They Played Dirty!

When a conman surnamed Cheng tries to confide in you, the best approach is to not believe anything he says next, and not get caught up in his attempts to connect. Just turn around and walk away to avoid being scammed.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "the onlooker sees Cheng Shi than the player," and not everyone can escape Cheng Shi's trap of sincerity. Almost everyone who senses Cheng Shi's genuineness pauses for a moment, reciprocating with the same sincerity, only to be deceived and subsequently contract a strange disease called "trust."

Qin Xin is one of them.

Regardless of his stance, he truly could not become Cheng Shi's enemy, especially after sensing Cheng Shi's frankness; there was even less reason for him to ignore the situation and take action directly.

He put down the Giant Bow, his brow furrowed, and said:

"I'm sorry, but since you know about the Fire Keeper, you should know that I cannot and will not abandon them."

I must return to my own world and bring this Divine Authority back; this is important for the Fire Keeper.

Therefore, no matter what your obsession with Divine Authority may be, I will not compromise.

But for the sake of Cheng Shi being a friend of the Fire Keeper in my world...

He glanced cautiously at the two people in front of him, then nodded and said:

"I'm willing to give you both a chance to explain your identities."

You're right. If you come from Another World, then we really shouldn't be enemies.

I met the two of them not long ago. The reason I believe they are my friends is because they witnessed the whole process when I found the Divine Authority, and they did not covet the Divine Authority I had. They even 'protected' me from the outside until I inherited the Divine Authority.

I believe that a true friend is someone who can watch others take away Divine Authority without hostility, only offering blessings.

"???"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi finally understood what kind of trap those two swindlers had set for him.

Okay, okay, that was really dirty!

Using the information gap arising from his Divine Authority to deceive Qin Xin, while simultaneously leaving himself with a mess that makes it difficult to trust the other party, is truly disgusting.

The key issue is that Divine Authority is difficult to prove; probably no one in the True Universe would share Divine Authority with someone of unknown identity.

Hong Lin, unaware of the crucial point, was also shocked upon hearing this.

She looked at Qin Xin in astonishment, then at Cheng Shi, and for a moment she couldn't think of any way to refute him.

To be fair, if she were in Qin Xin's position right now, she probably wouldn't believe that the person who would entrust her with Divine Authority would be a liar.

But if I do that, won't I become a fraudster?

These two swindlers not only cheated me, but they also stole my identity!?

Hong Lin was furious and vehemently denied it, saying, "Even so, they are fake; we are the real ones."

However, this explanation was too weak, and Qin Xin couldn't possibly believe it.

He understood Hong Lin and knew that the answer to this question couldn't be given by Hong Lin, so he waited for Cheng Shi's response from beginning to end.

Cheng Shi's expression became extremely strange. He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a way to prove his identity from his own perspective, so he could only pass the buck back to Qin Xin.

He explained to Qin Xin what it meant for the existence of the world to be the foundation of Faith, and told him that the Divine Authority of other worlds could not be inherited or Proxy by the life of Another World. Therefore, it wasn't that those two swindlers didn't covet his Divine Authority, but rather that it was useless for them to covet it, because the Divine Authority that Qin Xin could obtain could not possibly be obtained by those two.

Unless, of course, they really are liars from the same world as Qin Xin.

But the top con artists who could fool Cheng Shi in the original world are all Giggle and Mock, trying to find Cheng Shi to Nose of Discernment. How could they possibly be here?

So Cheng Shi told Qin Xin that he had been deceived, deceived by a conman in the True Universe.

Qin Xin understood the rules, and upon reflection, he could comprehend them. He even wanted to believe that Cheng Shi wasn't a fraud, but he still asked a question that Cheng Shi couldn't answer:

What are they after?

"..."

To be honest, Cheng Shi also wanted to know the answer to this question.

He had indeed been outsmarting those two con artists all along, but the problem was, they hadn't actually gotten anything out of him. He couldn't even figure out their motives; he only knew they were conning him, but he didn't know why...

It can't be just for fun...

Besides, this shouldn't be asked of the victim, but of the person involved!

Cheng Shi's face was stiff, and his expression changed several times before he finally decided to play the "honesty" card.

"I don't know." He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then sighed helplessly. "It's funny, I don't know why they lied to me, to Hong Lin, and to you."

But the truth is, they did lie to us.

This explanation is even weaker than Hong Lin's outright denial.

Qin Xin smiled; his expression finally softened.

He was a leader who was good at recognizing people, and with the added Divine Authority of [War], his ability to see people was far greater than before. He was basically certain that the Cheng Shi in front of him was the real Cheng Shi, but he was not yet sure if the other party was the Cheng Shi from his own world.

Of course, even so, he didn't want to deny the original Cheng Shi and Hong Lin. He felt they were both good people, at most they just didn't belong to the same world.

From Qin Xin's perspective, at least in the True Universe, he hasn't encountered any "bad guys" yet.

From this perspective, the universe still seems to hold hope.

Just as the explanations were becoming increasingly weak and the heart-to-heart talk reached a stalemate, Cheng Shi suddenly had a flash of inspiration, patted the Big Cat's bear leg, and said excitedly:

"I've got it! I've got a solution!"

It should have been thought of earlier; it's actually quite simple. Since the world and Divine Authority are 'bound' together, we only need to verify whether each other can Proxy Divine Authority on behalf of the other.

Qin Xin, I know you have doubts and are worried that we are coveting your Divine Authority, but rest assured, we can complete the verification without you lifting a finger!

Next, I'd like to introduce you to the person sitting next to me:

She is not only my friend Hong Lin, but also the daughter of [Prosperity], Flazhol, a candidate for [Prosperity], and the sole Proxy of the will of [Prosperity]!

She inherits the Divine Authority of [Prosperity], so if you can successfully Proxy on Hong Lin's Divine Authority, you will naturally know whether you and I come from the same world.

I think you wouldn't refuse such a safe approach.

"!!!"

Qin Xin was shocked.

"Hong Lin is the new [Prosperity]!?"

He hadn't forgotten Sun Miao's analysis in the Fire-Keeping Hall. This "Vice President" had said that someone had stolen the [Prosperity] Divine Throne, and now it seemed that the other party was absolutely right.

Qin Xin simply didn't expect Hong Lin to be the lucky one.

Of course, Hong Lin's strength is sufficient, and her will is close enough, but...

Qin Xin decided not to think about it any further. He looked at Hong Lin in surprise, only to find that Hong Lin had no objection to the suggestion.

What does this tell us?

This is not only a manifestation of the deep friendship between the two people on the other side, but also shows that Cheng Shi can influence the "distribution" of the Divine Authority of a True God, even with just words!

Could it be that Cheng Shi pushed Hong Lin onto the Divine Throne beneath her?

Otherwise, why would she trust Cheng Shi so much?

Thinking about this, Qin Xin suddenly realized.

No wonder they also come seeking the Divine Authority [War]; it seems this Fate Weaver wants to elevate a player to the Divine Throne of [War].

Qin Xin pondered for a moment, neither accepting nor rejecting the suggestion, but instead asked curiously:

Who did you choose?

"What?" Cheng Shi feigned ignorance instantly.

Qin Xin smiled and pressed on more directly, "Whom do you want to place on the Divine Throne of [War]?"

Seeing that he couldn't fool a clever person, Cheng Shi curled his lip and said:

"You.

No one is more suited to that position than you.

This isn't a compliment, nor am I trying to gain your trust; this is simply the truth.

Whether it's a raging fire that dares to challenge everything, or a warm flame left over from the world, you are the best vessel.

Some fires are meant to burn within you.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Shi wanted Hong Lin to try to share his Divine Authority, but before Hong Lin could make a move, Qin Xin on the other side lit a wisp of flame on his fingertip, flicked it out, and sent it to Cheng Shi.

Under the puzzled gazes of the two, Qin Xin smiled and said:

"Passing the Flame is never something that one person can accomplish alone."

I never expected you to accept our invitation to join the Passing the Flame, but I see in you the same Unyielding as we do.

This is the Divine Authority of [War], 'Unyielding'.

I'm sharing this with you not to ask for anything in return, nor to ask you to help the Fire Keeper, but simply to tell you:

You, Cheng Shi, have always been the same kind of person as us, the Fire Keeper.

As they spoke, the flickering flame struck Cheng Shi's chest and entered his heart. Cheng Shi felt a sudden surge of heat throughout his body, and a ray of Unyielding light shone in his heart.

Successful Proxy; identity verification completed.

Qin Xin revealed an expression that said, "I knew it," and laughed loudly:

"It really was you."

We meet again, Fate Weaver.