In the secret stronghold of the Ghost Cult.

One team after another returned from their missions. The Truth High Priest sat on his throne, receiving their obeisance like a king holding court with his subjects.

But as soon as he heard their reports, he stood up, berating everyone present with great fury.

“Still not found? So many people can’t find one person.”

“Useless, all of you!”

“Utterly useless…”

His voice echoed inside and out. All those wearing the robes of cultists bowed their heads, not daring to look at the High Priest.

The Truth High Priest was extremely anxious, even frantic.

The God of Knowledge had issued an order for him to deliver Asai to the Sacred Mountain as quickly as possible, dead or alive.

This deity was by no means a merciful god, never showing any compassion for his believers and servants.

Although this “as quickly as possible” seemed to have no time limit, the Truth High Priest knew that his god was never one for patience.

Moreover, the God of Knowledge giving him the Door of Truth wasn’t just for dealing with the Divine Contract High Priest Xiao and the Path of Wisdom experimental subject Asai, but also to place another layer of shackles on him.

If he couldn’t resolve the Asai situation when the God of Knowledge’s patience ran out, divine punishment would immediately descend upon his head.

But the current situation was that the person named Asai had completely vanished without a trace, like searching for a needle in the sea.

And internally, having just taken over the forces left behind by the Divine Contract High Priest Xiao, he couldn’t fully control the situation, with people openly and covertly trying to trip him up.

The people below remained silent, and the Truth High Priest grew increasingly furious.

“Arrest all of Asai’s friends, everyone associated with him, and put them on trial at the execution grounds.”

“Doesn’t he like to rescue people from the execution grounds?”

“Then let him rescue to his heart’s content all at once.”

Someone below spoke up: “If we do this, it will attract the attention of the Temple’s Demon-Hunting Group. They’ll realize that Anho City is completely out of control.”

“At that time, we might not lure out this Asai, but instead bring Anli, the leader of the Demon-Hunting Group.”

“Or even…”

The speaker paused, slowly uttering the name that had terrified them for decades: “The third-generation Sage, Vivien.”

Everyone knew that when Sage Vivien appeared, it meant that the terrifying monster Stuen would also descend upon Anho City.

By that time, probably none of them present would survive.

Moreover, what these Ghost Cult members understood least was why they were making such a big fuss over such a character.

The Truth High Priest looked at these people with cold eyes: “Oh?”

“So you’re saying that your fear of the Temple of Truth’s Sage now outweighs your faith in God?”

He roared: “This is God’s world. What you need is to offer your most devout faith to the God of Knowledge.”

“You must firmly believe that in this world, there is no one, no being that can obstruct God’s will.”

“Not Anli, the leader of the Demon-Hunting Group, not Sage Vivien, and certainly not that monster called Stuen.”

With the name of the God of Knowledge invoked, the faces of all present changed.

Under the Truth High Priest’s thunderous words, the people below hurriedly expressed their devotion, with the one who had raised objections earlier kowtowing incessantly.

After reprimanding these people, the Truth High Priest finally sat down.

“These are my orders.”

“And they are also God’s will.”

Everyone immediately dispersed to begin the next phase of the plan.

The Truth High Priest leaned back in his chair, his eyes deep in thought.

Even he didn’t know if this move would work, if it could draw out that Path of Wisdom experimental subject, Asai.

“Asai.”

“The Path of Wisdom experiment, Xiao’s desertion.”

“What… is all this for?”

Anho City fell into complete chaos. Guards broke into one house after another, shackling many people and dragging them out to prison carts.

The tranquility of the Saint An District was thoroughly shattered. All members of the local security team were arrested.

Asai’s former friends, acquaintances from the neighborhood, were all arrested one by one.

In the name of heretics.

In addition, many people from Rolling Stone Town were also being transported to Anho City in prison carts.

Everywhere, there was an overwhelming campaign proclaiming Asai as a heinous criminal who had sold his faith to an evil god, and that all these people were once his accomplices.

All those associated with him who had betrayed the faith of Yinsai would face trial at the execution grounds of Anho City.

The entire Dark River region was in an uproar, with Asai’s infamy reaching new heights through these proclamations.

Although Anho City was supposedly under the rule of Yinsai, it now looked no different from a city under the Ghost Cult’s control.

Even though the royal dynasty’s control over various regions had been declining since the death of the second-generation king of the Henir Dynasty, such a dire situation was still rare.

Immediately, some noticed the abnormality of the situation and quickly reported it to the God-Descended City.

On the main street.

When he saw the newly posted wanted notices and execution orders, Polik’s face immediately changed.

He pushed through the crowd and hurried back to Asai’s residence.

But when he stood at the door, Polik hesitated, not moving.

He didn’t know whether he should tell Asai or not.

His first instinct told him that this was a trap set for Asai, but he worried that not telling Asai might make him blame him later.

In this state of anxiety, Polik pushed open the door and went in.

The room’s white walls were covered with various symbols, and the floor was strewn with scrolls and ancient books. These days, Asai had been confining himself to the room, seemingly obsessed with finding some answer.

In the sunlight, Asai held up the Path of Wisdom tablet.

He carefully examined every symbol and word on it. Although the shining divine stones had long been removed, this tablet was far more precious than the divine stones.

Or rather, these patterns and words on the tablet were the most precious things.

Polik, who had originally been eager to say something, suddenly stopped when he saw Asai’s focused posture.

But Asai spoke first, questioning him.

“Polik,” Asai began, “Why do you think Xiao gave me this Path of Wisdom tablet, handing over the mythical path he spent a lifetime perfecting?”

Polik didn’t quite understand: “Is he afraid that after his death, no one would be able to inherit his knowledge?”

“But… that doesn’t seem right!”

After saying this, Polik also felt it was unlikely.

Asai nodded: “Xiao probably isn’t dead. He’s just hiding, hiding in a way that no one can find him.”

Polik voiced another thought: “Does he want you to confront the God of Knowledge? Is there a secret hidden in this tablet to defeat the myth?”

Polik immediately dismissed this idea: “That’s not right either!”

“If that were the case, why wouldn’t he defeat the God of Knowledge himself?”

Asai also believed that Xiao giving him this tablet was intended for him to defeat the Little Person in the Bottle.

He believed that hidden within this tablet Xiao gave him was the secret to defeating the Little Person in the Bottle.

That feeling was just an intuition.

A shared understanding between two geniuses from the Temple of Truth, both third-generation students of Sandean.

Polik hesitated repeatedly, but finally prepared to speak about what he had seen on the street: “I have…”

Asai interrupted what Polik was about to say: “Whatever it is, wait a moment. Let me figure out this Path of Wisdom tablet first.”

“These past few days, I’ve gone through all the books in the Yinsai Temple. I’ve finally understood what’s recorded on this tablet.”

“The power of God’s Grace is divided into four types: spirit, wisdom, desire, and knowledge. Among these, desire can also be called personality, and memory can be said to be knowledge.”

“Xiao created this Path of Wisdom based on the growth trajectory of mortals, mapping out the life journey of every intelligent being, depicting the path for mortals to reach myth.”

“According to Xiao’s Path of Wisdom, I am now a first reincarnation Path of Wisdom being, having stepped onto the path of myth.”

Asai cradled the tablet, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to himself.

“If the Path of Wisdom was perfected by Xiao, and I’m the first person to walk this path.”

“Then how did it become a myth? How did it put on the crown of myth without going through the Path of Wisdom?”

“If the God of Knowledge was already a myth, why did it need Xiao to find a way to step onto the Path of Wisdom?”

Asai didn’t understand. It completely defied logic.

He felt that this answer was likely the secret Xiao wanted to tell him, and also the weakness of the Little Person in the Bottle.

Asai paced in circles around the room, occasionally stopping to write a bunch of symbols that Polik couldn’t quite understand on any random scroll he found on the ground.

This went on for several days.

As the day of renewed executions at the execution grounds approached, Asai continued to search for answers tirelessly, day and night.

This actually made Polik feel relieved.

He thought to himself, “Better to let it play out this way. Their trap will fail on its own.”

Polik sat dozing in a chair in the living room when Asai, who had been kneeling on the ground writing something, suddenly stood up and shouted.

This startled Polik, causing him to jump up from his chair.

“I see it.”

“I’ve found the answer.”

Asai gripped the Path of Wisdom tablet and laughed, as if he had seen the truth of everything, an incredibly absurd truth.

“Hahahahaha!”

“What… what is this… so that’s how it is… that’s how it is.”

Asai held the Path of Wisdom tablet, his laughter uncontrollable. He turned to the confused Polik, words tumbling out between fits of laughter.

“It turns out… it turns out… it’s not a myth at all.”

Polik looked at Asai, thinking he had gone mad.

“Who’s not a myth? The God of Knowledge?”

“How is that possible?”

Hearing Polik refer to the Little Person in the Bottle as the God of Knowledge, Asai laughed even harder.

“What God of Knowledge?”

“It’s not a god at all.”

“It’s just a little person in a bottle, possessing a Mythical Artifact – nothing more.”

Asai explained to Polik, also interpreting the answer he had been seeking these past few days: “When Anhofus created the God of Knowledge, although he used the four-part secret technique of the God’s Grace Stone, he didn’t think of the method of reincarnation.”

“He obtained mythical blood through plunder, this power is external.”

“The God of Knowledge isn’t a god at all, nor is it a myth.”

“It’s just a little person trapped in a bottle. All its power comes from the bottle that constrains it. The bottle gives it power, but also eternally imprisons it within.”

Polik frowned. “But how does this help in defeating the Little Person in the Bottle?”

Asai nodded: “It’s useless for others, but for me, it’s extremely useful.”

Asai held the Path of Wisdom tablet, his eyes revealing complex emotions. His previously laughing demeanor gradually turned cold.

After a while, he slowly said.

“Xiao is very clever.”

“But one day when he falls into my hands, I won’t show him the slightest mercy.”

Asai saw the answer Xiao had left for him, the greatest flaw of the God of Knowledge itself.

Perhaps the God of Knowledge hadn’t fully realized it, but Xiao had noticed.

In this world, probably only Asai could see through Xiao’s arrangements and calculations, and only he could complete Xiao’s plan, delivering a fatal blow to the Little Person in the Bottle’s weakness.

Although he would absolutely never thank that guy.

Asai put away the Path of Wisdom tablet and donned the trench coat hanging on the wall.

He picked up his cane. Although the problem with his leg had long since healed, he was still accustomed to carrying it.

“Let’s go!”

Asai pushed open the door.

Polik chased after him: “Where are we going?”

Asai: “To see some old friends.”

Polik saw that Asai was heading in the direction of the execution grounds.

He realized that Asai had known all along what he wanted to say, and had even made his own plans and preparations. He had foolishly thought Asai knew nothing, hoping to just drag things out and muddle through.

He just didn’t know whether the old friends Asai mentioned referred to those old friends at the execution grounds.

Or to the Little Person in the Bottle.

At the execution grounds.

Curses, wails, and shouts intermingled in a cacophony as crowds surged.

Most people in the square had come to watch the spectacle, shouting from a distance.

“Kill these heretics.”

“Burn them, burn them.”

“Chop them into pieces.”

Many in the crowd were strangers to the prisoners, with no personal connection to the condemned. Yet they joined in the bloodthirsty clamor all the same.

Today they applaud the killing of Asai and his associates, tomorrow they’d cheer for the execution of someone else.

But what they didn’t know was that the execution grounds were now surrounded by sentries and priests disguised as civilians.

While ordinary people came to watch the spectacle at the execution grounds, the attention of others was already dispersed to every corner around the square.

As soon as Asai appeared, he would certainly be discovered.

And just as they expected.

Asai really did appear.

In the distance down the street, Asai sauntered towards the execution grounds.

Gazes from hidden places locked onto him, but he paid no attention.

The crowd immediately began to change, with many people quietly gathering towards him, subtly surrounding Asai in a large circle. The previously noisy voices also became somewhat quieter.

Arriving at the execution grounds, Asai called out.

“Make way!”

As soon as Asai spoke, the dense crowd really did open up a spacious path. Everyone involuntarily moved to both sides, and Asai walked along the path to the very front.

This abnormal situation also drew the attention of all the spectators.

Asai, walking in the center of the cleared path.

Extremely conspicuous.

The wailing prisoners on the execution grounds also saw Asai, those from Rolling Stone Town who were Asai’s fellow villagers, those who knew Asai in the past.

Although Asai had changed a lot, these people still recognized him.

“Asai,” someone called out. “You finally showed up, you bastard.”

“It really is Asai.”

“What the hell did you do? You’ve brought misery upon us all!”

Only now did the people present confirm that the notorious criminal wanted throughout the Dark River region was indeed the Asai they knew.

Asai faced everyone and bowed politely.

“Hello, everyone.”

“I am the heretic Asai you’ve been looking for.”

He smiled, and then a huge skeletal puppet crawled up from beneath his feet, carrying him to stand on the execution grounds.

The terrifying skeletal puppet was tens of meters tall, exuding a horrifying aura and power capable of destroying everything.

As soon as the skeletal puppet appeared, everyone in the square fled in terror.

“Ah!”

“Run!”

“The heretic, that heretic is here.”

“He’s going to kill us all.”

Everyone scattered in panic, but at the same time, many people pushed against the fleeing crowd, rushing towards the execution grounds.

The scene was utter chaos.

The former members of the security team, now all death row inmates, stared in shock at the power Asai displayed, their mouths agape.

None of them had imagined that the Asai they knew would have such a powerful side, one that made all of Anho City and even all of Yinsai tremble in fear.

As for the people from Rolling Stone Town, they felt they couldn’t recognize him at all anymore.

“Asai?”

“How is this possible?”

“He was just a poor country boy, someone without talent.”

“He possesses such powerful abilities, is he the legendary Seal Priest?”

Asai didn’t respond to these people’s confusion. He simply waved his hand lightly.

Countless bone hands crawled out across the square, grabbing the shackled prisoners and dragging them into the ground.

As soon as Asai arrived, he cleared the area, leaving only those who wanted to capture him.

Asai stood atop the skeletal puppet, looking at the others present.

“Alright. Whoever is looking for me, come out now!”

Shadows fell towards various corners of the execution grounds, forming a large barrier that enveloped the entire area.

A figure wearing an ornate robe stepped forward, emanating the power of a mental domain.

The Truth High Priest looked up at Asai: “You’ve finally come, experimental subject of the Path of Wisdom.”

Asai: “My name is Asai.”

Truth High Priest: “You dare to show yourself, it seems you’re prepared to die.”

Asai shook his head: “I’m still planning on returning alive!”

Faced with Asai’s arrogance, the Truth High Priest laughed: “Do you really think you can resist the power of God?”

Asai’s eyes flickered: “The power of God?”

“Very well!”

“Then let me witness it.”

As soon as Asai finished speaking, the skeletal puppet beneath his feet immediately sprang into action.

At the same time, one giant skeletal puppet after another crawled out from the ground, rapidly charging towards the barrier surrounding the execution grounds.

The Truth High Priest spread his arms, and light condensed in the void.

One after another, special puppets bearing stone tablets were born from the void, descending onto the execution grounds, clashing with Asai’s skeletal puppets.

The Truth High Priest’s puppets were incredibly powerful. The stone tablets they carried could even release various divine techniques, cooperating with each other to confront Asai’s skeletal puppets.

But Asai’s power seemed endless. Even when those bone demons were shattered, they could immediately reassemble. The bone demon puppets crawling out from the ground formed a great army, overwhelming the Truth High Priest’s puppets.

In an instant, the entire execution grounds along with some surrounding buildings were reduced to ruins.

As the two sides clashed, the Truth High Priest suddenly realized he was slightly outmatched by Asai.

This made the Truth High Priest feel somewhat embarrassed. After all, he was the High Priest of the Temple of Truth, one of the most powerful people in the world.

Asai, standing atop the skeletal puppet, looked down at the Truth High Priest: “Is this the power of God?”

The Truth High Priest was thoroughly enraged. He wanted to teach this mortal a lesson.

“Laughable.”

“Your power comes from God. Your strength is nothing but a castle in the air.”

“Asai, you’re nothing more than God’s plaything.”

Even now, the Truth High Priest still saw the person before him as just an experimental subject.

Asai let out a light chuckle, which to the Truth High Priest seemed more like mockery.

The Truth High Priest fully unleashed his power. Dozens of Ghost Cult members simultaneously activated a massive ritual array.

The ritual array burst forth with dazzling light, releasing endless symbols and text.

The entire Anho City felt a powerful pressure.

It was as if something terrifyingly extreme was about to cross space and descend upon Anho City.

“Let’s go, leave the city,” crowds surged at the city gates.

“Hurry, monsters are fighting over there. Let’s get out and hide for a while,” some civilians had already sensed the crisis.

“No, no, we can’t stay in the city any longer.” The city was in chaos, with many nobles beginning to feel unsafe and fleeing towards the outskirts.

In front of the Yinsai Temple, a Seal Priest had just sent news of Anho City’s situation to the God-Descended City. He looked helplessly towards the direction of the execution grounds.

“Two fourth-level God’s Graces.”

“How is this possible?”

“One is the Truth High Priest of the Ghost Cult, but who’s the other? I’ve never heard of them before.”

Several priests bowed to him: “Sir, let’s leave quickly!”

“Let’s get out and hide for a while. This situation is beyond our ability to interfere.”

These priests, who usually seemed so powerful, fled using divine techniques, not daring to even glance in the direction of the execution grounds.

At the execution grounds.

Buildings collapsed, the ground shattered.

The battle between skeletal puppets and stone tablet puppets continued. From the ritual array, symbols materialized into substance, and a massive door slowly rose up in the middle of the city.

The giant door stood on the earth, connecting to the clouds in the sky.
It was like a miracle made manifest.

When this scene appeared, everyone in Anho City was stunned. This was no longer just priests battling; this was the power of myth.

More and more people began to flee towards the outskirts, including the priests of the Yinsai Temple.

Under that massive door, everyone lived in constant fear, as if doomsday had arrived.

The Truth High Priest had summoned the Door of Truth. Now he felt that maddening power.

Like the previous generation’s Truth High Priest, he too was shaken to his core by this terrifying power.

At this moment, he was the god of the mortal world.

He stood beneath the giant door, spreading his arms and laughing wildly.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Do you see it?” he cried out, his voice filled with exultation. “This is the power of God, an unmatched power!”

A powerful force enveloped all of Anho City. With just a thought, the Truth High Priest could drag the consciousness of everyone in Anho City into another world.

Whether commoners, nobles, priests, or even those called God’s apostles, the God’s Graces.

But at this moment, he had only one target: Asai, who stood before him.

“Door of Truth.”

“Open!”

“Bestow divine punishment upon this mortal before me, let him feel true despair!”

Under the Truth High Priest’s control, the Door of Truth slowly opened.

Slow, but with an overwhelming aura and power.

Asai looked at the giant door connecting earth and clouds. He could even sense that behind the door seemed to exist another world.

That door had locked onto him; even if he fled to the ends of the earth, it would be useless.

Once the door opened, he would never be able to escape from here again.

But at this moment, he showed no panic at all. He looked at the Truth High Priest and slowly spoke.

“God?”

“Do you know? Your god was never a god at all!”

“The four-part secret technique of the God’s Grace Stone created its myth, and also divided its power into four parts.”

Asai stared at the Door of Truth, looking at the patterns on it.

“If the Light of Original Sin was born from its desire, originating from its inherent greed, then formed by devouring the desires of countless spirits.”

“Then the power of the Door of Truth and the foundation and source of everything is Anhofus’s knowledge and memories, because the Little Person in the Bottle was born from nothingness.”

“This is the weakness.”

“This is also why Xiao, upon discovering this weakness, chose neither to inform the God of Knowledge nor to exploit it himself.”

“Because in this world, only I can use this weakness.”

“Because those are my memories and knowledge, because another me is locked inside the Door of Truth.”

Asai’s voice grew louder and louder, resonating across the square like a great bell.

The Truth High Priest couldn’t understand what Asai was saying: “You fool, have you gone mad in the face of God’s power?”

Asai ignored the Truth High Priest, just looking at that Door of Truth.

He suddenly raised his cane and forcefully planted it on the head of the bone demon.

Calmly, he said: “This is not its Door of Truth.”

“This is my Door of Truth.”

“I am its true master.”

“It is my knowledge, my memories, the manifestation of my everything.”

“It’s not just power, but my past existence.”

As he finished speaking, something terrifying happened.

The Door of Truth disappeared from behind the Truth High Priest, suddenly dispersing into endless symbols and text.

That light transformed into a river, passing by Asai’s side and arriving behind him.

The Door of Truth, abandoning the Truth High Priest, materialized behind Asai with a thunderous crash.

With the Door of Truth at his back, Asai looked like a deity at this moment.

And the Truth High Priest, who had been so domineering just moments ago, instantly became a mortal awaiting divine punishment under the Door of Truth.

The Truth High Priest let out a shrill scream, completely terrified.

“How is this possible?”

“How is this possible… God… God.”

“This is God’s power, how could you possibly take it away?”

The Truth High Priest couldn’t understand how the power God had bestowed upon him could be snatched away so easily.

Perhaps even the God of Knowledge didn’t fully understand the true core of the Door of Truth’s power. It was just a monster created by Anhofus, just a bottled spirit that inherited Anhofus’s power and everything.

It knew the four-part secret technique of the God’s Grace Stone, but it would never understand the concept of pursuing immortality and truth within.

It obtained the Path of Wisdom, but would never understand Xiao’s explorations and sacrifices for reincarnation and myth.

Only the real Anhofus could understand all of this, understand the details and everything within that power.

And only the real Anhofus could find and exploit the weakness of the Little Person in the Bottle.

Asai opened the Door of Truth, aiming it at the Truth High Priest and his Ghost Cult members.

Endless light burst forth from behind him, covering Anho City.

“Who exactly are you?” The Truth High Priest stared dumbly at Asai, as if seeing another deity, another myth.

Asai didn’t answer directly, only saying:

“Guess who I am? Why does your god fear me so much?”

The Truth High Priest thought of Xiao, what a terrifying figure he was!

He had suppressed him for decades, a horrifying figure who single-handedly ruled the Ghost Cult and the dark world for an entire era.

If not for God’s support, he would never have dared to confront Xiao.

But in the eyes of the God of Knowledge, Xiao seemed insignificant compared to Asai. The God of Knowledge had been so urgent when mentioning Asai.

He even seemed somewhat panicked.

Thinking of everything, and what Asai had just done and said.

Until the last moment, he suddenly thought of someone.

He was terrified to the extreme, unable to believe what Asai had said.

“How is this possible?”

“You died long ago, you died long ago.”

“How could you possibly still be alive?”

Finally.

He shouted that name.

“You are Anho—”

At that moment.

The Door of Truth opened wide, revealing the world inside.

It swallowed the Truth High Priest, who was howling in despair, his body instantly turning to dust.

But his Seal Spirit, consciousness, and memories were eternally locked behind the door.

Asai turned around, walking step by step towards the open Door of Truth.

Dazzling light completely engulfed his figure as he stepped into the Door of Truth.

“I have arrived.”

When ordinary people enter the Door of Truth, it only reveals everything derived from their wisdom bloodline. But when Asai walked in, it was completely different.

A huge tree-shaped pattern emerged from his body, representing Asai’s fundamental form and also indicating that he was a reincarnator who had stepped onto the Path of Wisdom.

Asai entered the door, his expression solemn.

He knew this wasn’t the end; everything was just beginning.