Chapter 78: Strategy God Heavens (Part 1)

“The Lord of the Weird?”

It was a name none of them had ever heard of, but from the literal meaning, they could easily grasp a basic understanding.

Fu Wuxuan suddenly laughed. “We learned from certain Weirds that there are eight great S-Rank Weirds, and one of them, the ‘Dragon Girl,’ is already dead. That leaves only seven still alive.”

It was a gravely serious matter, yet Fu Wuxuan deliberately spoke of it in a lighthearted tone. “Actually, I’ve been curious at times. Every organization has a leader and commander, so who could be the commander of the Weirds?”

Yun Xueqing had no way to answer his question and could only voice his own speculation. “If Li Yulin’s words are trustworthy, then perhaps that Lord of the Weird, who is about to descend in the twelfth month, will give us the answer.”

Fu Wuxuan tilted his head back, half-covering his eyes as if in helplessness. “Today is November 24th. In just over ten days, it’ll be December. If that Lord of the Weird tied to Fu Zhiming truly exists, we have no way to deal with it.”

Yun Xueqing nodded. “With our current abilities, even thousands of people might struggle against a single S-Rank Weird, let alone…” that Lord of the Weird whose power was unknown.

Fu Wuxuan gave a bitter smile as he brought up the tragedy from back then. “Back in those peaceful days, the S-Rank Weird known as the Dragon Girl suddenly descended, bringing calamity and directly destroying a first-tier city. Now we’re facing something just as terrifying.”

His mention jogged Yun Xueqing’s memory of the Weird weapon the other man had once used. “Your whip…”

“You mean the Spinebone Whip? That’s the Dragon Girl’s spinebone. After killing It back then, I extracted Its spinebone to use as a weapon.”

Fu Wuxuan only mentioned it briefly, as if unwilling to dwell on that destructive catastrophe, and quickly changed the subject. “Li Yulin’s words might not be true, after all. He was just a low-rank Oracle—he shouldn’t have been able to access such terrifying information.”

Yun Xueqing only believed it about twenty percent himself. After all, if a Lord of the Weird truly existed, why had he never heard any Weird mention it?

Moreover, Yun Xueqing felt that the Weirds operated independently, with no leader or complete organization, and certainly no unity or planning. Weirds like San Zhi, with their loose personalities, even joined human organizations.

In the end, they’d only gotten a name, with no specific clues related to it. Pondering it here wouldn’t help.

“To be safe, we should pass this information to the Spiritual Energy Special Control Bureau first. We shouldn’t be the only ones with headaches—let them make some plans too,” Fu Wuxuan said. Then he asked directly, “Shall we head to Strategy God Heavens now?”

Yun Xueqing thought of the clue about the snapped Mountains and Rivers Brush and nodded.

His master was still missing for the time being, but he had to find his Natal Sword, the Tianquan Sword.

He had successively come into contact with San Zhi and Fu Mi, and both of them carried the aura of his Natal Sword. That meant his sword was likely in the hands of someone in Strategy God Heavens.

He had spent nearly half a year on this, but this was his closest lead yet. He had a vague premonition that this trip to Strategy God Heavens would not disappoint him.

Yun Xueqing, Fu Wuxuan, and Wu Xue stayed one night in Cold Edge Town.

Just as Yun Xueqing thought Fu Wuxuan would take him straight to Strategy God Heavens the next day, he heard the man say unhurriedly, “I actually don’t know the exact location.”

After all, he wasn’t one of the cultists, so it was normal not to know their specific hideouts.

Wu Xue glanced at him, looking as if she wanted to say something but held back.

The three of them walked down the main street. Just as Yun Xueqing was wondering whether to use his Spiritual Power to scan and search, he heard someone on the street shouting loudly, “Anyone want to join Strategy God Heavens? High pay, great benefits, full insurance and provident fund, weekends off, no overtime—anyone interested in joining?”

Yun Xueqing only half-understood the latter part, but he was still surprised. “Isn’t Strategy God Heavens a cult organization? They’re recruiting so openly?”

Fu Wuxuan’s lips curved slightly. “Of course… it’s not.”

Wu Xue said expressionlessly, “Maybe it’s a multi-level marketing scheme.”

Fu Wuxuan gave her a meaningful look. “Or perhaps it’s some organization fishing for lawbreakers, to catch and arrest those looking to defect or with impure thoughts.”

Yun Xueqing felt a bit regretful. “Then we can’t enter Strategy God Heavens directly through them?”

He should have gotten a contact from Fu Mi earlier.

“What, you still want to play undercover?” Fu Wuxuan teased him deliberately. “The three of us are so upright that our cover might blow the moment we step into Strategy God Heavens.”

Yun Xueqing ignored his teasing and said seriously, “Perhaps we can find someone who knows how to get into Strategy God Heavens.”

“No need to look,” Fu Wuxuan smiled, though there was a hint of world-weariness in it. “I might not know, but this girl knows it better than anyone.”

Wu Xue nodded. “Follow me.”

She led Yun Xueqing and Fu Wuxuan toward the outskirts of Cold Edge Town, stopping only at the town entrance, just before leaving the town limits.

Since it was the entrance, there were no vendors around, and the remote town had few visitors. The entrance was desolate, with no one else besides the three of them.

Wu Xue pointed at the town signboard. “A layer of Oracle power has been cast on it, concealing the truly hidden things in this town. If we dispel this Oracle, we can enter. Chant the incantation with me.”

She quickly recited a string of incantations. Yun Xueqing didn’t understand them, but he could repeat them, mimicking her exactly.

The moment he finished reciting, the scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

A massive palace complex appeared, shrouded in an ethereal immortal aura, like a celestial palace.

The buildings were primarily red and white, with intricately carved beams and pillars. The internal architecture was exquisitely designed, even the columns engraved with leaping dragons in fine detail.

Above the main gate hung a plaque with the three large characters: “Strategy God Heavens.”

Yun Xueqing said, “This is not what I expected.”

Fu Wuxuan couldn’t resist teasing him. “What did you expect? Some pitch-black, sinister place that looks scary just to behold?”

Yun Xueqing: “……Pretty much.”

Fu Wuxuan chuckled. “Even bad guys probably wouldn’t want to live in a pitch-black, gloomy, damp place.”

He added meaningfully, “Besides, those Strategy God Heavens folks don’t think of themselves as the bad guys.”

After all, they always flew the banner of “for humanity’s future” while committing all sorts of heinous acts.

Wu Xue offered no opinion. “Let’s go in.”

Fu Wuxuan: “Through the front gate?”

Yun Xueqing: “After all, we’re not undercover agents. We have some matters to discuss openly and honestly with Strategy God Heavens, so going through the front gate is better.”

On the grand scale, sneaking around on enemy territory would inevitably make them seem scheming.

On the smaller scale, Strategy God Heavens consisted of ruthless killers. Climbing over the wall would make them seem like petty thieves, earning their contempt.

It was best not to become petty thieves despised by ruthless killers.

And so, the three of them strode in openly.

The moment Yun Xueqing stepped through the gate, he sensed the aura of the Tianquan Sword—and it was quite strong.

At that moment, he knew he had come to the right place.

As they entered, they saw the Veranda bustling with people hurrying about, all looking very busy. They were all unfamiliar faces; neither San Zhi nor Fu Mi was in sight.

The three strangers naturally drew some attention.

But those onlookers merely glanced before looking away and continuing with their tasks.

A receptionist soon hurried over. He sized up the trio, his attitude none too friendly, and only asked their purpose and names.

The receptionist had started out somewhat dismissive, but after they reported their names, he immediately became deferential and terrified—especially toward Yun Xueqing, sweating profusely. “Please wait a moment. I’ll go find a cadre right away.”

After saying that, he bowed his head and sneaked a peek at Yun Xueqing. The panic in his eyes was genuine, as if afraid of being blamed.

Only after seeing no sign of reproach from Yun Xueqing did he relax a little and hurry off to fetch someone.

Fu Wuxuan noted his attitude and seemed to sense something. “The people of Strategy God Heavens are acting a bit strange toward you.”

Yun Xueqing usually kept a low profile, and few knew his famous name. Why would Strategy God Heavens members fear him like this?

Was it a coincidence, or was there some story behind it?

But their doubts were soon resolved.

Soon, a man with curly red long hair, dressed in a white suit, came jogging over. “I didn’t expect that after letting you go, you’d actually come back. You’ve got some guts. Good thing I told my subordinates to notify me immediately if you showed up.”

Due to the Shared Fate Curse, San Zhi had no choice but to treat Yun Xueqing with utmost caution.

After all, Strategy God Heavens was full of all sorts of weirdos, and plenty of Weird colleagues liked eating raw meat. If one took a fancy to Yun Xueqing and dragged him off for lunch, then he, San Zhi, would truly be in deep trouble.

San Zhi even wanted to shoo him away. “If you’re here to see me, we can talk outside. Don’t stay here.”

Yun Xueqing glanced at him. “We want to meet your leader, that is, Shen…”

San Zhi cut him off promptly. “You can’t call his name here.”

That would be great disrespect.

Yun Xueqing fell silent at once and looked at him with wide eyes.

San Zhi inwardly groaned: The leader wanted to see Yun Xueqing, and Yun Xueqing wanted to see the leader—they were mutually rushing toward each other. But if they clashed and the leader killed Yun Xueqing, he, San Zhi, would be the one to suffer.

Thinking of Shen Le, San Zhi shivered. He glanced at the smiling Fu Wuxuan nearby, then cautiously pulled Yun Xueqing to a corner and whispered, “If you’re dead set on courting death, I won’t stop you. But lift the Shared Fate Curse first!”

Yun Xueqing: “There’s no way to lift this thing. Don’t worry, I won’t die.”

San Zhi: “……” Don’t worry my ass.

Yun Xueqing looked at him. “Help me arrange a meeting with him.”

San Zhi wanted to persuade him further, but seeing his unyielding attitude, he knew it was hopeless.

He recalled Shen Le’s strange demeanor when mentioning Yun Xueqing before and suddenly thought that perhaps Shen Le really wouldn’t kill him.

In the end, San Zhi reluctantly agreed. “This is just a branch location, after all. The leader doesn’t stay here regularly. I can only pass the message to him—I don’t know if he’ll come.”

Yun Xueqing nodded and relayed the message to Fu Wuxuan and Wu Xue.

Wu Xue wasn’t in good shape and didn’t respond. Instead, Fu Wuxuan said, “If that’s the case, no problem.”

The wait felt endless. Yun Xueqing got permission from the exasperated San Zhi to move freely within Strategy God Heavens.

Meeting Shen Le was important, but he needed to find his sword first.