Chapter 26-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

Bai Muqing, the usually solitary and aloof nun, joined the Divine Academy's team?

As the gentle, snowflake-like motes of light melted into her palm, Ye Zheng stared at her smooth hand, knowing there was no escape now.

On the other side of the street.

After her Divine Domain unfolded, the entire Demonic Domain was under Bai Muqing's control.

From the specific locations of all fifteen contestants, including herself, to the frequency of their breathing, the arc of their fluttering eyelashes, and even the current state of their souls: surprise, disbelief, anxiety, fear...

Suddenly, the girl with her eyes closed turned her head slightly.

Within the entire Demonic Domain, only two souls remained calm besides her. One person's soul color was a jumbled, glaring mess like an overturned palette; this was Yin Kong beside her.

The other's soul was composed of extreme black and white, resembling a chaotic calamity. She had only ever seen this on one person.

Bai Muqing’s throat moved slightly, and she finally swallowed the name that had been on the tip of her tongue, not speaking it aloud.

Yin Kong, who was next to her, glanced over, seeming to notice the unnatural expression on her face.

"What's wrong? What did you see?"

Bai Muqing didn't answer. After a long silence, she reported a few locations.

"Let's go. My shadow can't grow any further, or it'll cause a huge problem."

Bai Muqing walked ahead, and Yin Kong, accustomed to her maverick ways, had no choice but to follow.

The silver-haired boy leaned close, smiling as he suggested, "Since you've opened your Divine Domain, why don't we take this opportunity to put everyone else to sleep? That way, only we from the Divine Academy will have a chance to destroy the core."

Within her Divine Domain, Bai Muqing could exert control over everyone's souls, manipulating their emotions, thoughts, or causing them to lose consciousness, or even lose control of their abilities, leading to a self-destructing overload... It was a top-tier S-rank talent.

Bai Muqing's eerie white pupils rotated, her expression cold.

"I don't like being someone else's blade."

Bai Muqing's goal was clear; she was only interested in Ye Zheng. What happened to the Divine Academy was none of her business.

But why would Ye Zheng be here, with the Cloud-Soaring Squad from the lower district? Bai Muqing's brows furrowed as she realized this guy seemed to be up to something again. Wasn't the position of Saintess enough for her to play around with?

"Ha," Yin Kong laughed, "It looks like we've brought an absolute troublemaker into the team."

"You're making me even more curious about Ye Zheng. I knew she was hiding a lot, but it seems she's going to be even more of a surprise than I expected."

Yin Kong thought with great interest that Ye Zheng, a A-rank healer, could be a source of such intrigue for someone with a top-tier talent like Bai Muqing.

She truly was worthy of the three days of power he had once completely exhausted just to draw a Fate Card for her—

The Great Flood.

The card foretold a world-destroying flood. At the time, his hands trembled as he held the card, as if he was about to be swallowed by this future catastrophe.

The two walked down the street when Bai Muqing, as if sensing something, came to a halt.

On the other side of the street, another team appeared, their steps hurried.

"There's only Percy's shadow left. Damn it, where the hell did it go?"

"What was that white light just now? It felt so nice landing on me."

"Please, Miss Lucy, can you focus on what's important?"

Percy and Caleb walked at the front, while Roy and Lucy bickered as they hurried along. The quiet young man slowly walked at the back, a trace of almost unnoticeable solemnity on his face.

Ye Zheng's mind raced. Bai Muqing must have recognized her.

She had to prepare for two possibilities: either Bai Muqing hadn't told anyone, or the people around Bai Muqing already knew.

Assuming the latter, Zhao Mei's identity would be hard to conceal, unless she could eliminate everyone who knew without a trace within this Demonic Domain.

Fortunately, from what she knew of Bai Muqing, the former was more likely.

Bai Muqing was arrogant and disdained gossiping about others' secrets. Besides, she and Ye Zheng were considered friends.

[Wait, how are you two friends?]

[In the original novel, your relationship was not good. Bai Muqing was resentful that you stole her Saintess position and repeatedly provoked and targeted you during competitions.]

[To save you, Percy fought her. His ability greatly upgraded at a critical life-or-death moment, and he defeated Bai Muqing. From then on, Bai Muqing no longer targeted you and became very admiring of Percy...]

Ye Zheng imagined the scene of Bai Muqing looking at Percy with admiration. Her expression became hard to describe, and she looked at Percy's back with a subtle, strange look.

"I think Percy might have other abilities."

[!!!]

Seeing the system's reaction, Ye Zheng paused, a hint of surprise in her eyes, followed by a mischievous smile.

"What I meant to say is, it seems like everyone around Percy is forced to lower their abilities and intelligence. He has a magical power comparable to an ability."

[That's the protagonist's halo! The creator isn't that smart themselves, so they can only show the protagonist's intelligence and ability in this way, hahaha.]

The system's tone had an air of self-conscious awkwardness.

"But after seeing your reaction, it turns out Percy really does have more than one ability."

Ye Zheng waited for the system to finish explaining before leisurely adding her comment.

[...]

[Fine. It won't affect the plot if you know anyway. A protagonist always has to have some cheats.]

Ye Zheng didn't expect to have accidentally stumbled upon a secret about the protagonist.

No wonder Percy's actual performance far exceeded his talent rank evaluation. He was actually the second dual-ability user in the empire's history.

His rarity was in no way inferior to Sykes's 3S-rank talent. If both of his abilities could reach S-rank or higher, he could very well surpass Sykes and become the strongest person in the Holy Sei Empire!

This is the protagonist, Ye Zheng realized once again. She, the female lead, was truly like a dispensable freebie.

Speaking of dual-ability users, besides the living Percy in front of her, only one other dual-ability user had ever been recorded in the empire.

Five hundred years ago, when the Demonic Domains descended, humanity was in disarray in the face of the sudden catastrophe. One ability user led humanity to sweep through countless high-risk Demonic Domains. They possessed two 3S-rank abilities, slayed the demonic dragon in a super S-rank Demonic Domain, and buried its bones underground. From then on, the Holy Sei Empire ended the chaos brought by the Demonic Domains and entered an era of order. Afterward, this god-like ability user vanished.

That was the God of Hope, the deity Ye Zheng, as Saintess, was destined to serve for life.

The smile in Ye Zheng's eyes faded. She looked meaningfully at Percy's back. This was a manga; there wouldn't be too many coincidences.

Given that Percy's apparent ability was [Metal Transmutation], what was his other ability? After observing for the past few days, Ye Zheng hadn't noticed any sign of another ability.

She quickened her pace, wanting to observe Percy more closely. As she looked up, she noticed the two people on the opposite side walking with a leisurely air.

Yin Kong, Bai Muqing.

The Cloud-Soaring Squad stopped in unison upon seeing the figures opposite them, and the atmosphere solidified.

They had been lucky to not run into the Divine Academy much in the second-stage competition. Although being targeted by Sykes's team was tough enough, Sykes's straightforward and aggressive attacks were almost endearing compared to the mysterious and unpredictable people from the Divine Academy.

Even if they weren't very familiar with the Divine Academy, one look at their holy, unapproachable attire was enough to know who they were.

Besides, they had a history with some of the people from the Divine Academy.

"It's Percy. Long time no see."

Yin Kong was the first to break the deadlock, waving nonchalantly at the Cloud-Soaring Squad.

Percy returned a polite smile. "What a coincidence. Are you guys also hunting for your shadows?"

"Hahaha, no, we're trying to find and eliminate opponents first, then deal with the Demonic Domain's monsters slowly."

Yin Kong seemed completely oblivious to the more wary and serious atmosphere of the team opposite him. He even summoned his [Fate Cards] ability, smiling as he invited, "Want to draw a card? Let's see who can take down this Demonic Domain today."

Bai Muqing turned her expressionless face away, seeming unwilling to admit that the person beside her was her teammate.

Percy's mouth twitched, and he did his best to maintain a friendly expression. It wasn't a good idea to directly confront the Divine Academy people right now.

His shadow was drawing energy from him. The top priority was to deal with the shadow first. What's more, Yin Kong was... a tricky guy to deal with, a mix of friend and foe.

During the second-stage competition, he often wandered off from the Divine Academy team on his own. At first, the Cloud-Soaring Squad thought he was an innocent ordinary resident who had wandered in, but they were severely tricked by him and had all their tokens taken. However, later, after they got into trouble with Sykes, Yin Kong helped them out a great deal, making it difficult for them to judge what kind of person he was.

"It's pretty obvious. He's just bored out of his mind."

Ye Zheng objectively commented to the system in her head.

[Don't be fooled by his unpredictable actions. This kind of powerful "fun-seeker" persona is very popular. His unrestrained personality and the abstinent identity of a probationary priest create a strong contrast, plus he has white hair!]

[With all these hot buffs stacked, he's way cooler than you.]

The system sighed in admiration.

Ye Zheng touched her black choppy hair. Was white hair really that popular? She should have bought a white wig.

[Don't worry, with your relentless effort, there's still hope for you to surpass his popularity!]

Ye Zheng thought that there wouldn't be any sense of accomplishment in surpassing a guy like him. She couldn't understand Yin Kong's charm at all. If she couldn't even beat him, she might actually feel a little hurt.

"This is not the time for jokes, Yin Kong."

"You guys are also looking for your shadows, right? This isn't a normal Demonic Domain. Maybe we should cooperate to achieve the primary goal of destroying the core."

Percy said with a slightly cold expression. Hearing this, Yin Kong put away his cards and walked over, putting an arm around Percy's shoulder with a friendly smile.

"Of course I was joking, my friend."

"You know me, I don't like fighting and killing. As long as Little Qing agrees, we'll cooperate! Your shadow is not easy to deal with, is it?"

The shadow would drain the person's power, and once it reached a certain point, it might cause irreversible damage to their body. Yin Kong, who was always smart and unpredictable, of course knew what the most important thing was right now.

Percy looked at the white-haired, white-eyed girl not far away, and his heart jumped. Was she the legendary [Divine Domain] Bai Muqing? Was that light just now her ability?

Bai Muqing was hailed as the strongest female ability user of the younger generation. Of course, regardless of gender, the strongest ability user of the younger generation was undoubtedly Sykes. Bai Muqing was still a fair bit behind Sykes.

But this title was enough to prove Bai Muqing's strength.

When Bai Muqing heard Yin Kong suggest cooperation, her white pupils turned slightly, and her vacant gaze locked onto one direction. Percy followed her line of sight and looked back— she seemed to be looking at Zhao Mei?

"Alright, let's cooperate."

Bai Muqing spoke, her voice as cold as her appearance.

The Cloud-Soaring Squad members breathed a sigh of relief. Although they didn't know why there were only two people in the Divine Academy team, Bai Muqing's pressure alone was strong enough.

"Since we're going to cooperate, let me first show our team's sincerity."

Percy watched in surprise as the usually quiet and reserved young man walked forward, ignoring the chilling stare of the white pupils, and approached Bai Muqing. He seemed to touch her right arm.

"There's a knife wound here. You must have also run into Percy's shadow. The damage caused by Percy's ability heals very slowly and can even leave permanent scars."

"You need my healing, Muqing."

In the last sentence, Ye Zheng spoke in a whisper only the two of them could hear, looking up with a gentle smile into the girl's eerie white pupils.

The quiet-looking young man was surprisingly tall, his figure blocking their interaction.

"Also, thank you."

Ye Zheng's healing stream gently soothed the girl's wound, her voice as soft as her ability.

"You're thanking me too early. Participating in the competition with a fake identity is a violation."

In the private atmosphere that only the two of them shared, the nun, who was always disciplined and courteous, spoke in a serious voice, looking up with a sharp expression.

"Will you allow me to bribe you, Bai Muqing?"

"After this is over, perhaps you can get the position you want most."

The girl regained her original voice, speaking with a sigh.

Bai Muqing's delicate brows furrowed. Her vacant white pupils stared unblinkingly, as if in deep thought.

What exactly did Ye Zheng want? She was appointed by the Curia to help the Crown Prince, yet on the other hand, she was disguising her identity to join a lower district team...

"The Saintess should stand at one end of the scales of justice. If you want to expose me, I won't have any regrets."

"After all, I'll be exposed sooner or later and lose the Saintess position."

"If you're the one to succeed me, that would be the best possible outcome."

Ye Zheng lowered her eyes, a peaceful smile on her lips, as if she were at ease with her future.

Bai Muqing couldn't see her face, but she could taste a hint of bitterness in her soul.

The soul woven from black and white was truly terrifying, yet it also exuded a strange, captivating light that invited further exploration.

Bai Muqing slowly blinked. There was only one explanation for Ye Zheng's actions. Ye Zheng wanted to help the Cloud-Soaring Squad win the championship, so the lower district could gain the protection of the dragon bone.

She showed a complex expression. This woman didn't believe in the God of Hope, yet she was closer to the definition of a divine proxy than anyone else in the Curia.

"I understand, Ye Zheng. I won't expose you. I would never use such a despicable method, but I will definitely surpass you."

Not just in ability, but in resolve. Ye Zheng could go to such lengths; it was the first time Bai Muqing felt she had lost.

To get the lower district team to the champion's podium, she was willing to give up everything...

The girl's white pupils trembled slightly, and her cold face showed a flicker of emotion.

A hint of a smile flashed in Ye Zheng's eyes, hidden by her thick eyelashes. The healing water in her hand flowed joyfully over Bai Muqing's arm, completely devoid of any bitterness.

Her old friend and rival was, as expected, very easy to talk to.

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