“Steal?”

Chronicle was slightly startled: “Didn’t the books say that the Scenic Order tightly controlled the knowledge of myths and even placed prohibitions on it? How could those lackeys manage to steal ‘gods’?”

“Yes,” Wang Yan nodded slightly, her expression grave: “Everyone was played by that pack of dogs.”

“Before, everyone thought that the real threat was the Scenic Order, that these guys were just lackeys, no different from organizations like the Fusion Faction, Lost Paradise, or the Incomplete Sect.”

“But in reality, their organization’s leader is both wise and patient.”

“Suffering from infamy for a century, yet enduring it all, only to release seventeen gods in one go today.”

“My master once obtained half a line of ancient language in the ruins, which roughly means that the person who steals a hook will be executed, but the one who steals a nation can become an emperor. So what should we call those who have stolen many gods?”

Chronicle fell into silence.

He who steals a hook is executed, he who steals a kingdom becomes a prince; in the prince’s gate, righteousness resides.

This is a line from “Zhuangzi · Qu Qie.”

The meaning of the first half is not much different from Wang Yan’s understanding.

It’s just that the history of Jiuzhou is incomplete, unable to comprehend the meaning of ‘prince,’ so it was replaced with ’emperor.’

The second half means “The house of the prince has the name of righteousness, isn’t that righteousness and sacred knowledge stolen?”

It’s used to satirize the hypocrisy of certain people and events.

Wang Yan obviously didn’t know this second half of the sentence, but used it to ask him, “What do we call those who steal gods?”

“I don’t know what to call those who steal gods… The one who welcomes gods into the world, the one who accompanies them, is right before your eyes, named Chronicle.”

Chronicle, of course, wouldn’t speak his mind, but after pondering for a moment, he said: “One who commands gods?”

“That name isn’t bad,” Wang Yan stroked her chin, turning to look at him: “But those guys call themselves the God of Gods.”

“Jiang Ziya? Zeus? Odin?”

Hearing these somewhat chuunibyou titles, three names popped into Chronicle’s mind.

In Chinese mythology, “God of Gods” is just a lofty “empty title.”

And in Western mythology, “God of Gods” is the supreme deity in the pantheon, not only commanding all gods but also whipping the great world.

Regardless of the meaning, the title was frighteningly grand.

This made Chronicle involuntarily frown.

Ordinary people might become dizzy with excitement after years of repression and do something foolish.

But the higher-ups of the Scenic Order were all epic old kings who had endured humiliation for a century without showing a trace, capable of both acting and enduring.

Their terrifying nature had reached an inconceivable level.

Chronicle didn’t believe that such a group of people would give themselves such a grand title at the beginning of their rise, without any achievements.

“Aren’t they afraid of becoming the target of public criticism?”

Chronicle couldn’t figure it out and didn’t bother to ponder further.

This was a headache for the Card Craftsman Alliance and the Scenic Order.

As a high school student, his priority was to do well in competitions and studies.

So, after chatting for a bit more, he bid farewell to Wang Yan and returned to his tent.

“Good job, I’ll arrange a few games for you later.”

Chronicle chuckled and ruffled Ying Tai’s hair, then turned around, his body involuntarily shuddering.

He saw Dai Yu, who had appeared behind him at some point, her gaze deep, holding a dull, black, heavy spade in her hand.

But this spade was different from the ones he had seen before, with many delicate buttons and two rows of marked holes, looking quite intimidating.

“Well done.”

Chronicle casually took out a lychee-flavored lollipop from his pocket, handed it to Lin Daiyu, and ruffled her hair again.

“Hmph.”

A light snort sounded in his sea of consciousness.

Lin Daiyu turned around with the candy in her mouth, the spade head rotating and nearly hitting his head.

“This girl.”

Chronicle shook his head and carefully checked the tent again to make sure nothing was left behind. Then he retracted Ying Tai and Dai Yu into his sea of consciousness and summoned Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers to protect himself.

Although it wasn’t the first time he had encountered such an emergency, compared to the “fearless calf” when he first crossed over, he was now extremely calm, in the midst of a “divine event.” To say he wasn’t nervous at all would be impossible.

Only with these two gold-medal guards by his side did he feel sufficiently secure.

“Seven Brothers, Eight Brothers, let’s go.”

These two great deities seemed to sense something amiss, not as carefree as before, but each emitted a yin energy aura, as if driving something away.

Then they stood to the left and right behind Chronicle, each holding a weapon, their faces solemn.

“Is everyone here?”

Outside the tent, Wang Yan stood at the front of the vehicle, her gaze lingering on Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers for a moment longer.

“Let’s go.”

This time the association dispatched three transport vehicles to carry these students and their card spirits.

After all, it was the first time they encountered an event involving gods, and everyone felt insecure.

Anxiety and tension almost crawled onto everyone’s faces.

Only by having the card spirits they personally crafted by their side could their hearts settle down a bit.

“Sigh.”

The vehicle started, and Chronicle couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Turning to look at everyone, their faces were not as bad as before.

Some of the more carefree even began to whisper:

“Do you think we can win this time? Those are gods!”

“So what if they are gods? Many of the high-risk secret realm creatures are also called ‘gods,’ and they are still dealt with by the Zhenyuan Army. You just relax, there will definitely be no problem.”

“Day after day, there’s never a moment of peace… Now with this incident, who knows if the finals can still go on.”

“What does that have to do with you? With Chronicle and Gao Sheng there, do you think you can make it to the finals? Always thinking about things that have nothing to do with you, aren’t you afraid of losing hair?”

“I’m just saying…”

The man didn’t finish his words when the truck suddenly shook.

Chronicle, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, expanding his sea of consciousness and continuing to cultivate his mental power, suddenly opened his eyes.

Humans are creatures of strong curiosity.

Even though they were scared to death, the people inside the vehicle still braved their fears under the protection of their card spirits, lifted the specially made tarp, and looked towards the camp.

They saw an infinitely tall, ashen and shattered figure hanging in the distant sky.

It was as if strangled by a rope made of clouds, its body naturally drooping, looking very relaxed.

Seeing this, everyone held their breath.

Card Craftsmen are those who value knowledge over life.

They knew that the scene they witnessed today would surely bring endless inspiration and benefit them for life.

Thus, they forcibly suppressed their physiological fear, widened their eyes, and looked.

As the Mist gradually dissipated, some with higher cultivation and sharper eyes finally saw the true face of that divine figure.

Including the one on its neck, it had nine heads, or rather, one head with eight faces.

Apart from certain unspeakable parts, those faces with half-closed eyes were also distributed on its shoulders, abdomen, and thighs.

Not only were they not ugly, but they were also quite exquisite.

Paired with the limestone-colored skin, it was like a meticulously carved ancient Greek sculpture, only with Eastern faces.

But it was this human yet non-human sensation that filled everyone with the terror of the uncanny valley effect.

Chronicle, sitting at the innermost part of the vehicle, felt somewhat nauseous. If not for Seven Brothers transmitting yin energy to regulate him, he might have vomited on the spot.

In this carriage, his vision was the best.

Therefore, he saw some things that others couldn’t…

That infinitely tall, divine body was actually made of rotting flesh!

And those faces, with maggots constantly wriggling, burrowing straight into the eye sockets…

“I can’t stand it… Is this also called a god?”

Just as Chronicle withdrew his gaze, the face on the left shoulder of the divine figure suddenly opened its eyes without warning, the maggots falling with a rustle, and the world suddenly burst into blinding light.

Gaudy and dazzling.

Seven Brothers slightly frowned and, a moment before the light burst, covered Chronicle’s eyes with his hand.

While others dazzled by the light fell into temporary blindness.

“Bao Juan, my eyes!”

The people who had never experienced such a thing before wailed, covering their eyes and rolling around in the vehicle, rolling to Chronicle’s feet.

Eight Brothers extended a foot to hook one of them, then flicked a wisp of yin energy to help them get rid of the burning sensation.

Then he stepped forward, his well-defined hands grabbing two students blocking the way and tossing them backward for Seven Brothers to treat.

He himself kicked open the rear barrier of the vehicle, his arms encircling his seated form, gazing distantly at the face on the left shoulder of the divine figure.

“Shh—”

The head of the divine figure had unknowingly opened its eyes.

Now, tilting its head, it looked somewhat bewilderedly at Eight Brothers, and behind him, Seven Brothers.

It was also only appearing in the form of a card spirit, its spirit incomplete.

Even with nine “CPUs,” they were all calculating separately, so many things were incomprehensible.

For example, right now, those faces showed expressions of confusion, surprise, doubt, fear, sadness, and more.

But Eight Brothers remained coldly indifferent.

His body, as if cast from steel, reflected a metallic sheen under the purple light.

His aura climbed steadily.

In no time, he easily stepped into the four-star realm, a breakthrough he hadn’t achieved in the previous fifteen days.

“Shh—”

The divine figure lowered its eighteen eyelids, as if contemplating.

Finally, it silently turned around, facing the ant-like Zhenyuan Army, opened three pairs of eyes, and instantly stirred up a sky of purple-black thunder and green ghost fire.

Some experts couldn’t avoid it in time, were touched by the splinters, and lost their lower legs, arms, and many lost their lives on the spot.

Card spirits of various forms fell one after another, a large number of energy card-driven steel monsters were overturned, causing explosions, and flames shot into the sky.

And the face looking towards the transport vehicle pretended to be completely closed but was actually slightly squinting, secretly observing Seven Brothers, Eight Brothers, and Chronicle, who was fully armed and protecting himself.

The expression was like that of a child who is afraid of firecrackers during the New Year but can’t help but watch.