried my farm animals will become spirits. Will they still be sellable?"
"How did you discover it?" Lu Zhi didn't doubt Zhang Xu's words but was curious instead. "Did they fight right in front of you?"
Zhang Xu, with his honest and simple demeanor, replied, "Not exactly."
Zhang Xu's farm wasn't large, but it raised a wide variety of livestock, and he had a habit of counting them daily. The night before last, he discovered two chickens were missing, so he checked the surveillance footage.
Lu Zhi: "Let's go take a look."
Zhang Xu quickly led them inside.
Suddenly, Lu Zhi and Shen Qi stopped simultaneously.
Jiang Yue: "What..."
"Shh," Lu Zhi placed a finger on his lips, then pointed to his ear, signaling her to listen.
From beyond a wall, three hushed voices could be heard.
A gruff, uncle-like voice said with exasperation, "I told you he's a scammer, can't you use your not-so-big brain to think about it?"
A sweet, girlish voice replied, "But, but I really like him."
A childish voice was heard persuading them, "Don't argue, don't argue."
Lu Zhi and Shen Qi exchanged a look and walked further in.
In a very clean pigsty, a pig had a rabbit pinned under its hoof, and a boy with small horns on his head was tugging at the pig's tail.
The sudden appearance of Lu Zhi and Shen Qi startled the little boy, who stammered, "Uncle Piggy, oh no, we've been discovered."
Uncle Piggy turned around abruptly. His small eyes, full of wisdom, widened in shock upon seeing Lu Zhi, "G-Great-Great Adult!"
Lu Zhi confirmed it. These three were definitely three of the Twelve Zodiac deities.
It was just that their entrance method seemed a bit too down-to-earth compared to the previous ones.
"Sob sob sob... What adult? Who are you calling..." The black lop-eared rabbit stood up from the ground, turned its head to look at Lu Zhi, its bright red, ruby-like eyes shining brilliantly. With lightning speed, it sprang towards Lu Zhi, its sharp voice exclaiming joyfully, "Adult—"
The crowd's vision blurred. Shen Qi had already reached out, grabbed the rabbit's ears, and expressionlessly tossed the rabbit away.
Lu Zhi recovered and said to Zhang Xu, "We will handle this matter. We'll take these three spirit-like animals back to deal with them."
The stunned farm owner, Zhang Xu, nodded blankly.
Jiang Yue immediately escorted Zhang Xu out, saying, "How much are these three? We'll buy them at three times the market price."
Zhang Xu, still dazed, left with Jiang Yue.
"Sorry, I also need to leave and calm down," Yan Shao said to Lu Zhi, then calmly turned to reorganize his understanding of deities.
The mature and steady Uncle Pig spoke first, "G-Great Adult, how did you discover us?"
The little cow-child with horns on his head asked cautiously, "Uncle Pig, is this an adult?"
Lu Zhi looked at the little cow-child with confusion, "Is he also amnesiac?"
Uncle Pig: "No, no, he just has face blindness, he didn't recognize the adult."
Lu Zhi was shocked. Do deities also have face blindness?
"Adult, adult." The lop-eared rabbit kept jumping up and down in place, attracting Lu Zhi's attention. Then, it excitedly and enthusiastically acted spoiled, "Adult, I miss you so much! Adult, do you want a hug from Hei Bao?"
Lu Zhi was tempted. Indeed, this black lop-eared rabbit's fur was smooth and shiny, and its ruby rabbit eyes sparkled. It was cute and soft.
Shen Qi sneered, "I'll hug you."
The black rabbit immediately broke out in goosebumps. "Pah! Stinky man, who wants you to hug them."
Lu Zhi: "Pfft—"
Shen Qi directly bent down, grabbed Hei Bao's ears, and lifted it. Ignoring Hei Bao's shrieks and struggles, he said, "Let's go, we're heading back."
Suddenly, a golden light emanated from Hei Bao's body, breaking free from Shen Qi's hand, and it transformed into human form.
On its androgynous face, its ruby eyes glared at Shen Qi in anger. Its lop ears perked up, and it pointed at Shen Qi, issuing a challenge, "Come, fight me to the death!"
Shen Qi sneered, "I'll stew you."
Lu Zhi quickly grabbed Shen Qi, "Alright, alright, why are you arguing with a girl?"
"Adult!" Hei Bao's eyes widened in disbelief, and it started to whimper aggrievedly.
Lu Zhi: ???
Now it was Shen Qi's turn to laugh, "Rabbit, male."
Lu Zhi: ...
Lu Zhi: ???