Chapter 277-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Boom—
A monster as tall as a bell tower suddenly exploded. Just as the flying debris was about to crash down on the fleeing crowd, the chunks halted in midair, as if held up by an invisible hand.
Bai Muqing stood in the distance. The white barrier enveloping the Demonic Domain gradually faded, and she slipped away without a word.
The young woman moved discreetly through the crowd, passing the Holy Journey Knights Order members who'd arrived as reinforcements. They'd already noticed the Demonic Domain had vanished and were discussing which ability user had intervened.
Bai Muqing caught her own name among their chatter. She kept her eyes forward and walked on.
But before she'd gone far, her steps came to an abrupt halt.
"Strange."
Her cool, pale eyes slowly opened. Bai Muqing sensed another Demonic Domain appearing on the other side of the district.
The frequency of Demonic Domains had been off these past two days.
She walked and pondered. Recently, the frequency of Demonic Domains across the empire had been declining overall—but the past two days in the East District, the spike was impossible to miss.
Sporadic surges like this had occurred in the empire's history—six Demonic Domains in a single district in one day. Apart from the fact that Dragon Bones seemed to attract Demonic Domains, no one understood the underlying pattern.
Bai Muqing had no way of knowing the situation elsewhere. For now, she hadn't heard of similar anomalies occurring in other districts.
Along the way, other people were complaining about the East District's abnormality too.
"These past two days have been really strange. I'm planning to take the kids to the North District for a while."
"Ugh, I told you keeping the Dragon Bones in the East District would cause trouble. Why should we bear the Demonic Domain threat on everyone else's behalf?"
"Oh, shut it. It's not like the Dragon Bones were brought here just two days ago—weren't you just the other day envying the people near the Holy Journey Knights Order base for their generous stipends?"
"Besides, ever since Her Holiness stationed the Knights Order here, the East District has been obviously safer than before. Could you even find anyone who cares about us more than she does..."
Bai Muqing slowed her pace to listen. Her striking appearance would normally draw attention, but under [Divine Domain]'s modulation, no one noticed her at all—as though she'd dissolved into the air itself.
These days of trial by Demonic Domain had accelerated her growth at a breakneck pace. Every Demonic Domain was an ideal training ground—incomparably richer than the expensive artificial facilities the Bai family had built.
Suddenly, screams surged from the distance, drawing closer. The chattering passersby fell silent in unison, then broke into practiced, well-drilled sprints.
Bai Muqing rolled her neck. She turned toward the screams. A white barrier was chasing the fleeing crowd, expanding in their direction.
Her blank, pale eyes didn't so much as blink. The chaos and suffering seemed incapable of registering in those supremely indifferent, imperious eyes.
In the next instant, the white barrier abruptly stopped expanding, as if some formidable force were wrestling it from the shadows.
A person who'd tripped at the barrier's edge scrambled to their feet and continued stumbling forward.
She passed Bai Muqing. Under the Demonic Domain's influence, she shouldn't have been able to see Bai Muqing at all—yet Bai Muqing distinctly heard a faint "thank you."
A barely perceptible softening crossed Bai Muqing's cool expression before her focus snapped back to the nearby Demonic Domain.
This one wasn't very dangerous—D-rank at best.
"[Divine Domain]—Breach."
Bai Muqing raised her hand toward the Demonic Domain's location.
With a thought, the Demonic Domain seemed to shudder violently—then burst apart like a soap bubble.
The residents who'd been trapped inside found themselves back under open sky in moments. More than frightened, they looked baffled.
No one knew who had saved them. People scratched their heads and, with well-practiced nonchalance, quickly resumed their daily lives.
Bai Muqing turned around just as naturally and headed home, as if she'd merely been out for a stroll.
—If her [Divine Domain] had been at stage one a year ago, then now she'd reached at least stage three.
Stage one was modulation: controlling things within her cognition inside the [Divine Domain]'s range.
Stage two was spirit control: she could manipulate more intangible phenomena and do so with far greater ease.
Stage three was breach: she was no longer confined to [Divine Domain]'s set boundaries. Its range could expand at will, and even Demonic Domains could be drawn into her sphere of control.
Bai Muqing had a strange feeling—she was truly becoming the master of [Divine Domain].
Just a little more, she told herself silently. Just a little more, and she might step into an even vaster realm.
She looked back at the bustling, ordinary district. This breakthrough was one that couldn't be forced. Ordinary Demonic Domains could no longer push her limits.
Unless it was an S-rank or higher Demonic Domain, or a supremely powerful ability user—someone she wasn't even sure she could defeat.
Bai Muqing already had a name in mind, but she and Ye Zheng couldn't exactly have an all-out, no-holds-barred duel.
Besides, Ye Zheng was busy.
A newspaper tumbled in the wind. Bai Muqing reached out and pinched its edge, running her hand across its surface.
"Day of Prayer..."
A flicker of realization crossed Bai Muqing's face. She remembered now—next week was the triennial Day of Prayer.
The Day of Prayer was a blessing ceremony held in the lower district, led by the Church's Saintess. In essence, the Saintess served as the Pope's proxy, visiting the lower district to reassure the people and bolster the Church's prestige—one of the rare occasions when the Saintess role actually mattered.
Ye Zheng's primary title was now Pope, but she was also the Church's Saintess. No one had ever ruled that the two titles were mutually exclusive.
When the time came, Ye Zheng would certainly visit the lower district.
Bai Muqing placed the newspaper on a nearby mailbox.
Good timing. There were things she wanted to tell Ye Zheng in person. During her stay in the lower district, she'd noticed certain anomalies. She hoped it was just her being paranoid.
Bai Muqing stepped impassively over a puddle of slop someone had spilled at their doorstep and went inside to rest.
*
West District, lower district. Evening.
"Lucy, where have you been running off to again?"
Inside a humble house, a stout middle-aged woman rolled up her sleeves, revealing brawny arms, every inch of her radiating fury.
Lucy stood in the doorway, spine straight, eyes wandering. "I was out herding, obviously—I can't just stay cooped up at home forever, can I?"
"You went to the hills behind? I've told you not to go there. People keep saying there are monsters lurking around—who knows how many cattle and sheep have gone missing..."
"Mom, I'm an ability user. This is exactly the kind of thing I should be handling—"
"If you want to handle things, go ask Lord John if he agrees first. He's the lord of this land, and even he hasn't sent anyone to investigate. Why are you sticking your nose in?"
"If you're bored, help me sell cheese. If I catch you running off again, I'm washing my hands of you..."
Under her mother's booming voice, Lucy furrowed her brow, seemingly engaged in some deep contemplation.
She suddenly darted into her room and came running back with a newspaper.
"Ye Zheng is going to the East District next week for an event! She's my friend AND the Pope. You can't possibly worry if I go hang out in the East District, right?"
Lucy lifted her chin, convinced this argument was airtight.
She could tell her mother liked Ye Zheng too—especially after hearing Ye Zheng's broadcast revealing the truth about the Dragon Bones. Her mother had been practically beside herself, so distracted she couldn't even work as efficiently as before.
Lucy had been thrilled too. She'd learned the truth about the Dragon Bones being buried beneath the lower district back in the West District. Impulsive as she was, she hadn't dared tell anyone.
But Ye Zheng had done it. In five minutes, she'd shattered a lie that the empire's ruling class had maintained for five hundred years!
While most people were reeling in shock and despair, Lucy felt an unprecedented surge of invigoration that swept away all her doubts and gloom.
She no longer second-guessed herself over others' achievements. Before Ye Zheng accomplished all this—who would've believed she could?
Lucy had wanted to pack her bags and head for the East District that very day. She dreamed of joining Ye Zheng's Holy Journey Knights Order and fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a knight.
But her mother's health—physical and emotional—had been poor at the time. Lucy shelved her plans and helped with housework instead.
Now that her mother had regained her usual vigor, Lucy felt it was time to go.
"No, no, absolutely not..."
The middle-aged woman's voice grew even more agitated. "Lucy, we're ordinary people. Some things just aren't for us to get involved in. Why can't you understand that?"
"Look at yourself—all that time you spent away before, and what did it get you besides giving me a heart attack?"
Lucy froze, eyes wide. She hadn't expected this reaction at all.
The girl endured a merciless dressing-down from her mother, holding back the tears welling in her eyes as she retreated silently to her cramped little room.
Lucy lay on her bed and wiped the corner of one eye. Her spirits recovered quickly. She'd gone to Lingyun Academy behind her mother's back before—a fait accompli. Her escape skills had improved considerably since then. She'd just sneak out.
Lucy sat up in bed and gazed at the starry sky outside her window, her resolve firmer than ever. Even if she was destined to be ordinary her whole life, that wouldn't stop her from reaching for distant, lofty stars.
With her mind settled, Lucy drifted off into a drowsy sleep before long.
But the next morning, just as she was preparing to slip away without her mother noticing, the girl next door leaned in through her window with shocking news.
Pope Ye Zheng had arrived in the East District the previous night. That very morning, she'd been surrounded at the Holy Journey Knights Order Base by the aristocrats' ability user forces.
The entire East District plunged into panic. The news spread outward like wildfire.
Lucy was so stunned her brain stopped working. She didn't fully grasp what this meant—she only knew Ye Zheng was in danger.
Under her neighbor's bewildered gaze, Lucy snatched up her packed bag, vaulted out the window, and sprinted toward the main road.
Halfway there, she suddenly remembered she'd forgotten to grab money the night before. Her wallet had been empty for ages.
Refusing to believe it, Lucy rummaged through her bag—and found a wad of cash hidden at the very bottom.
She nearly thought her eyes were playing tricks. By the time she snapped out of her daze, a single tear had already slid down her cheek.
No time to wipe it away. Lucy shouldered her bag and caught the last bus to the East District.
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