Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian wasn't certain the Decree of Return would be effective, but that didn't disrupt his good habit of killing multiple birds with one stone.

Beyond addressing Kass's condition, he could conveniently test whether the phenomenon before him was the Etched Intellect—and whether the Decree of Return even worked on it.

Back when he signaled Lisa to keep her cool and wait for the Dean to arrive, Fu Qian had already planned out exactly what he would do once the man showed up.

Even if Kass hadn't come to him, he would have paid him a visit to do the exact same thing.

"You can switch to your complete Mythical Form. Just as long as you aren't so massive that you ruin my decor."

He even offered an extra reminder to Kass, who sat there in silent cooperation.

The Decree of Return was colorless and intangible—something even a demigod would find difficult to perceive.

Yet the Dean displayed absolute trust. When told to begin, he began without a shred of hesitation.

"Heh, it won't come to that."

As for whether his complete Mythical Form would pose any danger to the "demigod" sitting across from him, he seemed completely unconcerned—the sky was already growing dark.

In the very next moment, the transformation took hold.

Nightfall was already approaching, but this felt more like a mass of shadows suddenly materializing before them, violently erupting outward in all directions.

Yet at the center of those shadows, the man's clothes remained perfectly intact.

Only the body beneath them had changed, completely covered by familiar scales that writhed with movement.

...

The Dean was a man of his word. He promised not to smash the furniture, and he kept that promise.

Kass acted decisively, unleashing his ultimate state without a single second of delay.

Under the personal appraisal of the King of the Abandoned Prison, Fu Qian confirmed that this was indeed a genuine Mythical Form.

Even the claim that it was "complete" felt entirely irrefutable.

Compared to this state, that single arm from earlier vividly demonstrated the meaning of "a mere scale and claw."

Beneath his robes, Kass hadn't swollen into some towering behemoth, but he was far from simply wearing a suit of scale armor.

His human outline remained, though heavily blurred. A closer look revealed that his underlying physical structure had been fundamentally altered.

He was still a creature of flesh and blood, but every part of his body was now composed entirely of slender, slithering snakes.

The scales—identical to the ones they had seen earlier but vastly reduced in size—were densely packed across the bodies of these serpents.

Biting down on each other's tails, the serpents linked head-to-tail in an endless, seamless loop of flesh.

But what struck Fu Qian as the most visually jarring was that the human form woven from these "snake ropes" appeared to lack a brain.

It possessed the lower half of a face—a mouth and a nose—but everything above that had been hollowed out into the shape of a bowl.

Missing the upper half of his head, the center of his skull was completely empty, giving him a literal brainless appearance.

"Can you still talk like that?"

Pointing out someone's lack of a brain was undeniably rude. After a brief observation, Fu Qian chose to first address the issue of communication.

"I can."

He received a swift, affirmative response.

Kass's lips never moved, yet a voice reverberated from within the hollow space.

His physical structure no longer mattered; the conceptual significance of a "mouth" remained intact.

"How do you feel?"

Relieved that they could still converse easily, Fu Qian pressed on.

"Very good. It actually feels less taxing than maintaining my Mythical Form normally does."

After a two-second pause to carefully gauge his condition, Kass confirmed there were no abnormalities.

It made perfect sense. The Decree of Return's core effect was to force affected targets to convert toward their original order.

For a High-Tier Transcendent, their Mythical Form was far more fundamental to their existence than their thin layer of human skin. The Decree of Return was effectively helping him stabilize this state.

Listening intently, Fu Qian offered a slight nod.

"Looks like there are no issues. Appraisal complete."

...

Wasn't that a little too quick?

Sure, he had gone through the motions of observation and inquiry, but by any normal standard, this felt like only the beginning of an examination.

And yet he was directly declaring a clean bill of health and sending the patient home?

"Do you trust me, or do you trust me?"

Kass seemed momentarily stunned.

"To be precise, I simply lack the means to falsify or further deny your condition."

Fu Qian casually explained as he poured Kass another cup of tea.

Many things in life simply weren't that complicated.

He had planned to use the Decree of Return from the start, simply because it was the most appropriate tool for the job.

According to Kass's own description, his condition was vastly different from ordinary demonic possession or personality splintering. To put it nicely, one could even call it complete enlightenment, a state of becoming a Buddha on the spot.

Under these circumstances, the Decree of Return's role was straightforward. It attempted to dispel external influences to ensure there was no will of a High-Tier Existence interfering with him.

As long as Kass wasn't dealing with a dimensional strike from a higher plane, Fu Qian had a great deal of confidence in the man.

And once he ruled out the possibility of a dimensional strike, there was very little left to be done anyway.

It wasn't like he could just blast him with a Gospel Shockwave.

With the Burial Scroll still on cooldown, that kind of reckless action would be no different from performing surgery with his eyes shut.

"Besides, you've already made your peace with it."

Having no intention of running further tests, Fu Qian deactivated the Decree of Return as he spoke.

An academic leader's methods were just that delightfully unpretentious. After all, hadn't their core scientific expedition into the Bone Spirit Realm been completed in a mere matter of minutes?

Furthermore, since everything remained perfectly normal, it was highly unlikely that the phenomenon before him was a hallucination born of the Etched Intellect.

...

Haha!

The Dean proved himself to be quite an open-minded man. Rather than taking offense at this seemingly irresponsible diagnosis, he burst into laughter at the mention of "making peace with it." Perhaps he, too, was recalling their past joint expedition.

Amidst his laughter, his brainless serpentine form rapidly dissolved, returning him to his human shape.

"Thank you for your trust, and for helping control the situation earlier."

As the rich expressions fully returned to his face, Kass offered his earnest thanks with a look of admiration, seemingly highly satisfied with Fu Qian's performance throughout the entire process.

"Speaking of which, right before I set out to come here, Velon paid me a visit."

Making no mention of how effortlessly composed Fu Qian had remained in the face of his complete Mythical Form, Kass patted his forehead a moment later, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh? He has that much free time?"

Fu Qian's interest was piqued.

His hidden ailment had only just been cured. Instead of staying at the Academy to manage the fallout, the man was actually out paying social visits?

More importantly, it was hard to imagine him and Kass actually having anything to talk about.

"He visited on behalf of all of Linghui, expressing his gratitude and asking me to pass it on to you."

Kass shook his head, his tone reflecting the sheer solemnity with which His Excellency Velon had delivered the message.

Although the man had already expressed his thanks on more than one occasion.

"He also brought up two specific points. First, Linghui's entire collection will be opened to Apocalypse. If any instructors require anything, they can freely apply to withdraw it."

Fortunately, his gratitude came with practical benefits this time.

"Second, they won't make any demands of Wen Li, nor will they try to recruit her. However, she will forever be regarded as an honored guest of Linghui."

Kass quickly added, glancing at Fu Qian.

"Does Wen Li even know what she's doing?"

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