Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Who were you just talking to?"

In the midst of his endless reverie, the door behind him had opened.

Fu Qian turned around. The head of the Disciplinary Department, Lanaya, stood there, her gaze sharp and filled with suspicion.

Toward the end, whether Brother Weilong was tired or just in a bad mood, the force of his Void of Causal Origin had noticeably weakened, allowing Lanaya to sense the anomaly.

"Was I?"

"Of course. I absolutely heard you say, 'I won't see you out!'"

Lanaya's tone was firm as her gaze flicked to the spot where Weilong had just been sitting. Clearly, she wasn't going to let this go without an answer.

Outright denial wouldn't work. Though she hadn't reached the Demigod Realm yet, this woman was no pushover. Fooling her wouldn't be easy.

However, if he escalated things now, the upcoming spectacle would inevitably suffer color loss—something Fu Qian did not want to see.

Facing Lanaya's piercing stare, Fu Qian let out a long sigh, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed into the distance.

"I was mesmerized by the beautiful scenery just now. I suddenly felt that my hands had been stained with so much blood over the years, and the sins of my killings might never be washed clean in this lifetime. For a moment, my inner demons surged."

"Saying 'I won't see you out' was partly to calm my mind, and partly to bid farewell to my past. However..."

Fu Qian shook his head.

"How could it be that simple? Once I'm done with this busy period, I plan to find a place to quietly meditate and repent. Do you have any recommendations?"

...

'Are you serious?'

'I don't doubt the part about your hands being stained with blood, but are you sure your inner demons are surging because of guilt, rather than you just getting more excited?'

'This narrative doesn't match your style at all, okay?'

Following Fu Qian's heartfelt lament, Lanaya was undoubtedly left speechless for a long time. Then, she felt her own emotions beginning to surge.

"A place suitable for your repentance? Alright, I actually know one."

After a moment, she finally couldn't hold back her sarcasm.

"How about Hell? I'm afraid anywhere else wouldn't be able to stomach you."

'Hmm...'

Seeing the head of the Disciplinary Department actually learn how to retort with his help, Fu Qian mused that the Academy truly lived up to its name—he had found the feeling of being a mentor at the speed of light.

"That makes some sense. I'll consider your suggestion."

The next moment, he nodded in dead earnest.

"...Anyway, don't mess around. You need to stay on high alert at all times. The people from Linghui have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. If they want to pull something underhanded, you could easily fall into their trap without even realizing it."

Although she didn't really buy Fu Qian's nonsense, as he continued to crack jokes and banter, Lanaya's earlier suspicions had been diluted somewhat.

Coupled with the fact that there were truly no abnormal traces, she didn't press the issue, settling for offering a careful warning instead.

"That goes for the people from Apocalypse too. Don't interact with them right now. They might be your fans, but most of them are crazy. They don't do things nearly as meticulously as you."

'Lanaya's evaluation of me is quite high!'

"Understood."

...

'The people from Linghui are even more active than I imagined. In comparison, where are my fanboys and fangirls?'

After Lanaya left, Fu Qian kept his posture unchanged, but his mind shifted to another question.

'It was somewhat drastic for Weilong to pull a stunt like that, but it still fell within the realm of normalcy. On the other hand, aren't the people from Apocalypse being a bit too low-profile?'

'They haven't made a single move since yesterday. That doesn't really fit their usual persona.'

Fu Qian smelled something odd in this.

'But it doesn't matter. With this added variable, today's Public Trial Assembly might be even more interesting.'

...

As it turned out, even as the sun began to set in the west, no Dragon Maiden Troupe appeared to show their support.

"It's time to head out."

Lanaya, who opened the door, could certainly be described as mature and gorgeous, but right now her face was dead serious. She clearly didn't want any slip-ups at this final stage.

"Alright."

To her great relief, the man in question, after a day of "complete enlightenment," actually exuded an aura of sentimental melancholy, fully embodying the style of one who had laid down the Butcher's Cleaver.

Of course, what she didn't know was that this was merely the aftereffect of his cold quenching.

Although it was much less severe than hot quenching, it still took time to dissipate.

...

'This feels so seemingly familiar!'

Walking along under the setting sun behind Lanaya, Fu Qian soon arrived at a rather familiar-looking place.

After all, even though no one remembered it, this was actually his third time coming here.

It was just that for this Public Trial Assembly, the scale of the jury was ridiculously massive.

In short, the show was about to begin.

Entering at Lanaya's signal, Fu Qian wore a look of faint melancholy as he casually surveyed his surroundings.

Aside from the three people on the rostrum, there were about thirty or forty people sitting below. They all appeared to be instructors from the Academy.

Not only were their numbers massive, but their Combat Power was also undeniable. A single glance revealed that there were a full four Demigods present.

Naturally, this included the Old Man Weilong, whom he had just met today.

And it was obvious that due to his highly intense brainstorming session, this old man was indeed a bit exhausted. He arguably had the worst mental state out of the four Demigods.

However, he seemed to have used a special method to rapidly dispel the side effects of the cold quenching, so he didn't look entirely overwhelmed with mingled grief and indignation.

Aside from Weilong, the remaining three Demigods were two men and one woman.

Kasi, whom he had dealt with before and who served as his direct superior, was impressively among them. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

In fact, it wasn't just him. It looked like more than half of the people who had explored the Tomb of the Nameless Deity with them last time had shown up.

The remaining two Demigods, on the other hand, were unfamiliar faces to Fu Qian.

Actually, Fu Qian wasn't surprised that the Academy possessed such Combat Power.

After all, this was the result of many years of accumulation, especially for an academic institution like this.

In fact, in Fu Qian's eyes, not having a Divine Emissary or someone similar holding the fort today made the lineup seem a bit thin.

One had to realize that a genius professor had died right inside the Academy, and they had even received a stern warning from the Night Watchers. In theory, no amount of caution and attention would be considered too much.

'Could it be that all the elites of the Academy are already here?'

...

Overall, although the thirty or forty people in the audience didn't have a strict seating arrangement, they had roughly divided themselves into three sections.

Around Old Man Weilong's seat, almost everyone was glaring in anger, radiating a sense of deep-seated hatred.

This group was undoubtedly composed of the elites from the Linghui Courtyard.

On the other side, clearly demarcated from them, Kasi was somewhat mindful of appearances. His expression could barely be considered serious.

The bunch of people around him were much more unrestrained. Upon Fu Qian's appearance, their excitement was palpable; they looked like they could barely hold themselves back from pulling out a celebratory banner.

The side with the smallest reaction was undoubtedly the Sword Comprehension Institute, which was also where the only female Demigod sat.

At this moment, this entire group wore uniformly blank expressions, giving off the distinct vibe that they despised every other side equally.

As for why the four institutes were represented by only three factions?

Ah Kai from the Benevolent Curse Institute was currently sitting all by his lonesome in a corner, dozing off.

It was obvious that for this group of highly eccentric mystics, he was the only representative who had shown up.

"Professor Fu."

Amid his musings, Li Weixuan, one of the three people on the rostrum, spoke up with a tranquil expression.

"Regardless, thank you for being here today. Let us begin."

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