Chapter 143-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
When the plotline centered on the protagonist moves forward, the creator will take turns giving the spotlight and screen time to important supporting characters. This serves to enrich the work's content and flesh out the characters' images; it is a common trope in manga.
In the original plot, every member of the Cloud-Soaring Squad had their own exclusive arc, and the original heroine Ye Zheng was no exception.
The dome, carved with intricate patterns, looked down upon the two of them. Sykes' voice echoed on the empty high platform, "Ye Zheng, this is the last time we work together."
Sykes emphasized the word "last" heavily. He did not look at Ye Zheng again and strode towards the exit of the hunting ground. Before leaving, he dropped another sentence, "In exchange, my attendant will satisfy your requests."
Ye Zheng turned her head, looking at Sykes' back thoughtfully.
Compared to when she first formally met him, Sykes had truly become much smarter; he had learned to trade and endure.
His growth was too sudden. Apart from her accidentally helping him awaken some memories, there must be other factors at work. Ye Zheng recalled the subtle relationship between the Emperor and Sykes; Sykes had a lot of grievances against the Emperor.
That "last" Sykes just said carried a hint of rejection. Was he rejecting her as a teammate, or... was he dissatisfied with the marriage the Emperor had arranged for him?
Ye Zheng could tell from Sykes' reaction that he probably knew about the Emperor's arrangement and resisted this future marriage.
This wasn't surprising. The Emperor viewed her as a Holy Vessel; this marriage was essentially a continuation of the Hope Project. He likely wanted to experiment to see if two "successful products" could create an even more successful "hope".
[Since both of you parties involved resist this arrangement, do you want to ally with Sykes?] The System asked curiously.
"Cooperation requires energy to maintain mutual trust. Sykes is not worth me spending that energy."
Besides, she hadn't forgotten that the System told her she would be killed by Sykes in the original plot.
There was no clue about this part of the plot yet. Ye Zheng couldn't deduce the reason why Sykes would kill her. Although she had changed many plot points, the plot had gravity. If it was a key plot point, fate would try to push them towards the established ending in various ways.
The thought of a death ending still existing made Ye Zheng feel an inexplicable sense of urgency. Assuming Sykes was determined to kill her, her current strength would be difficult to cope with.
It was impossible to significantly improve her abilities in a short time, but what if she obtained the [Mother of All Things]?
The magical ability to create life, the treasure passed down through generations in the Sei Curia. Ye Zheng made up her mind once again; she must obtain it.
Ye Zheng was about to leave the hunting ground when a familiar voice called out to her. Turning her head, she met Ye Di's sheepish face.
"Oh, Little Di, are you still working here?"
"Isn't this the good job you arranged for me? As soon as school is over, I have to come to this bro—overwhelmingly wealthy place to guard those monsters." Ye Di saw someone passing by and quickly changed his words.
Ye Zheng comforted him, "Father is about to be promoted to serve as the Chief Judge of the Ability Tribunal. Don't be anxious; your future will definitely be as... bright as Father's."
After the Saintess's case ended, Ye Fanjing had been deliberately avoiding her at home. It was the first time she saw Ye Fanjing looking timid at home. Ye Zheng didn't find a chance to get information out of him, but she heard the news that he was going to be promoted.
The Ability Tribunal was different from the Upper District Court. It only judged major cases involving ability users, and at the same time managed Demonic Domain resources, was responsible for responding to Demonic Domain disasters, and coordinated relevant personnel.
The power of the Chief Judge of the Ability Tribunal was far greater than that of the Upper District Grand Justice. The previous Chief Judge resigned to apologize for the Blood Flower Incident caused by Sierra. Ye Zheng didn't expect the Emperor to be so generous to Ye Fanjing—so generous that it looked like a trap.
"Sister, I heard Yu Tianming is withdrawing from the Royal Squad. For this competition, can you ask the Crown Prince to..." Ye Di pointed at himself with expectation in his eyes.
He had had enough of this place full of the smell of monster saliva. What was the use of the Crown Prince coming to the hunting ground often? He didn't even look at him, let alone appreciate him. Ye Zheng was indeed pitting him again!
Ye Zheng lowered her head slightly, looking at her brother who was only 1.7 meters tall. She stared at Ye Di's indignant expression, and after a moment, smiled and nodded.
"Of course. You are an S-rank ability user; I think His Highness won't refuse you."
Ye Di immediately broke into a smile, calling her "sister" repeatedly and trying to get close to Ye Zheng. Ye Zheng moved away calmly, rejecting his touch. "I still have things to do. If you want to join the Royal Squad, fulfill your current duties well first. The Crown Prince has been watching your performance."
"Really?" Ye Di was half-doubting.
Ye Zheng nodded perfunctorily. Ye Di liked to dress flamboyantly and wander around; it would probably be hard for Sykes not to see him.
Getting a satisfactory answer, Ye Di left happily, unaware of what awaited him in the future.
Ye Zheng reached into her pocket and gripped her phone tightly.
In the latest original plot preview, "Ye Zheng" was guarding the unconscious Percy on a small boat floating in the middle of the water, protecting Percy behind her, facing the menacing—Ye Di alone.
Ye Di's ability was more like their mother's. In the manga, he controlled the algae under the water, as if to drag the boat to the bottom. The "Ye Zheng" in the manga showed an expression of helplessness mixed with a trace of determination, trying to stop Ye Di and buy time for Percy to wake up.
This was one of the few highlight moments for Ye Zheng in the original manga.
When Ye Zheng heard the System tell her that her manga arc was coming, she couldn't help but feel expectant. She quickly opened the manga app on her phone to browse, then looked disgusted.
[In the original plot, Ye Zheng joined the Cloud-Soaring Squad, while Ye Di joined the Royal Squad. To protect Percy, you, acting as the healer, made up your mind to stop your most spoiled brother.]
After listening to the System's explanation, Ye Zheng's expression became even more incredulous. Just the phrase "your most spoiled brother" was enough to shock her for a whole day.
The highlight plot was speechless, but it revealed a lot of information. The tournament would take place in a location containing a huge lake, which was very favorable for her.
Ye Di's sudden appearance indicated that in the original plot, someone from the Royal Squad also withdrew. Although Ye Di was a useless idiot, his S-rank ability looked decent enough, so it wasn't surprising he was selected for the Royal Squad.
Now she and Ye Di were about to become teammates, no longer opponents as in the original plot. She wondered how the plot would develop.
Maybe she would knock Percy unconscious, and then conveniently beat up her willful brother too?
Ye Zheng thought this development was not bad; she could accept it, and it would save action points for modifying the plot.
Sending Ye Di away, Ye Zheng left through the hunting ground gate. A man in a guard uniform was waiting outside. Ye Zheng recognized him as the subordinate Sykes had recently promoted; Sykes told her to find this attendant if she had any requests.
"Lady Saintess, what can I do for you?"
"I want to visit the Royal Library. Please arrange it for me immediately."
"Uh, today?"
"Immediately. I want to go now."
Ye Zheng's tone allowed no refusal.
She had gone through the books in the Sei Curia and couldn't find more clues. The Royal Library was larger and more mysterious; perhaps there would be some surprises.
The guard personally led Ye Zheng to the most secluded corner of the palace. A magnificent circular white palace stood on the lawn, with few people around.
Ye Zheng pushed the door open and entered the library alone. Without troubling the staff, she walked around by herself. After understanding the classification method of this library, she soon found a row of books recording history on a tall bookshelf on the third floor.
History books were mostly written by clergy. The authors of these royal collections, besides clergy, also included some noble scholars and royal princes. Their angles of approach were obviously different from the Sei Curia's official stance.
For example, History of the Upper District she was reading now mentioned the suspicion surrounding the death of a certain Pope. It was rumored that someone accidentally pushed open the coffin lid at his funeral and was shocked to find that his corpse was completely a dried mummy.
The official statement was death from overwork. At that time, there was a wave of conspiracy theories in the Upper District. Perhaps this Pope had neglected his duty and was punished by the God of Hope, resulting in such a strange death state. The Sei Curia quickly suppressed such remarks.
"Dried mummy?"
It sounded a bit miserable. The inheritance of the [Mother of All Things] would likely take away all the life force of the predecessor. In this view, the death of the holder should be a necessary condition for inheritance.
Ye Zheng was a bit puzzled. Did every Pope willingly sacrifice their life to pass the ability to the next Pope?
That was impossible.
An ability that could create all things, a supreme authority—how many people could selflessly sacrifice their own lives to give it to others?
The fact that the [Mother of All Things] could be passed down from generation to generation only showed that every generation of Popes had to do so.
Ye Zheng put History of the Upper District back on the shelf and began to browse other books. Suddenly, she slowly furrowed her brow, placed several books on the floor, spread them out, and squatted down to look at them.
"God's Calendar 208, God's Calendar 208... God's Calendar 209."
Ye Zheng found that there were different records for the death time of a Pope. Two books here recorded it as God's Calendar 208, but every book in the Sei Curia wrote God's Calendar 209.
Ye Zheng continued to read quickly. More than one Pope had different records for their time of death, and some had differences in their time of succession.
"The time in reign is the time holding the [Mother of All Things]..."
Why did they cover up the time? Ye Zheng had once calculated the average reign of the Popes; it was 25 years.
It was very likely that each Pope only held the [Mother of All Things] for 25 years. Once the 25 years were up, they would inevitably face death!
Ye Zheng's expression became solemn. She didn't have the patience to wait until Wen Jian's 25 years were over.
"Respected Pope, yesterday the Sei Curia in the Lower District received many prayer letters again. People hope the Saintess can go to the Lower District to host sermons."
"We old faces are getting tired of being seen."
A hunchbacked old man in white robes leaned on a cane. His turbid eyes were very spirited, looking at Wen Jian with a smile.
Wen Jian stared at the old man wordlessly. He was Bishop Ai Xian, one of the cardinals. There must have been a vote from this old guy among the opposing votes he received at the Papal election meeting back then.
"The Saintess's fame and prestige, I see, are not much less than yours. As expected of the Saintess you personally selected back then, Pope; it is truly surprising."
The old man's mockery was blatant. Wen Jian couldn't even maintain his usual gentle expression.
"Ye Zheng is a very excellent child, but she is still too young. I don't feel at ease handing over the sermon hosting to her. What do you think, Pope?"
A shrewd light flashed in the old man's turbid eyes.
Hearing this, Wen Jian, standing with his hands behind his back in the center of the room, curved his lips into a slightly cold smile.
"I think we have reached a consensus on this matter. The Saintess is still too young, but she herself cannot see this clearly."
"I have already made arrangements. She is the Saintess I personally selected; she should also be... taught by people I send."
Glimpsing the killing intent in Wen Jian's eyes, the old man nodded in relief, yawned, turned, and left.
It was enough to have one Pope and twelve bishops leading the Sei Curia and the people, the old man thought.
Lower District, a small tavern.
"Hello seniors, I am Wen Xiaoxing, a second-year student at Cloud-Soaring Academy."
A young boy wearing a white shirt and a coffee-colored vest greeted them sincerely. He had short dark brown hair, and his green eyes tilted up slightly, looking a bit sly.
His cheerful voice diffused into the silent atmosphere; no one responded to him for a moment.
Caleb looked at his two companions. Percy and Roy were unexpectedly silent, so he had to bite the bullet and reply, "Uh, welcome, Xiaoxing. We are really grateful that you can fill our vacancy..."
Percy pursed his lips, his eyes staring deeply at this new member.
Zhao Mei ceased to exist. Lucy chose to stay in the West District temporarily. The three-person Cloud-Soaring Squad could not cope with the final match. This was the key match that decided the final victory or defeat.
They asked the principal to select an outstanding child to replace Lucy, so this junior student Wen came here.
Percy was puzzled. Although they were third-year students, if he was an exceptionally outstanding second-year student, they should have had an impression of him. But they seemed to have never seen this Wen Xiaoxing at school.
"I am a student who transferred midway. It was precisely because of the Cloud-Soaring Squad's deeds that I transferred to Cloud-Soaring Academy. I didn't expect to have the opportunity to fight alongside you!"
Wen Xiaoxing's expression was exaggerated but didn't appear slick; instead, he had a kind of likable liveliness.
Percy knew that as the captain, he should express welcome at this time, but he always felt something was wrong. Where was it?
Suddenly, someone touched Percy's arm. Roy leaned close to Percy's ear, his eyes staring at the boy talking to Caleb.
"Do you feel he looks a bit familiar?"
Familiar? Percy nodded.
He lowered his blue eyes, showing a confused expression. "His personality is a bit like... that Yin Kong from the Divine Academy?"
Speaking of Yin Kong, Percy only recently learned that Yin Kong had been missing for a long time. The Divine Academy chose to forfeit the competition because of his disappearance and Bai Muqing's withdrawal.
Roy nodded, continuing Percy's words, "But his appearance is somewhat like... that person."
Hearing this, Percy looked up and inadvertently met Wen Xiaoxing's gaze. Those spirited green eyes blinked at him in greeting.
"...Like Zhao Mei."
Percy uttered that name somewhat painfully. He composed himself and chose to fulfill his duty as captain first, suppressing his strange thoughts to chat with Wen Xiaoxing.
Wen Xiaoxing was very good at chatting; he could get familiar with others in just a few words. This point was completely opposite to Zhao Mei's personality.
Percy gradually relaxed. As they chatted, he suddenly remembered an important piece of information. Wen Xiaoxing hadn't told them what his ability was.
The combination of abilities was important. If Wen Xiaoxing's ability didn't fit the team, Percy feared he couldn't keep him.
"My ability?"
Wen Xiaoxing seemed thirsty from chatting. He casually picked up a water cup. The cup covered half of his face as he drank water and replied to Percy's question vaguely.
"Fate Singularity."
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