Tang Chuan: Do you expect me to call you Mom? Yue Xuan's cultivation!

That is why they say religious faith is a convenient way to shirk responsibility.

In his past life, whenever Lynch tried to dodge a blind date, it was hard to make his mother believe anything he said; now, he only needed to mention the Goddess, and Mountbatten would immediately give up on trying to set him up.

"Make sure someone keeps an eye on Upton today. If he makes any suspicious moves, go to Zolant Street and set off a red firework. I'll be ready as soon as I hear it, so don't worry."

Lynch finished his breakfast, gave Mountbatten his instructions, and then left to head toward the Blackthorn Security Company.

He walked through the door full of anticipation, only to be met by Rozanne's accusatory gaze.

He immediately remembered the promise he had made to her.

He had forgotten to buy her breakfast.

"My mistake. How about I buy you two portions tomorrow?"

Lynch chuckled sheepishly.

Rozanne huffed in displeasure, acting as if she didn't see a big guy like him at all.

"Klein said the captain is waiting for you in his office."

Rozanne relayed Klein's message with a pout and tossed a piece of bread at him.

"Eat it. I couldn't finish it, so you get the leftovers!"

Lynch gave the kind girl a grateful look. He had broken his word, yet she was still willing to pass on messages and share her bread with him.

By comparison, he felt he had been a bit aggressive last time.

No, that was definitely Rozanne's fault.

Lynch patted his own head, silently cursing himself for being a fool, getting swayed so easily by a girl's bread and a few words.

Lynch grumbled to himself for a moment before walking into Dunn's office.

He repeated the conversation he'd had with Mountbatten to Dunn, explaining that he didn't dare tell Mountbatten the exact address, only instructing him to set off the firework.

He would stay alert over the next few days, and if anything happened, he hoped Dunn could bring some Beyonders to join him there.

Dunn nodded, signaling that he could give such orders whenever necessary as long as he was around; if push came to shove, there was always Leonard and the others.

Lynch nodded. He was certain Dunn would be there, unless Dunn received a telegram from the Church of the Goddess calling for a meeting the moment the signal went off.

But he shouldn't be that unlucky; Lynch still had some faith in that regard.

"Alright, go back and continue your lessons with Old Neil."

Dunn said calmly, then chuckled when he saw the look of astonishment on Lynch's face.

"I know you think dealing with the cult is important, but if the cult is crushed, your merit will be enough to consume the pathway bestowed by the Goddess. By then, you'll be a Beyonder, you know?

Learning mystical knowledge brooks no delay. After all, Leonard is right—the pathway bestowed by the Goddess doesn't enhance your memory, and you won't be able to cheat your way through it."

"I'm not the type to cheat; I'll rely on my own hard work!"

Lynch declared in advance. He was different from them.

The Sleepless pathway might have a poor memory, but other pathways had ones that were excellent!

He didn't believe he couldn't find a Beyonder who could enhance memory. Even if he consumed the Sleepless potion, he would show Dunn and the others what a memory superman looked like!

That's right, he had already decided: he would consume the Sleepless pathway bestowed by the Goddess. That way, the potion would be provided for him, and he wouldn't have to rely on his meager salary to buy it.

If he chose another pathway, he would have to find a way to source the potion formulas himself.

Although some were in the original work—and he could get the Stone of Myriad Phenomena to generate the text of Lord of the Mysteries to learn quite a few—most of the original work didn't contain them.

The Seer pathway formula was indeed written in the book, but how would he explain to the Church of the Goddess why he was so incredibly capable of finding the full set of Seer potion formulas?

So, why bother?

Just choose Sleepless and follow the formula for that pathway; there wouldn't be any issues at all.

"I hope you won't regret it after consuming the potion. I remember Leonard used to admire the Sleepless pathway, too. Now, he's so sick of reciting poetry he wants to die."

Dunn felt Lynch had too much of a filter regarding the Goddess-bestowed pathway. He would understand what a shattered filter felt like soon enough.

Regardless, this pathway was indeed much safer than others.

"Alright, go study! I hope you're different from Leonard!"

Dunn patted Lynch on the shoulder, urging him to get to his studies.

Lynch curled his lip but still stood up and headed toward the underground armory.

Old Neil wasn't teaching Klein; the two of them were chatting, and Lynch heard his own name being mentioned repeatedly.

"Are you talking bad about me?"

He asked the moment he walked in.

Klein and Old Neil both laughed.

"Do you need others to talk bad about you? Rozanne has already spread the word everywhere, saying you're untrustworthy—not only did you fail to bring her breakfast, but you also skipped out on work."

Old Neil winked at Lynch.

Lynch sighed helplessly.

He was indeed in the wrong here; he had even forgotten to ask Klein to bring food for Rozanne.

I really hope she has calmed down by the time I go upstairs. I didn't mean to do it.

Lynch sighed once more.

"Alright, stop overthinking it. We can start the lesson now. Today's material is quite difficult; you need to learn the rituals and memorize them. I don't want to repeat myself, which is why I waited for you to arrive so I could explain it all at once."

Old Neil straightened his posture, returning to a serious expression.

Lynch quickly composed himself as well.

Then, he felt his brain begin to buzz. It was difficult—too difficult—especially being asked to memorize so much. He was really struggling.

He could only scribble down notes frantically, preparing to take them back and memorize them slowly later.

What brought him some comfort was that Klein wasn't doing any better.

Neither of their pens stopped moving; for a time, the only sounds in the room were Old Neil's lecturing and the scratching of pen tips against paper.

Of course, it was occasionally interspersed with Lynch's voice.

From time to time, he would ask Old Neil how to spell a certain word.

Old Neil felt like his head was about to explode. Often, after answering Lynch's question, he would forget where he had left off in his lecture.

"You can't even spell the words? You really need to attend the Church's night school, you fellow."

Old Neil couldn't help but grumble after the lesson ended.

Lynch looked at him immediately.

"Can't you do it? I think you teach very well!"

Old Neil didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He was happy that this guy thought he taught well, but having a poor student pester him to learn how to spell words made him want to hit someone!

But...

"A gentleman never says he can't. If you have nothing to do in the evening, come to my house to study. Your foundation is too poor. I dare not imagine the scene of you taking the entrance exam for Tingen University while unable to even spell words. As your teacher, I would surely be the laughingstock of those people!"

The moment Old Neil imagined that scene, he felt as though his lifelong reputation would be ruined.

"Right, when you come, cover your face. I don't want others to know that I have a student like you!"

Lynch: ...

Is it really that bad?

He just wasn't good at writing in Loen Language.

He used to be excellent at learning Chinese!