Chapter 203-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
After confirming her assignment, Wu Shu bid the two farewell and returned to the upper district.
She now worked and lived in the upper district and hadn't been back to the Middle District in a long time.
Her hometown did not welcome her. She had refused the Dragon Bone, and in everyone's eyes, she had sacrificed their safety for her own career—a selfish, short-sighted ingrate. Even her own family couldn't understand her.
But Wu Shu hadn't said a single word in her own defense. Expose the truth that the Dragon Bone not only couldn't protect them but would actually bring disaster? Few would believe it, and it would only bring calamity upon herself.
Wu Shu was also holding back a fire of her own. So what if she really had traded her hometown's safety for her future? Without her, the Middle District would never have had the chance to obtain the Dragon Bone in the first place. Before she won the championship, no one had supported her. After she won, they all came crawling up wanting to share in her achievements.
Did they really take her for some selfless saint?
Back at the upper district's magistrate office, Wu Shu ignored the subtle glances and whispers along the way and walked straight into her private office.
The office was small, but it was quiet and tidy. Wu Shu could sit in peace and think.
It wasn't just the Middle District's residents who despised her—this upper district magistrate office didn't welcome her either. She had been parachuted in on the strength of her title as ability tournament champion team captain. Beyond that, she had no background whatsoever—just a young woman from the Middle District.
Her ability level was only B-rank. Any random member of the action squad under her command was at least her equal in rank, and their backgrounds were far more prestigious—all noble residents of the upper district.
Under layers of discrimination and pressure, she was practically sidelined. The people at the magistrate office had a tacit understanding: she was nothing more than a figurehead.
Wu Shu casually flipped through the documents on her desk. They were all trivial matters—some nobleman's dog had gone missing, two people had gotten into a fight over a land dispute, a suspected illegal entry into the upper district by a lower district resident...
When she ordered her subordinates to handle tasks, they found every excuse to drag their feet.
Wu Shu rubbed her slightly weary brow, picked up the calendar from her desk, and circled a date in red.
Ye Zheng looked far more glamorous than her—the Pope admired by all, the people's champion. But Wu Shu was certain the Sei Curia wouldn't generously embrace Ye Zheng. Perhaps she too was mired in the same kind of swamp-like deadlock, desperately needing a way out to break through.
Whatever Ye Zheng's way out was, for Wu Shu, Pope Ye Zheng was hers.
The game of power couldn't be won through hard work and determination alone. She held too few chips, and her own weight was too light. She needed a strong enough backer to help her quickly enter the real arena of power.
Ye Zheng was the best choice.
A newly appointed young Pope, wielding great power but beset on all sides, who had yet to build a reliable and loyal faction—now was the perfect time to join. Ye Zheng also desperately needed someone like her.
Wu Shu twirled the pen in her hand, her gaze fixed, a hint of struggle and hesitation in her expression—but it quickly dissipated with a laugh.
Riding Ye Zheng's coattails upward was a shortcut, but she would also have to bear the corresponding risks. Walking alongside Ye Zheng was undoubtedly a very dangerous thing. One misstep and she would plunge into the abyss with her.
But it was precisely because the risks were great enough that the future rewards were all the more worth anticipating.
"Starting off by killing the Crown Prince—now that's playing big..."
Wu Shu tossed the pen carelessly onto the desk, drew a small knife she carried with her, and with a whoosh, hurled it with precision. The knife embedded itself squarely in the head of the figure in the hanging painting.
A smile surfaced in Wu Shu's eyes. Her courage and boldness had grown considerably without her even noticing. A year ago, she had been nothing more than an ordinary student hoping to make a name for herself in the ability tournament.
Ye Zheng had a kind of bewitching power, drawing everyone willingly into her storm, setting them on a path of no return alongside her.
The final ability tournament was still vivid in her memory. Ye Zheng had promised her they would win together until the very end. If only to witness the scenery at the end of the road, she wanted to try walking alongside Ye Zheng.
Back at the base, Ye Zheng had kept Bai Muqing behind. The two entered the empty training grounds together.
"Muqing, don't hold back. Treat me as a real enemy and fight me."
Ye Zheng said suddenly.
The vast training grounds had been deliberately cleared of personnel. Only the two of them remained, their shadows stretching long under the warm sun.
"Ye Zheng, are you sure?"
Bai Muqing's cool voice asked.
Ye Zheng nodded. She needed a sufficiently powerful opponent to help her improve her combat experience—especially with [Mother of All Things], which she had only recently acquired. It was her greatest trump card against Sykes, and she needed to master it in actual combat as quickly as possible.
Ye Zheng was about to say more when she suddenly noticed the air currents around her becoming erratic. She raised an eyebrow slightly and dodged the rampaging gusts with a swift sidestep.
Her body lurched. She looked down and found the ground beneath her feet had cracked open.
Bai Muqing, who had deployed [Divine Domain] without anyone noticing, stood not far away and continued to ask: "My ability will cause some destruction. Can you accept that?"
"Of course."
The moment the words left her lips, an intense sensation of weightlessness struck. Ye Zheng's body suddenly levitated, momentarily unable to maintain stable balance. She looked up at Bai Muqing nearby. Fragments of stone from the ground gathered around Bai Muqing, gradually forming a wall.
Bai Muqing made no unnecessary movements. She simply extended her hand, flicked her fingertip, and sharp stone fragments hurtled toward Ye Zheng at high speed.
Ye Zheng's pupils trembled slightly, then she curved her lips into a fleeting smile. It seemed Bai Muqing had grown considerably during her time training with the Royal Knight Order.
[Stream] rapidly wove into a net of water before her, intercepting the incoming stone fragments. The debris clattered to the ground at her feet.
Sensing her opponent's response, Bai Muqing tilted her head in puzzlement. Given the gravity and velocity she had imbued, Ye Zheng's [Stream] shouldn't have been able to block it directly—yet she had effortlessly neutralized the attack.
Bai Muqing closed her white eyes, allowing herself to merge more deeply with [Divine Domain]. She noticed something strange about the aura emanating from Ye Zheng. She tried to probe further, but suddenly snapped her eyes open, gasping deeply, as if struck by some invisible force.
"Muqing, let's continue."
Ye Zheng's gentle voice rang out. She was floating in midair due to the weightlessness, but had already regained her composure. She extended her hand toward Bai Muqing, as if inviting her to continue their dance.
Her fair, slender hand had at some point transformed into a watery form, undulating gently, like a flickering sky-blue flame.
Ye Zheng had studied it for quite some time. She discovered that [Mother of All Things] and [Stream] were a complementary pair that could enhance each other. [Mother of All Things] could act upon her innate ability, [Stream].
Obtaining [Mother of All Things] wasn't a one-plus-one-equals-two effect, but rather one plus one becoming three. In the System's words, [Stream] had also leveled up.
Before, [Stream] had merely been water she manipulated. But now, under the influence of [Mother of All Things], [Stream] had truly become a part of her. She had become the flowing water itself—water that flowed endlessly, ceaselessly.
A whirlwind erupted from the ground, sweeping up dust and stone. Bai Muqing stood at the center of the vortex, her expression grave. Her pale eyelashes fluttered, and an overwhelming gale laden with sand and gravel swept forward, howling as it engulfed the figure nearby.
The next moment, Bai Muqing's eyes widened. She felt her attack pass straight through Ye Zheng's body.
It had been such a ferocious assault, yet it was like a gust of wind skimming across the surface of water, like pebbles tossed into a river. Ye Zheng was like water that rippled briefly before returning to calm—completely unharmed.
Dust swirled through the air, blotting out the sky. Gravity finally returned, and Ye Zheng descended from the air, landing back on the ground.
In the instant she was attacked, she had channeled [Mother of All Things] to fully merge [Stream] into her body. The human body was already rich in water. With both abilities working in tandem, her body had completely transformed into water in an instant, rendering any attack meaningless.
This state could only be maintained for a brief moment, but on the ever-changing battlefield, a single instant could be lethal—or could turn the tide entirely.
Suddenly, Ye Zheng's gaze shifted. Her expression froze for a moment, then she couldn't help but break into laughter.
She seemed to have guessed how the "Ye Zheng" in the original storyline had faked her death and escaped the plot.
That night, rain had poured in torrents. A merciless blade pierced the girl's heart. The atmosphere was tragic beyond measure. But for "Ye Zheng," trapped under death's spotlight, every detail was an opportunity to escape.
[Stream] itself possessed healing abilities. Sykes's sword appeared to have pierced through her heart, but as long as it deviated even slightly, [Stream]'s healing power could preserve her life.
What was even more interesting was: why had "Ye Zheng" been perceived as dead by Percy and the others, as well as readers outside the manga? Ye Zheng couldn't see the full storyline, but judging from the spoiler scene alone, "Ye Zheng's" body was dissipating—just like water splashing on the ground.
Everyone would instinctively assume it was Sykes's ability [Destruction] that had annihilated her body. Even Sykes himself would wonder whether he had unconsciously activated his power. No one would doubt "Ye Zheng's" death.
Only Ye Zheng herself knew the truth. It was clearly her own ability—she had turned her body into flowing water, vanishing into the rainy night.
Such an ability couldn't be sustained for long. Ye Zheng guessed that near the stage where "the death of the Saintess" was performed, there must have been a sewer or something similar hidden nearby, allowing her to escape quickly.
But what surprised Ye Zheng the most was that the prerequisite for possessing this ability was holding [Mother of All Things]. In other words, even in the most passive version of the original storyline, "Ye Zheng" had still obtained [Mother of All Things]!
This made Ye Zheng curious about the original storyline's timeline. Perhaps the moment the manga's story came to a close was the moment "Ye Zheng" truly stepped onto the stage.
Her body suddenly grew heavy, and even her head felt weighed down. Ye Zheng reined in her thoughts. Bai Muqing, sword drawn, was already upon her.
At the same time, in a corner of the lower district.
An old shelter had been converted into a fully equipped living quarters. Attendants bustled about, arranging luggage and preparing meals. The golden-haired Crown Prince watched the people scurrying around for him with cold eyes, an inexplicable surge of hostility rising in his heart.
Ye Zheng's words lingered in his mind like a persistent ghost. She had invited him to her coming-of-age ceremony. She had said she would help him restore all his memories.
Sykes looked up at this gilded cage and let out a cold laugh. To keep him confined, his father had gone to considerable lengths. Was he really that afraid of him?
The more it was like this, the stronger his urge to destroy everything became.
Sykes stopped an attendant and asked when the Pope's birthday was.
Upon receiving the answer, Sykes's golden eyes tightened abruptly, then he burst into loud laughter. The people around him exchanged nervous, bewildered glances.
"A coming-of-age ceremony... how interesting."
What a coincidence—his true birthday was actually the same day as Ye Zheng's.
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