Audience Assembly · Passing the Flame

Du Qiyu's voice drowned out all the swindlers. He bowed respectfully towards the Fool's Game above, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, and said with a mocking expression:

In this era where the gods descended to earth to bestow upon humanity a [Faith Game], what do you all think is the funniest thing?

Everyone glanced down at their feet, but no one responded.

It's safe to say that no one will respond; nobody wants to be the "straight man" in someone else's story, especially since they are competitors.

Du Qiyu clearly didn't expect anyone else to respond, and soon he laughed to himself:

Let me reveal the answer.

They are nothing but a bunch of fools who dare to overthrow the gods and rebuild the world!

And I've actually encountered such idiots.

Ha, though those [Folly] Wise One are arrogant, they are right; ignorance truly is the original sin of mankind.

The descent of gods is the guide of the world. It's one thing to refuse to follow the guidance, but to actually think of returning everything to the past without gods is not just a fool's delusion, it's blasphemy against the gods!

What's even funnier is that they actually approached me, thinking I was a comrade-in-arms who could protect our shared destiny with them.

Listen to this word, "comrade-in-arms"?

Hahaha, how stupid! All I did was hide all the beasts and do some disguise, and they believed me and even tried to pull me into that nonsensical organization.

Do you think I would agree?

Du Qiyu was adept at controlling the pace of his speech. He paused again and began to scrutinize everyone's expressions, seemingly trying to find among his colleagues any of the "stupid people" he had mentioned.

However, the scammers remained expressionless and showed no flaws, which left Du Qiyu somewhat disappointed.

It wasn't entirely disappointing; at least the Lord Foolish Play was "moved," and he actually jumped off the first platform and came to Du Qiyu's side with admiration in his eyes.

Fool's Game shuffled around the Beast Tamer on his long, slender legs, sizing up Du Qiyu as he chuckled:

"Interesting. I'd like to know how you deal with this kind of blasphemy?"

Du Qiyu smiled slightly, seemingly not believing there was anything wrong with his actions, and bowed again to Lord Foolish Play.

"Of course, I accepted it with righteous indignation!"

A glint flashed in Du Qiyu's eyes as he began to scrutinize everyone again, including Fool's Game.

Fool's Game was taken aback, and the smile on his face became even more sinister.

"Accepted?"

So you also think that people need to rebel against the gods?

"Hmm, very good. I see your blasphemy. Now begin to expound your piety, otherwise, your path of Faith may come to an end."

Fool's Game stared at Du Qiyu with a half-smile, but the Beast Tamer showed no sign of tension. He laughed and said:

"My lord, you are mistaken. What I just said was not blasphemy, but my devotion."

I accepted their invitation not to join them in upholding some bullshit ideal or rebelling against the gods, but to infiltrate their ranks and turn it into the biggest joke of our time.

To rebel against the gods might be a grave sin of blasphemy to other deities, but for our Lord of Grace, shouldn't this be the greatest joy in the Cosmos?

My Lord Foolish Play, since I'm involved, I can naturally pull more 'swindlers' into that organization. And once the essence of resistance becomes a 'circus,' ha, I think this farce will please our Lord of Grace and also move you.

What do you think?

Du Qiyu's eyes were extremely bright; he stared intently at Fool's Game, observing his reactions.

But Fool's Game merely curled the corners of his mouth, slowly circled behind the Beast Tamer, clapped twice, and asked with a smile:

"Not bad, not bad, but you've been talking for so long and you still haven't mentioned the name of that organization."

"What, are you subconsciously protecting those blasphemers?"

Du Qiyu was taken aback, then chuckled, "Of course not, they're called..."

"Shh!"

Suddenly Fool's Game's slender arm reached over Du Qiyu's shoulder, lightly pointing to the corner of his mouth with a "1," interrupting him. He then looked at the other swindlers present and laughed loudly:

"It's getting a bit boring with only one person speaking all the time. I'd like to ask, does anyone remember the name of this organization?"

The con artists frowned but remained silent, clearly indicating that no one else present knew about the Blasphemers organization.

Fool's Game, knowing what was going on, nodded, then grabbed Du Qiyu's shoulder, his smile vanishing instantly. He slowly moved closer to the Beast Tamer's back, leaned down, and chuckled in his ear, saying:

Do you think the Foolish Deed of humankind can be hidden from the divine?

Du Qiyu, puzzled, replied, "Of course not."

"Very well, since they can't, then the gods should have known of the existence of these blasphemers long ago. Why didn't they intervene or punish them for blasphemy?"

Du Qiyu was taken aback again, but then his eyes widened, his pupils dilating, as if he had just realized something, and he said, "You mean they are protected by gods!? There are also rifts among the gods, and they use these fools as tools to scheme against each other?"

"Clever!"

Fool's Game slapped Du Qiyu twice and then laughed, "Guess again, who is the god who protects them?"

This was indeed a question before it was asked, but once it came out of Fool's Game's mouth, the answer became obvious!

"The God of Merriment!?"

"My Lord of Grace?"

Before Du Qiyu could answer, the other scammers exclaimed in surprise.

And just as the con artists realized the answer, the slender hands that had been resting on the Beast Tamer's shoulders gently grasped Beast Tamer neck.

"Smart, you got it right."

Unfortunately, you answered incorrectly.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone heard a crisp "crack" sound. Du Qiyu's pupils contracted sharply and then slowly dilated, instantly losing their light, and he collapsed helplessly into Fool's Game's arms.

The Fool's Game clicked his tongue repeatedly, casually tossing aside the Beast Tamer's corpse, and smiled as he looked up at the five remaining swindlers present, saying:

"They are called the Fire Keeper, and they are protected by our Lord of Grace."

You need not know the purpose, but simply remember that whoever witnesses what has happened today must not extinguish the fire of another.

As for what fire is...

Fool's Game sharp, mischievous gaze swept over them, then he curled his lips into a wide smile. "I don't think I need to say anything more, do I?"

"!!!"

For a moment, the people present trembled and fell silent.

Someone died Audience Assembly!

Not seeing the gods is one thing, but losing your life is another.

Of course, Du Qiyu could also have gone to meet [Death], but at this juncture, no one could bring themselves to make such a joke.

The Master of Trickery who had fought Du Qiyu before was particularly terrified. He feared that the Fool's Game would kill his opponent not because of some inexplicable Fire Keeper, but because their fight had disrupted the "Order" of the venue.

He even turned his head away, not daring to look at the Lord Foolish Play, plotting how to escape this terrifying audience venue.

The Emissary of [Deception] once again demonstrated his intimidating power at the Audience Assembly.

Seeing that no one dared to utter a sound, Fool's Game lightly, casually kicked the corpse into the Abyss, then leaped back onto the first platform, reaching out to the swindlers below him:

"The exams continue, who's next?"

"..."

This didn't feel like an exam at all; it felt more like a series of death knells.

The crowd hesitated to move, frozen in place, letting the silence flow.

Cheng Shi, behind the invisible Curtain, saw everything and looked at Long Jing with a hint of relief in his eyes.

Cheng Shi set a rule for the Clowns: never extinguish someone else's fire. The fact that Long Jing was able to carry out the Clown's will at this time undoubtedly shows that the Acrobat have completely transformed into the shape of Clown.

But what about the Beast Tamer who didn't die?

That's right, Du Qiyu is not dead at all!

Cheng Shi was behind the scenes, saw it all clearly. The moment Long Jing, who was playing the Fool's Game, put his arm around Du Qiyu's shoulder, the Beast Tamer secretly slipped something to Long Jing from behind!

Because of this, Long Jing didn't break the other person's neck. Instead, he used a misaligned perspective to snap his own wrist, making a cracking sound that stunned everyone present.

For an Acrobat, losing an arm or a leg wouldn't even be considered "severing," yet these two managed to send a conman away from the Audience Assembly in this seemingly harmless manner.

Yes, the Beast Tamer has been sent away!

If you think about it carefully, you'll find the clues. If the Fool's Game really wanted to intimidate the Believer, there was no need to dispose of the Beast Tamer's corpse. Placing the corpse on the platform would have been more impactful for the scammers.

But he deliberately chose to kick the corpse into the Abyss. This was both to prevent Du Qiyu's fake death from being exposed over time and to arrange a meeting with him. If Du Qiyu wasn't stupid, he would definitely be waiting for the Fool's Game to begin in the Abyss.

The Beast Tamer probably didn't have the ability to distinguish between genuine and feigned Fool's Game.

That's interesting.

Long Jing's intention to protect the Fire Keeper was absolutely genuine, yet he deliberately let Little Seven, who attempted to expose the Fire Keeper, go unpunished.

Cheng Shi on Little Seven, a leopard can't change its spots. The real Du Qiyu would never fool Long Jing with such a petty trick. So the answer is obvious: Long Jing accepted what Du Qiyu offered and felt that there was nothing wrong with him.

But this is actually Little Seven's biggest problem!

He is definitely not Du Qiyu!

Who could it be?

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi glanced at the Void deep inside the venue, his brows furrowing slightly.

Whoever it is, go see him... no, go and try to trick him, then we'll find out.