Blasphemer

Attentive Lin Qi on the left and fawning Enzo on the right supported Ke Cha between them as they left the men's dormitory and headed along the freshly cleared avenue toward the Master Tower. Ke Cha was in an unusually good mood, and actually chatted with Lin Qi at length, answering his questions one by one.

From Ke Cha, Lin Qi learned that he had actually been waiting for him in the dormitory since last night. But Lin Qi had happened to be making merry without restraint at The Cripple's Shop with a group of Iron Fist Brotherhood core members and had never returned to the dormitory, so Ke Cha had simply waited for him all night.

Hearing Ke Cha say this, Lin Qi was moved once again. A dignified Master Alchemist had waited in the dormitory all night just to deliver him a potion that would greatly benefit him! For a brief moment, Lin Qi felt the tiniest trace of guilt over the benefits he had embezzled from Master Ke Cha.

But that negligible guilt soon vanished from Lin Qi's heart without a trace. Master Ke Cha had the finances of the entire empire backing him—what did it matter if Lin Qi got a few benefits from him? On the contrary, Lin Qi had served him for three years, suffered severe injuries several times and countless minor ones, and lived every day under the threat of fireballs. Whether for the wounds to his body or the damage to his spirit, this Magic Tiger Potion was only rightfully due as compensation.

Lin Qi and Master Ke Cha happily traded questions and answers, while Enzo buttered him up from the side. Normally, Enzo was strong and resilient, like an unbreakable sword. But under the powerful temptation of the Magic Tiger Potion, Enzo became even more shameless than Gram. He humbly flattered Master Ke Cha, praising him as the greatest Master Alchemist beneath the heavens.

Ke Cha nodded repeatedly in deep agreement and chuckled in his hoarse, unpleasant voice. "The world's number one Master Alchemist? Perhaps that will be me? Hmm, you do have some discernment. If I can gather the materials to brew another batch of Magic Tiger Potion next time, I'll remember you."

Enzo beamed and nodded again and again, nearly ready to worship Master Ke Cha as if he were his own ancestor.

The three arrived before the Master Tower. Master Ke Cha's body suddenly stiffened, and Lin Qi and Enzo froze as well.

The Master Tower soared into the clouds. Due to the wind and snow, its northern side had already accumulated a thick layer of frost, making the entire round tower appear half black and half white, extraordinarily strange. Lush trees shaded the area around the Master Tower, and before its sole entrance lay a plaza about an acre in size.

Normally, this plaza saw few people, with only the statues standing around its edges silently guarding the place. But today, it was filled with clergy clad in black robes. Among them was a squad of Church knights in gleaming silver armor, and more than a dozen Inquisition judgment priests in red robes—figures who struck terror into the hearts of everyone on the Western Continent, from kings and nobles to common folk.

Ke Cha muttered in a low voice, "People from the Church? Why have they come here?"

Lin Qi and Enzo felt their calves cramp slightly. They suddenly remembered the thousand Atonement Talismans they had sold two days ago. Whether in paper quality, scripture, or patterns, those thousand Atonement Talismans had been identical to genuine Church-made ones. But they had been privately printed by certain underground workshops, and not a single copper from their sale had gone to the Church.

Secretly selling counterfeit Atonement Talismans was an unforgivable capital crime in the Church—even Atonement Talismans could not cleanse the sin of selling counterfeit Atonement Talismans.

Lin Qi and Enzo both prepared to flee the instant things went wrong. But on second thought, they immediately relaxed. This was the Master Tower, not the student dormitory where they lived. The Inquisition clearly had not come for them.

The three stood silently at the edge of the plaza. Nearby, nearly a hundred faculty and staff members from Fifth University stood carefully to one side, not daring to make a sound. Lin Qi even spotted Mr. Grong, drenched in sweat, as well as Marquis Brown, the principal of Fifth University, whom Lin Qi had only seen once when he first enrolled. He even saw two imperial ministers dressed in magnificent attire and sashes. Judging by the colors of their sashes, they should have been senior civil officials of the empire.

Dozens of the Church's iron-cross Flame Penitence Banners fluttered in the wind, their iron-blooded holy crosses wreathed in scarlet flames painfully glaring. Everyone held their breath, and no one dared make a sound or speak loudly. The iron-cross Flame Penitence Banner was the symbol of the Church Inquisition. Anyone who offended that organization would be hunted by the Church across the world; no one had ever been heard of escaping their grasp.

After a long, deathly silence, a hoarse, desperate howl suddenly came from within the Master Tower.

"I'm innocent! I'm innocent! What I say is the truth! Your doctrine is the empty lie! I'm innocent! I'm innocent! The place we live on is not a flat continent—the sun in the sky and the other stars, they all..."

The howl quickly vanished. A group of armored Church knights emerged from the Master Tower, dragging an elderly man who was short in stature but had an especially large head. A rag had been stuffed into his mouth. He struggled wildly, but how could he possibly be a match for those Church knights?

"In the name of God, arrest this heretic who spreads the doctrines of demons!"

A judgment priest dressed in a blood-red robe, with a fist-sized iron-blooded holy cross surrounded by thorns hanging from his chest and an aura so oppressive it stole one's breath, shouted in a low voice, "Regarding this matter, we ask the Gallic Empire to give our Church an explanation. Why was this heretic, this vile blasphemer, able to hide in your territory for so long?"

Marquis Brown, the principal of Fifth University, stammered, "Honored sir, he... he is a metallurgical expert specially hired by our empire."

The blood-robed priest gave several mocking laughs, then waved for all the clergy to escort the arrested old man away. He said darkly, "A metallurgical expert? Repent, you mortals deceived by demons. If you cannot recognize his true face, then you too shall be judged. For those unable to recognize his true face must surely have already been tainted by the blasphemer."

Marquis Brown trembled all over from the blood-robed priest's words. He lowered his head timidly and did not dare utter another word.

The two civil ministers wearing sashes also exchanged glances, then lowered their heads in reverence at the same time. Even as senior imperial ministers, before divine authority they were like withered leaves in the wind, powerless to control their own fates.

The large group of clergy departed in formation. The highest-ranking blood-robed priest walked slowly at the very rear, his cold, merciless eyes like those of a venomous snake sweeping unhurriedly over everyone present. His gaze paused briefly on Master Ke Cha. Ke Cha bowed slightly, offering the blood-robed priest his respect.

The blood-robed priest paused briefly before Master Ke Cha and said gloomily, "Every blasphemer shall be sent to the stake!"

Master Ke Cha bent at the waist, showing submission to the blood-robed priest.