“This bar is really noisy.”

In a corner booth, the witch slammed the door shut with a look of disgust, then turned to her fellow Syndicate members. “Why couldn’t we have met at [True Name]? Why did we have to come here?”

[True Name] was the name of another bar, the one run by the Syndicate's professor, and usually served as the Syndicate’s gathering place.

“The professor went on a trip,”

Taihao said concisely, “He won’t be back anytime soon. The bar is closed.”

The witch raised an eyebrow. “Out again? Where did he go?”

“Who knows?”

Taihao spread his hands. “I can’t reach him.”

The professor was incommunicado, but none of the Syndicate members present seemed worried.

Only they knew the professor's strangeness.

Before the Slaughter Game even began, the professor had already started searching the world for children to train,

Teaching them knowledge and skills, and leading them on all sorts of bizarre missions—like silently destroying a dam somewhere in America;

Hacking into the Japanese island banking system to loot ill-gotten gains from criminal gangs;

Traveling to war-torn areas in Central Asia, infiltrating dangerous zones under the patrol of armed militants to protect and rescue precious cultural relics;

These missions were almost entirely unrelated, but some of the Syndicate's disciples were trained early on as qualified individuals, thriving on the path to becoming players.

The professor seemed like an ordinary middle-aged man, both in appearance and personality,

But his whereabouts were unpredictable, as if he had foreseen the arrival of the Slaughter Game, laying out plans in advance and secretly executing some kind of scheme.

Even now,

Even after all the Syndicate members had gained extraordinary powers, they still held an irrational admiration and trust for the professor, even though they didn't know the specifics of his plan.

“Tsk, that old geezer is getting up there in years, and he's still playing disappearing tricks every day.”

The witch clicked her tongue and looked at Taihao. “So, what’s so important that you called us all here?”

“There’s something I need to announce,”

Taihao nodded, looking at Amberly.

The latter cleared her throat and said slowly, “You may not know, but the last script mission I just experienced had a time flow identical to that of the real world.

In that script, I encountered Su Nisheng in a remnant state.”

Amberly recounted her experiences in the last script mission in detail.

Her language wasn’t very good, and she glossed over many descriptions,

But fortunately, everyone present was a first or second-tier player and could imagine the danger of the scene from her descriptions.

Everyone’s expression gradually became serious, and they fell silent after Amberly finished her narration.

The witch frowned and slowly said, “So, Li Ang experienced the script mission with you, fought a god projection that resembled Su Nisheng, and then teleported back to the real world,

And without much rest or adjustment, he took down the Special Affairs Bureau's Mobile Task Force, fought Suzaku, and won?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Amberly nodded. “The fight against Su Nisheng's phantom was extremely difficult. I used almost all my trump cards, and even summoning the Black Sail couldn’t deal any real damage to her.

Honneheim and Li Ang,

They definitely weren’t in good condition after completing the script mission.”

“…”

Taihao frowned slightly upon hearing this and turned to look at the silent Shīkòng. “What level do you think Li Ang's true strength is at?”

Shīkòng closed his eyes and pondered for a while, then slowly opened them, his voice deep and steady. “Based on the strength shown in the video,

If he maintains his normal state and I don’t use my trump cards, I’d have about an eighty percent chance of winning.

If I unseal my divine power, seventy percent.

If I completely remove the restrictions and transform into a Kūmù Titan…”

Shīkòng paused for a moment, then shook his head under the curious gazes of his companions. “It’s hard to say.

Zhongli Mieming and Wang Buliuxing didn’t force him to reveal any more of his abilities.

Suzaku’s combat style isn’t comparable to mine at all.

To really calculate the odds of victory,

We’d have to fight one-on-one.”

“Hiss,”

Wang Hu, another Syndicate disciple, clicked his tongue. “Even you aren’t confident of a guaranteed win?”

“There’s no such thing as a guaranteed win in this world.”

Shīkòng shook his head calmly. “Time, place, individual condition, mood, intelligence, external factors… every single one can affect the outcome of a battle.

A more accurate way to describe the odds of victory is the probability of each side winning in countless battles, given the current state of affairs.

Based on what was shown in the video, I might have a slight advantage,

But a battle video is just a video after all. He has more trump cards that he hasn’t revealed yet.

So, it’s hard to say.”

With that, Shīkòng turned to look at Amberly and asked calmly, “What about you?

If you and Kuáng Rán Huǒ merge again, would you have the confidence to defeat a Kūmù Titan, or Suzaku's apparition?”

“Um…”

Amberly and Kuáng Rán Huǒ exchanged glances, both seeing uncertainty in each other’s eyes.

After thinking for a moment, Amberly said hesitantly, “It’s a bit difficult.

You all know how difficult it is to climb the God Ascension Ladder again in this day and age.

Li Ang not only walked it, but he also advanced to the demigod sequence,

Which proves that he has accumulated enough divine power, and that he has a massive number of followers whose identities are unknown.

In that case,

His divine power recovery rate must be much faster than those ghost-fox demon gods we investigated before who had long lost their faith supply and whose names were no longer chanted.

The complete form of the Black Sail might be able to penetrate the Kūmù Titan's defenses, but it might not have the advantage in terms of endurance.

In a one-on-one fight, we’d probably lose due to lack of stamina.”

“Is that so…”

Taihao frowned and pondered for a while, then sighed. “Alright.

Since Li Ang has chosen to climb the God Ascension Ladder and seems to be doing quite well, I won’t hide anything from you all.

Lú Yú, tell everyone about your recent discoveries.”

“Huh?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Lú Yú, who was hiding in a corner. He was the eleventh-ranked disciple of the Syndicate, and he looked like an ordinary otaku in his anime shirt.

Being stared at by his senior brothers and sisters, Lú Yú smiled awkwardly and stood up from his seat as if resigned to his fate. He clapped his hands. “Uh… it’s not really an important discovery.

Recently, didn’t the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, central India, experience some anomalies?

Tourists discovered that the Śibi Jātaka Buddha statue in the cave was smiling.

That day, European Heavy Industries sent people to cooperate with the local Indian extraordinary organization to seal off the Ajanta Caves.

Because the professor’s previous topic for me was to study the God Ascension Ladder,

I put in some effort, and infiltrated Maharashtra with the Stonemason, passing through the layers of European Heavy Industries’ blockade to obtain first-hand information.”

Lú Yú and the Stonemason exchanged glances, and the latter nodded, taking a projection device from his suit pocket.

He activated the device, projecting the image onto the wall of the bar booth, which was covered with thick soundproofing material.

The camera angle was steady and didn’t shake, so it must have been taken with a drone.

Lú Yú and the Stonemason maintained their invisibility and passed through the European Heavy Industries employees’ blockade,

Arriving near the Ajanta Caves.

The Ajanta Caves were built in the middle of a cliff face, integrated with the cliff itself.

European Heavy Industries had cleared all the trees that obstructed the view, laid concrete pavement, and built a temporary base.

Looking around, one could see a large number of researchers in protective suits, debugging instruments at the foot of the Ajanta Caves.

Not far away, construction workers were setting up turret defenses, with their barrels aimed at the caves themselves.

All European Heavy Industries personnel wore noise-canceling headphones and semi-transparent full-protection masks.

“Huh?”

The witch noticed the anomaly in the picture and said hesitantly, “This is…”

In the picture, a certain cave in the Ajanta Caves emitted faint, soft light,

And a holy Buddhist sound, like celestial music, resonated around, making people intoxicated.

“‘Around the vihara are carved stone walls, depicting the events of Tathagata’s past cultivation of the Bodhisattva path. Auspicious signs of attaining the sacred fruit, spiritual movements of entering nirvana, are meticulously engraved without omission. Outside the monastery gates, to the north, south, left, and right, are stone elephants. According to local customs, these elephants roar loudly from time to time, shaking the ground.’

This passage is from Xuanzang’s ‘Great Tang Records of the Western Regions,’ describing the A-zhe-luo Monastery in the Mo-he-la-cha country.

A-zhe-luo Monastery might be the Ajanta Caves.”

Lú Yú said in a deep voice, “The divine light and Buddhist sounds you see now

Are the symbols of the Buddha-land that is slowly awakening in the Ajanta Caves.”

“Buddha-land…”

The witch frowned. She also had a general understanding of Eastern mysticism and knew that so-called Buddha-lands were very complex things.

Pure Lands could be divided into five types: impure, impure-pure, pure-impure, mixed, and pure.

And Buddha-lands inhabited by Buddhas could be divided into two, three, or five types, depending on the interpretation of the Buddha's body.

However, since the place where the Buddha is is the Buddha-land, it’s basically okay to imagine the Buddha-land as a divine kingdom in Western mysticism.

“The Stonemason and I sneaked into it and discovered that European Heavy Industries had turned the Ajanta Caves into a real secret realm that could be continuously explored.

It’s a bit like a low-level version of Prision Demon Cave.”

Lú Yú introduced, “The players from European Heavy Industries enter the Ajanta Caves, pass through the barrier that constantly emits Buddha-light, enter the slowly awakening Buddha-land,

And steal all kinds of treasures from it.

And they are constantly trying to use various means,

Trying to suppress, interfere with, and even completely control the master of the Buddha-land—a Buddha who is still sleeping and hasn’t awakened yet.

There are too many people from European Heavy Industries, so the Stonemason and I only dared to take some pictures on the periphery. We didn’t dare to go into the Buddha-land to explore it properly.

However, based on the materials they plundered from the Buddha-land,

The master of the Buddha-land should be a king from the ancient Indian Jambudvipa continent, from the city of Devabhaga, more than two thousand years BC,

That is, King Śibi, who cut off his flesh to feed an eagle.”

Lú Yú’s expression became serious. “Legend has it that King Śibi ruled 84,000 subordinate countries and 60,000 mountains and rivers. He was kind and benevolent. He was tested by Indra and Viśvakarman, and he cut off his flesh to feed an eagle. He was recognized by the gods and Buddhas and became a Buddha on the spot.

Of course, these are just myths and legends.

His true identity should be a powerful transcendent whose exact era cannot be verified.

Enough to leave behind a portion of his origin to feign death and escape the Slaughter Game’s inspection,

And restart the Buddha-land at the right time to be reborn again.”

Lú Yú paused, and his expression was solemn. “I remember the professor told me a long time ago that after choosing the path of the gods, you can not only have power that mortals can’t reach,

But you’ll also become a prisoner who ekes out an existence and is unable to control your own destiny.

I didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence until I saw the Buddha-land in the Ajanta Caves.

Wasn’t everyone always wondering where those former transcendents from ancient times went?

In my personal opinion, they’re all dead. They died under the increasingly harsh tests of the Slaughter Game.

Whenever an era of spiritual revitalization comes to an end, its difficulty will suddenly increase, and it can wipe out 99% of the players in that era.

The Slaughter Game will not allow truly detached lifeforms, or even immortal lifeforms, to appear within its jurisdiction.

As long as you become a player, you will definitely die. It’s impossible to live beyond the average lifespan of a mortal.

And the only way for powerful transcendents in ancient times to avoid death was to gather the power of faith, abandon their own will, and become gods.

That way, even if their true bodies die in the Slaughter Game,

They can rely on mortals constantly spreading their deeds, spreading their stories, and remembering their [concept] to maintain their existence.

Hoping for the tide of spiritual energy to rise and the divine kingdom to revive,

To awaken again.”

Lú Yú slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and said faintly, “King Śibi is just a mortal who accidentally became a Buddha in mythology.

If even he can form a Buddha-land and live to the modern era, then what about those other gods, Buddhas, and immortals who haven’t been completely buried by the long river of history?

If now is the dawn that the lost gods and Buddhas have longed for,

Then how will they face us modern people when they wake up?”

Lú Yú’s question made the atmosphere in the booth quiet and oppressive.

The witch hugged Miaomiao Tou and rubbed the latter’s furry chin, deep in thought,

While Wang Hu and LAn had solemn expressions.

“Lú Yú, your… god revival theory,”

Wang Hu looked at Lú Yú and asked seriously, “Is there more evidence for it?”

“There’s a little.”

Lú Yú nodded. “Do you want me to tell the various extraordinary organizations about this information to make them prepared?”

“Yes.”

Wang Hu nodded slowly. “If those gods really wake up, then it’s not good news for the extraordinary organizations, for ordinary people,

Or for us modern players.”

“I estimate that even if those extraordinary organizations know about it, they probably won’t change much.”

Lú Yú smiled bitterly, “In the concept of mysticism, as long as a god is using the power of faith formed by the wishes of the masses, it will inevitably be affected and interfered with by the wishes of the masses,

And they won’t be able to do anything that goes against the wishes of the masses or violates their own divine duties.

In a sense, they have lost their free will as independent individuals.

In other words, after receiving the news of the gods’ revival,

The most important option for the extraordinary organizations is likely to be to use the wishes of the masses

To influence and interfere with the gods.

Just like European Heavy Industries, when they discovered a slowly awakening King Śibi, the first thing they thought of was not to eliminate him,

But to use, restrain, and control him.

No one can withstand the wrath of the gods, but no one can refuse the temptation to enslave a god.”