A Brief History of the Transcendental (4,000-Word Chapter!)

"Scholar Tang, could you let us take a look at the Holy Covenant Tablet?"

"Principal Tang, there are rumors that the Green Dragon Ridge Lake secret realm contains the corpse of an Ancient Green Dragon. Is that true?"

"Tang, I want to know the secrets within the Ancient Mayan Ruins—the ones that weren't published in the Mysterious Daily."

"Scholar Tang, as the human friend of the 'Lord of Thorns,' has He ever told you the secret of the Great Cataclysm?"

"Tang, what does it feel like to be listed as a sinner by the Church of Light and believed to be destined, a year from now, to shed your skin and beg the Lord of Light for forgiveness?"

"Tang, there are rumors that you possess a wooden boat capable of traveling between mystery and reality, possibly the ancient Curio Ship of Fools?"

Standing before the round table, Tang Qi faced dozens of scholars burning with curiosity. Men and women, elders and youths alike, all had intense curiosity in their eyes.

Across from him, Rose Madeline blinked at him over her glasses and joined in, asking, "Tang, got any recent gossip to share?"

The moment she spoke, Rose was met with glares from her colleagues.

Clearly, not every scholar adored gossip.

Tang Qi's popularity naturally had nothing to do with his position as chief consultant. Any one of the scholars here possessed an identity and background that allowed them to disregard the Federation authorities.

They were so curious about Tang Qi because he possessed numerous identities far beyond those of New Era Transcendents: Furnace Witch, Witch principal, adventurer, Evil God Bane... and he had even become friends with the "Lord of Thorns."

After all, gods and humans were fundamentally two different forms of life, separated by a nearly unbridgeable gap.