Dawn broke over Anho City, casting long shadows across its streets and buildings.

The incident that occurred in the prison at dawn shocked the lord of Anho City and the high priest of the Yinsai Temple. The city lord immediately ordered a thorough investigation, and the priests from the Yinsai Temple surrounded the prison tightly, probing the cause of the incident.

The priests entered the prison, which resembled a blood-sea purgatory. Some young priests were so terrified by the horrific and bloody scene that they collapsed on the ground.

A leading third-level Seal Priest sensed the residual power left by the intruder and could only come to one conclusion.

“Mental power domain.”

“Fourth-level God’s Grace.”

When they heard this answer, everyone fell silent.

This was beyond their ability to handle. The priests of the Yinsai Temple in Anho City lacked the strength and confidence to confront a being of such power.

Other parts of Anho City remained unaware of the incident that had erupted in the prison, or if they knew, no one cared.

After all, what did it matter if some people died in a prison that was like a sewer or a gutter?

Everything else continued as usual, no different from any other day.

In the execution grounds to the west of the city, thousands of people gathered around.

Today was execution day, and criminals condemned to death for heinous crimes would face their ultimate punishment here.

Anho City would take those sentenced to death to the western execution grounds half a night in advance, so when Asai returned to the prison, some people had already been taken away, including one of Asai’s targets.

Asai and Polik made their way to the execution grounds, arriving just as the dawn executions were about to begin.

Polik didn’t understand: “Why are we coming here so early in the morning to watch these guys?”

Asai replied: “I’ve been thinking for many days, and I feel something isn’t quite right.”

“There’s someone here who should be able to give us some guidance.”

From the iron prisoner transport carts, one powerless death row inmate after another was dragged out, pulled towards the execution grounds.

Asai looked at those trembling, pathetic death row inmates.

Originally, he should have been one of them, but an unknown force had diverted him from the ending that had been set for him, leading him onto another path.

A cheer rose from the crowd. Asai held a bone ball in his hand and slowly closed his eyes.

Immediately, one giant bone hand after another sprouted from the ground, dancing like a group of demons.

Chaos erupted at the execution grounds.

Guards and spectators shouted in panic, and even the priests were caught off guard.

But before they could fully react, those bone hands grabbed one of the prisoners and dragged him underground.

He disappeared.

This prisoner was none other than the man-eater.

Asai: “Let’s go!”

Polik: “Where to?”

Asai didn’t speak, just walked forward.

In the Medical Fortress of Anho City, a middle-aged doctor who appeared kind and benevolent was leading a group of young medical apprentices in diagnosing a patient. The doctor explained his observations as he examined, passing on his knowledge to the young people.

Afterwards, he stood on a platform to give a speech.

He wore an immaculate white doctor’s robe adorned with intricate patterns that signified his status as a witch doctor.

“Knowledge is not food; sharing it doesn’t mean I lose it.”

“I’ve imparted knowledge to you, and mine is still here.”

“Moreover, knowledge grows through sharing, so I hope that when you become real doctors in the future, you’ll pass on your knowledge to others without reservation.”

“Only in this way can we truly promote medical science.”

“Only in this way can we solve all diseases and eliminate suffering for people.”

A wave of applause erupted from below.

The young medical apprentices looked up at the middle-aged doctor with reverence, saluting him.

The middle-aged doctor was not arrogant; instead, he bowed back to everyone.

A figure slipped into the room, catching the middle-aged doctor’s eye with a subtle nod.

Clearly, he knew the middle-aged doctor, but no one in the Medical Fortress recognized him.

This person quickly approached and whispered something in the middle-aged doctor’s ear.

The middle-aged doctor immediately said to everyone: “I need to leave for a moment. Everyone, keep working diligently.”

He then left the hall and headed towards the upper levels of the Medical Fortress.

At first, the doctor’s steps were composed, but they soon became hurried.

“Has something happened?”

He had just received news that Lord Divine Contract had left Anho City without any warning last night, saying that everything henceforth would be managed by Lord Truth.

But this was very unusual. What matter required the Truth High Priest to come to Anho City and take charge personally?

What could have made Lord Divine Contract suddenly leave, abandoning him, a core member of the Path of Wisdom experiment?

He sensed something out of the ordinary.

And also, the scent of danger.

He pushed open the door to his rest room, only to find all the curtains tightly drawn, the room in complete darkness.

The middle-aged doctor immediately became alert.

He tried to retreat, but the door slammed shut.

Someone locked it tightly from the outside.

The color drained from the middle-aged doctor’s face as realization dawned. He was trapped.

Someone had come for him, and it was an extremely powerful being, one he couldn’t resist.

He cautiously walked inside, suddenly hearing a strange sound.

“Who’s there?”

The middle-aged doctor passed through a wall that blocked his view and saw the source of the sound.

A corpse was hanging in the depths of the room.

It was the corpse of the man-eater. From the doctor’s angle, he could just see the side of the man-eater’s face.

The middle-aged doctor recognized this man-eater.

He had once worked in his Medical Fortress but was expelled due to some mistakes.

Afterwards, the shocking man-eater case that terrified the entire city erupted.

“Creak, creak!” The rope made a tense sound.

The hanging corpse of the man-eater turned, revealing a bloody and nauseating side.

All of the man-eater’s internal organs had been removed and placed in glass jars beneath his feet.

The man-eater had suffered the same gruesome fate he had inflicted on others – his organs and viscera had been extracted while he still lived.

The middle-aged doctor immediately thought of something, of someone.

He turned around in panic, his gaze searching the room for other figures.

Finally, his gaze fixed on the darkest corner of the room.

His eyes were blank, his mouth slightly open.

He saw someone who absolutely should not have been there.

“Thud!”

Asai, sitting in a chair in the corner, leaned his cane to one side, clasped his hands in front, and looked at him.

“Long time no see!”

When Asai spoke, his voice was somewhat weak, as if he had no strength, or as if he were sighing.

But more than that, it was as cold as the depths of the ocean.

The middle-aged doctor’s face showed a forced smile, but his body involuntarily took a step back.

“Asai!”

“How are you here? I’ve been looking for you all this time too.”

The doctor was none other than the former doctor from Rolling Stone Town, who had now transformed into the master of the Medical Fortress in Anho City, a successful and renowned figure.

Asai waited for him to finish before speaking.

“Indeed, I shouldn’t be here. I should have ended my ridiculous and farcical life at the execution grounds in the west of the city.”

“Isn’t that right?”

The doctor’s whole body was trembling, his eyes filled with terror.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t quite understand.”

Asai just looked at him, and at that poor performance.

Asai’s gaze was empty and lifeless, but the terrifying aura surrounding the doctor made him feel as if he were standing on the edge of an abyss.

It was the power of a fourth-level God’s Grace. He could also see that the horrifying Bone Field had already enveloped the entire Medical Fortress. With just a thought from Asai, this place would instantly turn into a purgatory.

The doctor understood the terrifying nature of the person before him better than anyone else in the city. He was one of the members of the Path of Wisdom experiment plan.

In fact, during the implementation of the plan, he had already learned Asai’s true identity.

It wasn’t particularly challenging to deduce. The subject of the Path of Wisdom experiment had to be a God’s Grace Priest, making Asai’s true identity relatively easy to discern.

Although he couldn’t be entirely certain, it seemed unnecessary to seek complete confirmation.

After all, there weren’t many possible alternatives.

“What are you saying… I don’t know… I…”

The doctor’s words came out in broken fragments as he helplessly sank to his knees.

He knew that continuing the act was pointless.

He even guessed that he had been abandoned, becoming a discarded pawn.

Asai said to the doctor, “Actually, you could keep on acting, you could also choose to tell me nothing.”

“Everything I want to know, I can obtain from your mind.”

“However, there are some things I want to hear you tell me personally. Perhaps it will make all this feel more real to me.”

Asai’s voice held a note of confusion, as if his words were drifting like cotton in the air.

“Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m in a dream, as if all of this is just a false and unreal fantasy.”

“You were one of the people I trusted most in the past. I want you to tell me.”

“What is this dream all about? And what role did you play in it?”

The doctor clutched his head tightly, muttering incessantly.

“How could this happen?”

“According to the plan, you should have died at the execution grounds.”

“How could this happen? How could this happen?”

The doctor suddenly realized something: “Lord Divine Contract, you abandoned me, you abandoned me!”

Asai leaned forward, looking at the doctor kneeling on the ground. “Speak,” he commanded. “Tell me everything you know.”

The doctor’s hands were shaking constantly. He raised his hand, looking at Asai with a pleading expression, revealing a terrified and helpless look.

“This has nothing to do with me, I’m just… just a discarded pawn, a tool that’s been used up and has no more use.”

“Just like you, you’re also just a toy chosen by God.”

Asai listened quietly, hearing him narrate the story about himself.

He listened to the so-called Path of Wisdom plan, heard the doctor say that from birth, he was part of a predetermined script, that his life was just an experiment of God.

His face remained expressionless, as if he were listening to someone else’s story.

But when he heard about his mother, he suddenly stirred.

Though the doctor tried to gloss over it, Asai immediately focused on this part and asked, “So my mother died as part of your design.”

The doctor dared not speak, he fell silent.

Asai looked at the doctor, whom he had once trusted so deeply.

He had no father, and he had even once regarded this steady and reliable man as his own father.

He believed the stories he told, he had faith that he could become a successful person, he believed he could get everything he wanted through his own efforts.

“You know, there’s no point in hiding what I want to know from me.”

The doctor nodded, admitting to everything.

Asai muttered to himself: “Why.”

“Why?”

“She was just such an ordinary woman, not very smart, petty, stingy, and short-sighted.”

“What threat could she pose to you? She was insignificant to you.”

“Why… did she have to die?”

The doctor’s voice rose to a shout. “Because this wasn’t just an experiment! It was also a performance prepared for God.”

The doctor paused, then stared intently at Asai.

He revealed the whole truth.

“Because you are Anhofus!”

“The source of the Ghost Disaster on the Sacred Mountain and all these calamities, the origin of all evil in the world.”

“You are the one who created the God of Knowledge, the first being to touch the power of myths.”

“You were once so powerful, of such noble birth.”

“The God of Knowledge wanted to see you in a pathetic state, to see the proud prodigy fall from the clouds into the mud and mire.”

Asai: “Anhofus?”

“That evil spirit on the Sacred Mountain? The God of Knowledge?”

Asai, of course, knew about the existence of the God of Knowledge, but in folk legends, there was no Little Person in the Bottle called Anhofus.

In folk legends, there were two theories.

Some said that the God of Knowledge was another deity created by Yinsai, born divine.

Others said that the God of Knowledge was the evil sorcerer Anhofus who, after sacrificing all life on the Sacred Mountain, broke through the limits of mortals to become a new god in the human world.

The doctor: “No, although the God of Knowledge is also called Anhofus.”

“But he is not the real Anhofus, he is a myth created by the evil sorcerer Anhofus.”

“Anhofus, that madman… no… you once sought the power of God at all costs and created a god.”

“The God of Knowledge is the god you created.”

“Creating a god!” The doctor’s voice was filled with awe and fear. “Such madness, such greatness. Only you would dare to imagine it, dare to do it.”

The doctor looked at Asai, his eyes revealing fear: “Asai, you were once such a terrifying person. When I learned your true identity, I became afraid of you.”

“I feared you would truly awaken, I dared not imagine a being like you existing in this world.”

“I never wanted to manipulate your life, but it was God’s will.”

“I… couldn’t disobey God’s will and Lord Divine Contract’s orders.”

Asai finally understood what the memories constantly surfacing in his mind were.

They were Anhofus’s memories, fragments returning from the fourth step of the Path of Wisdom.

Asai suddenly felt that the truth was absurdly ironic.

Everything seemed like a cycle, with no real protagonists or antagonists, no real justice or evil.

Because he himself was the evil of this world, he was the beginning of everything.

It was he who created the Little Person in the Bottle, he who created the bone demons, he who unveiled all the disasters.

And then all of this, in another absurd way, came back to him.

“So… is this retribution?”

Asai looked towards the doctor: “Where are the rest of my memories?”

The doctor: “I heard Lord Divine Contract say that they should be hidden in the Door of Truth by God.”

“That’s all I know, I’ve told you everything I know.”

Having said all this, the doctor collapsed weaklessly on the ground.

He wailed and begged Asai, trying to move the person before him to spare his life.

“Asai!”

“Spare me, spare me.”

“I didn’t want this either, I didn’t want this.”

“We’re the same, powerless to control everything about ourselves, we can only follow the arrangements of others and fate.”

“You should understand me, we’re both pitiful people controlled by others.”

Asai stood up, letting out a light chuckle.

“Hehe~”

“Pitiful people?”

He took a deep breath, leaning on his cane as he lifted his foot.

The cane struck the ground, making a rhythmic tapping sound.

“When falling into the abyss of despair, who would sympathize with whom?”

Asai walked out, slowly closing the door.

Behind him, countless bone hands crawled out in the room, devouring the doctor.

Polik was waiting for Asai outside. He had already heard what the doctor said from outside the door.

He once again stared in disbelief at the young man before him, blind in both eyes and lame in one leg, finding it hard to imagine he had another name.

Anhofus.

This name, in the dark world, in the eyes of evil sorcerers, was not much different from a god.

Just like the Sage of Truth in the eyes of priests, or the God of Knowledge in the eyes of Ghost Cult members.

He was a student of Haru, the ancestral fire demon of monsters, the third-generation direct inheritor of the Temple of Truth, and also a direct descendant of the royal bloodline Samo family. He was the last person to preside over the Sky Temple.

It was also he who destroyed the Sacred Mountain and the God-Servant City, raising the curtain on the age of myths.

He was the subject of countless legends.

It seemed that from birth, he carried a kind of mad mission. His life was filled with untold stories, his arrogance in wanting to touch the power of God, his evil in being willing to pay any price.

No one could understand this madman, but no one dared to ignore him either.

Asai paid no attention to Polik’s gaze. “Let’s go,” he said. “We have another task to complete.”

Polik was beside himself with excitement. He had never imagined that one day he would be following someone like Anhofus.

His heart pounding, he asked, “What are we going to do?”

Asai replied, “Reclaim the memories that belong to me.”

Asai walked down step by step. “If all this evil originated from me…”

“If all this misery is the world’s retribution for me…”

“Then let me be the one to end it all!”

Asai was Anhofus, but at the same time, he was not Anhofus.

The Truth High Priest arrived in Anho City, intending to catch the Divine Contract High Priest off guard and apprehend this disciple abandoned by God on the spot.

He believed that if he could kill Xiao, the Divine Contract High Priest, with this merit and God’s favor, he would leap to become one of the three great high priests, truly controlling the Ghost Cult.

Just like Xiao before him.

What he didn’t expect was that when he arrived in Anho City, travel-worn and weary, Xiao had already vanished without a trace.

“What?”

“Divine Contract left?”

The kneeling Ghost Cult member said, “Before Lord Divine Contract left, he mentioned that you would be coming. He instructed us to await your orders and follow all your arrangements.”

The Truth High Priest immediately realized that Xiao had sensed something was amiss and had fled.

“Traitor.”

“He has abandoned his faith in God. No wonder God issued an oracle for me to deal with him. He had long harbored thoughts of betraying the deity.”

The Truth High Priest was furious. “Xiao,” he snarled. “You are God’s servant. Where do you think you can flee to? Your fate is sealed.”

“You have only one destination, and that is to become a ghost on the Sacred Mountain, returning to God’s realm.”

The Truth High Priest felt a mix of anger and confidence regarding Xiao’s escape and betrayal.

After all, Xiao’s power came from the God of Knowledge. No matter how far he ran, he couldn’t escape from the palm of the God of Knowledge.

But the Truth High Priest immediately discovered a serious problem when he prepared to first capture the experimental subject Asai, either to turn him into a ghost or bring his corpse back.

He immediately found that all the important members of the Path of Wisdom experiment had been killed.

And Asai, the experimental subject who had been imprisoned in the jail, had also long since escaped control and his whereabouts were unknown.

This was a big problem.

Before coming, he had received repeated instructions from the divine oracle that he must bring back this experimental subject Asai at all costs.

This indicated that Asai’s importance far exceeded that of the Divine Contract High Priest. The God of Knowledge attached great importance to this experimental subject.

The Truth High Priest stood in the prison, feeling that something was amiss.

“An eruption of fourth-level God’s Grace power?”

“Bone spirit power domain?”

The Truth High Priest didn’t understand. “What exactly was this Path of Wisdom experiment doing?”

God hadn’t told him, and now all the important members of the Path of Wisdom experiment had been killed. He had no way to obtain the information he wanted.

The Truth High Priest immediately reported everything he had seen upon arriving in Anho City and what had happened here to the God of Knowledge.

To his surprise, the divine oracle returned faster than he had imagined.

“Don’t worry about Xiao.”

“Find Asai, you must find him immediately.”

The God of Knowledge’s tone was urgent and severe. The Truth High Priest had never seen this side of the deity before.

Within hours, the entire Dark River region was mobilized in the search for Asai.

Every city, every small town and village had posted wanted notices for Asai.

The notices showed Asai’s appearance and described his characteristics: lame in one leg and blind.

Crowds gathered around the wanted posters, looking at this ordinary young man.

“Who is this? He doesn’t look special, his eyes are lifeless.”

“Asai, no surname.”

“Born in Rolling Stone Town, set fire to kill the priest of the Rolling Stone Town shrine and fled, infiltrated the Anho City security team…”

“Brutally murdered Baron Barrett, massacred over a hundred people in Anho City prison and escaped.”

“Multiple crimes, extremely dangerous.”

As people read Asai’s history and studied the portrait with its vacant eyes, their perception shifted dramatically. Whispers of fear and disgust rippled through the crowd.

“Extremely evil” was not enough to describe such a criminal.

On the Sacred Mountain.

When the Little Person in the Bottle heard the servant report that Xiao had run away, it didn’t react much. But when it heard that Asai, the experimental subject of the Path of Wisdom, had escaped, it was a completely different story.

The figure of the Little Person in the Bottle instantly swelled, pressing against the small flask. It writhed frantically to express its dissatisfaction and anger.

“What?”

“Escaped?”

“And mastered the power of fourth-level God’s Grace? Can even use the Bone Field?”

“When did this happen? Why haven’t I heard any reports?”

“Xiao, you traitor.”

“Useless, useless, all of you are useless and traitors.”

“No, no.”

“We must catch him immediately, we can’t let this guy cause any more trouble.”

The Little Person in the Bottle immediately transmitted the divine oracle, severely ordering the Truth High Priest.

“Find him at all costs. You must bring Asai back to me, no matter what it takes. This is your highest priority – act now!”

The God of Knowledge was infuriated by Xiao’s little trick, but Xiao’s move had indeed struck at the Little Person in the Bottle’s weak spot and vital point.

When it heard that Asai was missing, the Little Person in the Bottle was indeed a bit panicked for a moment.

However, thinking that the Truth High Priest was no ordinary fourth-level God’s Grace, and that he also carried the Door of Truth, dealing with a lame, blind Asai without complete memories shouldn’t be a problem.

Speed was of the essence. Given Asai’s current power and limited knowledge, he shouldn’t be able to evade the Truth High Priest for long.

But if they delayed, who knew what situation might arise? So the Little Person in the Bottle kept urging the Truth High Priest to find Asai, the experimental subject of the Path of Wisdom, immediately.

This also indirectly proved that Xiao’s move was indeed clever. At least until the Little Person in the Bottle caught Asai, it didn’t have much energy to deal with a deserter like Xiao.

The fury of the Little Person in the Bottle manifested in violent weather changes across the Sacred Mountain.

In the city at the foot of the mountain, the followers of the Ghost Cult prostrated themselves on the ground in fear, constantly bowing and praying towards the Sacred Mountain.

After a long while, the dark, gloomy clouds finally dispersed.

The Little Person in the Bottle calmed down and looked outside the bottle.

Its gaze fell on the entire Yinsai Kingdom, looking in the direction Xiao had fled. Its servant was trying every means to avoid its perception and escape from its control.

But all of this was in vain.

“Xiao!” it thundered. “Do you truly believe you can escape my grasp? Your efforts are futile.”

“No one, no one can escape my control.”

“Your fate, your everything, I’ve already arranged.”

The voice of the Little Person in the Bottle was like thunder: “In this world, the one who wants your life the most is not me.”

“There are plenty of people who want to take your life. If you don’t want to come to the Sacred Mountain to accompany the god eternally, if you’re unwilling to accept the great god’s reward for you.”

“Then go and accept your miserable fate, and the destiny that belongs to you!”

As the Little Person in the Bottle spoke these words, its tone became increasingly evil.

There was also an irrepressible laughter and anticipation.

It seemed to see another extremely exciting drama unfolding.