Chapter 1 Gu… Gu Shen?

At the end of a deserted alley, the third-order enforcer, his cheek pinned by five fingers, stiffened, and with extreme difficulty, squeezed out those two words.

He never imagined…

That a nobody like himself would meet Gu Shen here!

"Beep!"

"Beep!!"

"Beep…"

The transcendent device, smoking on the ground, still emitted a sharp alarm.

Gu Shen glanced at the location of the device.

Bang!

In an instant, a burst of fiery sparks erupted, and the entire alley returned to a silence so profound that a pin drop could be heard.

A deathly stillness.

Gu Shen gripped the third-order's head, the Blazing Fire immediately invading his mind. What he needed to do was to safely take away the Child of Divine Grace. Now, he would take both children in the alley.

Therefore.

From the moment he stepped into this alley, his domain had already spread out.

"Trying to send a message to He Chan?"

Gu Shen released his hand expressionlessly. The Blazing Fire, having completed its hypnosis, swept out from the enforcer's forehead and burrowed into his palm. The latter fell to the ground, unconscious.

"It's over?"

Xiao Man looked stunned, gazing in disbelief at her front and then her back.

In terms of physique.

The enforcer from the Tower of Origin was probably one and a half times the size of Gu Shen…

"The laws of combat on Garbage Mountain don't mean anything in the world of transcendents." Gu Shen smiled. "It's not like being big makes you strong."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief.

She quickly bent over and went forward, reaching the cardboard box and picking up the calm-faced infant.

"This is the Child of Divine Grace…"

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes. This infant in swaddling clothes was very abnormal. After everything that had just happened, any other baby would have been crying and making a fuss, but he looked completely calm, seemingly unfazed.

What's going on with this little fellow?

Judging from his appearance, he should only be a year or two old. According to Mr. Zhuang's diary and the mental reaction of the iron box, it didn't match the "Child of Divine Grace" awakening three years ago either.

Moreover.

After arriving in this alley, the iron box didn't have a very strong reaction.

Very strange.

The ages of Xiao Man and the infant didn't match the birth time of the Child of Divine Grace.

Regardless… let's get out of here first!

Gu Shen made up his mind.

Xiao Man picked up the baby, checked him over, and confirmed he was unharmed.

She hurriedly went to the guy lying on the ground, checked his breathing, and felt a little calmer…

He's not dead.

If such a big shot died here, there would definitely be a lot of trouble.

Xiao Man subconsciously raised her head and anxiously asked, "Gu Shen… what do we do now?"

"You can't stay here."

Gu Shen said leisurely, "Even if I erase his memory, he'll still find his way back here… The Tower of Origin is searching for awakened ones with outstanding talent. As long as you stay in E0 district, you won't be able to escape."

"…"

Xiao Man bit her lip.

Escape!

Without Gu Shen even mentioning it, her first thought was to escape… But she was a drifter, a low-life not respected in the Sangzhou slums. Even if she escaped, where could she go? She didn't even know what the world outside the high walls was like.

In recent years.

There were often rumors in the slums of E0 district that ferocious beasts roamed outside the high walls.

Once you left, you would become food for those beasts.

"How about… coming with me?"

Gu Shen spoke.

He put away his smile, looked at the child squatting on the ground, and squatted down as well, lifting his tattered clothes.

Xiao Man stared blankly at the young man before her.

Gu Shen first reached out and completely wiped off the ghost mask disguise on his face, even removing the dirt and grime.

Then he reached out again.

To wipe away the mud on the girl's cheek.

Gu Shen said seriously, "Come with me, and you won't have to pick up trash anymore."

…

…

E2 district, Church Manor.

Zhu Que was bathing in the hot springs. His robes hung on a wooden rack to the side. The hot spring water was steaming, the mist spreading, and the pool water was a brilliant red. Faintly visible were fiery shadows swimming in the pool.

Amidst the swirling clouds, a small mirror suddenly trembled!

"Buzz!"

The shrill sound made Zhu Que frown.

He was immersed in the mental practice of breathing techniques…

However, if the cloud mirror trembled, it meant something important. This was a "personal treasure" given to them by Mr. Tianshui, related to the distribution of the Fire Seed selection mission.

Zhu Que instantly opened his narrow eyes.

He raised his palm, and the cloud mirror instantly flew in front of him.

Under the authority, a corner of a misty scene was faintly revealed.

This mirror seemed to have captured some incredible information… The clouds slowly gathered, actually revealing a delicate face.

"Zhu Que."

Hong Long's voice sounded in the cloud mirror.

"Here."

Zhu Que stood up. His body was surrounded by scorching high-temperature flames. His previously wet body became extremely dry within two or three seconds after stepping ashore. A large amount of water vapor evaporated. He spread his hands, and the red priest's robe, as if possessing spirituality, put itself on his body. This was all smooth and flowing, extremely seamless. After Zhu Que lowered his sleeves, he had already completed his bath and was ready to go out at any time.

"The cloud mirror has vibrated."

Hong Long said, "That girl is very important to the Tower of Origin. We need you to personally take action and make sure to bring her back safely… Just now, Mr. Yan's divination results came from Central Continent. The approximate location has been determined. That girl is within your jurisdiction, E0 district."

Zhu Que raised an eyebrow.

He remembered the girl's face that appeared in the cloud mirror. In the past few days, the mirrors given by Tianshui had been mostly quiet. This was the first time it had provided information so "seriously."

"Very important…"

Zhu Que smiled. "Do I need to personally bring her back? Could she be a super-A level transcendent?"

"…"

Hong Long was too lazy to say more: "Yun Hu, and Xuan Gui are already heading to E0 district. If you can't handle this mission, we'll take it."

Hearing this, Zhu Que stopped wasting words, immediately ended the cloud mirror conversation, and quickly left the Church Manor.

At the same time.

"He Chan—"

He sent a message to He Chan, the garrison of E0 district, with his mind.

"Seal off E0 district, no one is allowed to leave."

He Chan, who was in quiet meditation, was somewhat dazed by the envoy's order.

He cautiously asked, "My lord, what's going on?"

Zhu Que sent the image from the cloud mirror and said, "Have you seen this girl?"

The moment he received the message, He Chan's entire spirit tensed up.

At this moment, he carefully looked at the blurred silhouette of the girl for several seconds, compared it one by one with the children imprisoned in his yard in his mind, and gave Zhu Que a disappointing answer: "...No."

"If you haven't seen her, then find her."

Zhu Que said coldly, "Find her now! I'll bring people over right away!"

…

…

The two people in the alley, one big and one small, only had time to say a few words.

Chu Ling's voice urgently entered: "Gu Shen, the high walls of E0 district are starting to close the exits."

"Closing the exits?"

Gu Shen suddenly raised his head, a shadow of darkness flashing across his eyes.

He looked at the sky.

"It's not because of the [Eye of Heaven]… you haven't been exposed yet." Chu Ling said, "It's most likely a transcendent means beyond our understanding, and it hasn't locked onto a specific location yet!"

Closing the high walls meant the entire district was on alert!

If they had directly locked onto him…

The better approach for Central Continent would be to find an opportunity to launch a surprise attack, rather than sealing off the city with great fanfare.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Man's expression became tense. A child who relied on picking up things and begging for a living was best at observing people's expressions. With just one look from Gu Shen, she realized that something was wrong. She quickly picked up the quiet infant, put him in a basket, covered him with two layers of cloth, leaving space for breathing, and then tied the basket with sturdy hemp rope, wrapped it around twice, tied it up, and carried it on her back.

"Let's go."

Gu Shen didn't say much.

He prepared to lend a hand.

But Xiao Man shook her head and refused. She put her feet together, and although she was carrying a heavy basket, her movements were light. With a leap, she jumped over the Tower of Origin transcendent's large body.

The three quickly walked out of the alley.

"Chih!"

Gu Shen didn't look back, snapped his fingers, and Blazing Fire shot out, completely burning everything "dead" in the alley…

The sea of fire ignited in a matter of seconds and extinguished in a matter of seconds.

The Azure Frost of the Pure Land swept through the alley like a tidal wave. After the tide receded, not even a speck of ash was left here.

Even if Zhu Que came in person, he wouldn't be able to find any trace of anyone living here.

In the alley, only one unconscious person remained.

Everything here had been cleaned up—

Only that third-order enforcer was left, Gu Shen didn't kill him.

…

…

He Chan ended his meditation at the first possible moment.

The high walls of E0 district had been completely closed. The four directional exit fortresses were all closed, and the "native slaves" who had been implanted with mental seeds by the Tower of Origin were guarding the city.

After completing all of this, the first thing He Chan did was to connect his four subordinates in the central control channel and issue the orders of Envoy Zhu Que.

"E0 southern area, received."

"E0 northern area, received!"

Among the four, three responded immediately, but one had not yet connected.

Just as He Chan was about to set off.

"E0 western area, discovered an anomaly…"

A slightly drowsy voice sounded in the internal channel.

The third-order enforcer who was "sleeping and not awake" suddenly woke up at the very moment that the mental channel signal sounded.

Supporting himself against the alley wall, he stood up with difficulty, looked around, and looked confused.

For some reason, he felt like he had experienced something.

Why was he lying here?

What was at the end of this alley?

Instinctively, he felt that he should report an anomaly.

"What anomaly?" He Chan asked anxiously.

"My lord, I just saw that girl…"

After a brief silence, the enforcer rubbed his head. After taking two deep breaths, his eyes were no longer dazed, and his voice became firm.

In the mental channel, the Tower of Origin received a very important message.

"She is now…"

"Probably at the boundary of the northern area…"

The enforcer who spoke looked in the direction he was talking about.

In his eyes, a very small flame flickered.

Gone in a flash.