The Most Dangerous Place Is the Safest Place

"..."

Watching the girl crouch on the ground with her head in her hands, Fang Zheng had no idea what to say for a moment. After thinking it over, he finally sighed helplessly and reached out his hand. He could not just leave her squatting there forever.

"Are you all right?"

"Ah..."

Hearing Fang Zheng's voice, the girl trembled again. Then she cautiously looked at the hand he had extended. After hesitating for a moment, she finally reached out tremblingly and took it, allowing Fang Zheng to pull her to her feet.

"I-I'm terribly sorry for making a fool of myself..."

"No, it's nothing..."

"Th-then... please wait a moment..."

Taking a deep breath, the girl put her hood back on. That seemed to ease her nervousness considerably. She returned to the bookshelf, took out a heavy book, and laid it open on the table. Picking up the Feather Pen beside it, she made a gesture toward the Crystal Ball. Fang Zheng then saw a strange azure force emerge from within the Crystal Ball. Guided by the Feather Pen in the girl's hand, it descended into the book, and a peculiar, mysterious symbol appeared on the formerly blank page. It was shaped like a cross-shaped star, encircled by a ring with a line of strange writing resembling oracle bone script around its edge. Fang Zheng could not understand what it said, but from his memories, he knew it was the so-called Language of the Stars of this world. Legend said that when the Goddess of Order created the world, she gave every star its own meaning in order to stabilize it. Yet no one but the gods could decipher this language.

"Barren Lands... Star of Reappearance..."

The girl murmured softly, so quietly that even Fang Zheng could not make out what she was saying. Soon, however, she closed the large book in her hands. Then she took a silver badge from a drawer and placed it before herself. Raising the Feather Pen again, she tapped the Crystal Ball. Another stream of the same power was swiftly drawn out and absorbed into the silver badge. The Crystal Ball before her dimmed once more.

"All right, sir. Please keep this badge safe. It has recorded your Star Pattern."

Perhaps because her true appearance had been exposed, the girl's voice was no longer the deliberately deep tone from before. Instead, it was an exceptionally pleasant voice. The moment Fang Zheng heard it, he understood why she had deliberately disguised herself like that. Her natural voice simply had no intimidation to it at all. No matter how he listened, it sounded as though she were softly pleading with someone.

Although that voice, paired with the girl's adorable appearance, made her seem perfectly suited to acting cute, it was clearly not enough to hold the room as a government official.

"Thank you."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng took the badge. Then he closed his eyes and poured his power into it. Very soon, a dark starry sky appeared before him. A vast field of stars shimmered within it, while the star at the very center was the most dazzling of them all.

So this was his Destiny Star, but...

Fang Zheng compared it with the Star Pattern that had originally belonged to Williams in his memories, then nodded in satisfaction. He was no astrologer and could not understand star charts at all, but he could still compare two charts for differences. Clearly, the two stars were positioned in completely different places. At least in Fang Zheng's eyes, they had nothing in common.

Then he could proceed.

With that thought, Fang Zheng smiled faintly and put away the badge before looking at the girl again.

"Miss, I have a small request."

"What request?"

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, the girl tilted her head curiously. Then, as though realizing something, she hurriedly waved her hands.

"Th-that is, my teacher said I can't just go out to eat with strange men..."

"..."

Fang Zheng very much wanted to tell her that she was overthinking things, but on second thought, if he did not have all these troublesome matters to deal with, he might really have invited her out for a meal. Still, that could wait until later.

"It's like this..."

Fang Zheng coughed and shoved those strange thoughts out of his mind.

"I wish to visit the Holy Temple, and I hope you can issue me a letter of introduction."

"The Holy Temple? A letter?"

The girl froze upon hearing Fang Zheng's words, then finally understood.

"Sir, are you planning to join the Holy Temple?"

"Yes."

Hearing that, Fang Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that although this young lady seemed a little muddleheaded, she was at least still a normal person. Ordinary people certainly did not need a letter to enter the Holy Temple and pray. Fang Zheng was not going there to pray to the Goddess of Order for forgiveness, nor was he there to sightsee. He meant exactly what he said: he wanted to join the Holy Temple.

Of course, any tightly organized religion had its own strict procedures for accepting new members, and the Holy Kingdom, a theocratic nation, was naturally no exception. For an outsider like Fang Zheng to join the Holy Temple, the first thing he had to do was apply to become a Guardian Knight Trainee of the Holy Temple.

Do not mistake that for some glorious title. Although the title of Knight did sound impressive, Guardian Knight Trainees were, frankly speaking, much like the educated youths sent to the countryside in Fang Zheng's former world. They had to shoulder sacred missions and travel to the harshest, poorest places, fighting evil to protect the people. Their enemies came in every variety: local natives such as Gnolls and Goblins, Bandits and raiders who terrorized entire regions, not to mention Cultists and Undead that were everywhere like rats, as well as all manner of Chaos Aberrations.

Of course, danger also brought opportunity. If those Guardian Knight Trainees returned alive and completed their missions successfully, they would be recognized by the Holy Temple as Knights. If they accomplished some tremendous feat during that process, they might even be granted the title of Grand Knight or Knight Commander, receiving lands and armies of their own.

For the children of nobles, even if they achieved nothing particularly great, as long as they did not commit any unforgivable crimes during the process, it would be like adding a layer of splendid gold to their credentials, which would be quite beneficial for future promotion.

But generally speaking, only lower nobles and descendants of minor noble families chose this path. After all, being sent off to the countryside was a grueling process. Those who could not sleep without beautiful women and warm beds would never adapt to the dangerous life in the wilderness.

Fang Zheng watched as the girl picked up a sheet of paper and wrote something on it. Then she lifted the huge ivory seal beside her with both hands and, with some effort, stamped it onto the paper. After sealing it, she handed it over.

"Please keep it safe, sir."

"Thank you, miss."

Fang Zheng reached out and tucked the letter into his clothes, then smiled faintly at the girl.

"When you have time, let's have a meal together."

After saying that, Fang Zheng did not wait for her answer. He simply turned and left with a smile.

The most dangerous place was the safest place.

When Fang Zheng left City Hall and entered the Holy Temple without any obstruction, he could not help sighing inwardly that this saying truly was an eternal truth.

Compared with the nearly empty City Hall, security at the Holy Temple was far tighter. Though it was not quite guarded every few steps, fully armed Holy Temple Warriors could still be seen standing watch and patrolling everywhere. Even so, the soldiers carrying spears and swords did not cast so much as the slightest glance at Fang Zheng. They remained as focused as statues. Perhaps even they did not believe that a Cultist wanted by the Holy Temple would swagger straight into this sacred place.

It seemed that, no matter the world, intelligent creatures all shared the same traits.

"I am from the Silver Duchy."

Fang Zheng found a Temple Bishop, briefly explained his purpose, and handed over the letter he had received from the girl earlier.

"I have come here to seek the guidance and revelation of Order."

"I understand."

The bishop was an elderly man with white hair and beard. Clearly, this was not his first time receiving noble youths like Fang Zheng. The Old Bishop opened the letter and read it carefully, then inspected the seal and signature. Afterward, he nodded to Fang Zheng without betraying any emotion.

"Come with me, child."

After saying that, the old man turned and headed toward the Inner Court, while Fang Zheng silently followed behind him. The two passed through a corridor and entered the Inner Court. The old man then stopped before a Holy Emblem made from a circular slab of marble and turned to Fang Zheng.

"Step onto it, young man."

"All right."

Fang Zheng lightly pressed a hand against his sword hilt. He could even feel cold sweat forming in his palm. This was the final step, and the most important one. He had made more than enough preparations to face this Trial.

He knew what this was. Everyone on the continent knew, and Cultists knew it even more deeply.

Everyone had to take responsibility for everything they did. Their actions would extend to the end of the Thread of Fate, like ink on parchment leaving behind its marks. No one could alter what had already happened, and the dust of history could not conceal every truth.

Order endured forever.

Fang Zheng knew very well that once he stepped onto this platform, the Radiance of Order would begin its search. Like antivirus software, it would determine whether he was a virus—the enemy of Order.

Or rather, whether he was one of those damned Cultists who worshipped Chaos.

And all of it would be determined through Fang Zheng's Soul Star.

Although Fang Zheng would swear ten thousand times over that he was absolutely not a Cultist, who knew how accurate this thing was?

Even antivirus software sometimes mistakenly deleted system files.

All he could do now was hope this firewall was accurate enough—at the very least, it had to be better than Kaspersky.

With that thought, Fang Zheng took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform.

The next moment, pure white radiance descended from above and enveloped his body.