Acting

Realizing his intentions had been thoroughly seen through and his hypnotic Auling Power completely blocked, Xiaowalus's expression first stiffened, then filled with panic.

"I apologize. I have been a Lord for too long and committed an old habit without realizing it. I meant no offense, please forgive me, Messenger!" The Lord immediately bowed to apologize to the youth.

"Hmph." Ye Chen let out a sound of disdain while loosening his grip on his bleeding flesh, turning instead to cradle his own cheek.

"However, my appearance was indeed rather sudden, so it is only natural for you to be suspicious. I shall let you see my face."

As he spoke, Ye Chen pulled down his mask, revealing the human features of his face completely to Xiaowalus's gaze.

"Ah!?"

Seeing Ye Chen's true face, Xiaowalus could not help but exclaim in shock.

After all, those were features completely different from their own Frost White Person appearance, and even after serving as the Lord of Frost White City for so many years, Xiaowalus had never seen or even heard of any other Sapien Race within this Eternal Winter Hidden Domain.

"Y-your appearance. Could it be that you are from...!?"

The shocked Lord nearly dropped the wine glass in his hand, stammering as he asked.

"That's right. I come from the wider world outside and belong to another race that believes in the Abyss. The reason I have appeared before you is to expand the territory of the Abyss."

Ye Chen did not care about Xiaowalus's shock, answering in a flat tone.

"Now, you should believe in my identity, right?"

Xiaowalus stood dumbfounded for several dozen seconds, then suddenly slammed his head onto the tea table in front of him, apologizing to Ye Chen again with a bruised forehead:

"I believe! I believe you are the Messenger of the Abyss! Please forgive my previous rudeness! I am willing to do anything to restore your mood--!"

As he spoke, he knocked his head against the table several more times with force, causing the surface to crack instantly while blood began to flow from his forehead.

"Enough, enough. Do not perform such meaningless actions. I only want to let the Abyss shroud this world as soon as possible, so I need your assistance as the Lord."

Ye Chen waved his hand, signaling for Xiaowalus to calm down and bringing the conversation back on track.

"Yes, yes! Whatever you command, just say it, and I will do my utmost to carry it out!"

Xiaowalus responded impatiently while wiping the blood from his face with a handkerchief.

Ye Chen took a handkerchief printed with blue runes from his chest, focused his mind, and caused a sheet of white paper to emerge instantly from the strange runes on the surface of the handkerchief, leaving Xiaowalus stunned; clearly, he did not understand the concept of the General Spirit Art known as Space Storage.

In the center of the white paper, a strange Circle Array filled with obscure symbols was drawn in red ink.

Xiaowalus took the white paper and observed the red Circle Array before him, whispering his guess:

"Could this be the ritual array needed to summon the Abyss?"

"Correct. I do not know where you collected all the messy information in this study, but it is just a pile of worthless trash; otherwise, you would not have spent years working without any results."

Ye Chen nodded, taking the opportunity to belittle all of Xiaowalus's past research subjects.

"The array recorded on this paper is the correct way to summon the Abyss. It was with this that I summoned the Abyss to my own homeland."

Having said this, Ye Chen let out a cold, cackling laugh, truly performing the chilling temperament unique to an evil mastermind.

Xiaowalus stared blankly at the white paper in his hand, but instead of feeling any displeasure at Ye Chen's mockery, he felt a sense of clarity and relief, as if the clouds had parted.

As long as he could summon the Abyss, Xiaowalus was satisfied; he did not care in the slightest whether his past efforts had been in vain. His obsession with the Abyss had reached such a level.

"I need you to order your subordinates to go to the four cardinal points of Frost White City, then use the white paper as a template to draw a Circle Array with a radius of ten meters using red ink, and sprinkle ten milliliters of your blood in the center of each array."

"Also, drive everyone in the city outside the gates as much as possible. Because once the array is activated, Frost White City will become the center of the summoning ritual, and all living beings outside the center will become sacrifices to welcome the Abyss. The more sacrifices, the happier the Abyss will be. By then, we will have the fortune of watching the Abyss enjoy its fill in your home."

Ye Chen laughed coldly, walking toward the balcony door of the study, looking at the darkening sunset outside the window, and gave his final instructions to Xiaowalus.

"The summoning ritual requires precise timing. The array must be activated at exactly twelve o'clock at night. Although there are less than six hours left, I believe that with your ability as the Lord, you should be able to get everything done, right?"

Xiaowalus paused for a moment, whispering the key points of the ritual Ye Chen mentioned several times until every step was branded into his heart, before bowing to Ye Chen with a solemn attitude to make his promise.

"I will not let you down. I will mobilize the manpower to prepare for the ritual immediately! While I am preparing, please stay in the mansion and rest. If you have any requests, just tell the servants, and I will make them satisfy you with their lives! Then, I shall take my leave, Messenger, farewell!"

Xiaowalus finished his polite farewell and rushed out of the study in a flurry, loudly mobilizing all the personnel of the estate and issuing several major instructions in succession, causing the once-quiet estate to soon fill with the sounds of busy footsteps.

"Phew."

Left alone in the study, Ye Chen breathed a sigh of relief. After covering his face with the mask again, he walked out of the door and coldly ordered the servant specifically assigned to him by Xiaowalus: "While the Lord is away, take me on a tour of this mansion and the surrounding estate. I want to see every single place."

The servant agreed respectfully and then led Ye Chen to familiarize himself with the surrounding building structure step by step.

The departing Xiaowalus first ordered his personal guard to go to the four corners of the city to prepare the ritual arrays, then urgently mobilized all the guards in the city, ordering them to be fully armed and, regardless of age or gender, to drive all the residents in the streets and alleys of Frost White City outside the gates.

Faced with such absurd and sudden measures, the guards were deeply confused and asked for the reason.

But Xiaowalus was too lazy to explain the details to them, directly using his voice filled with Auling Power to hypnotize them, causing them to instantly become obedient puppets.

Just like that, the guards controlled by Xiaowalus swept through the streets and alleys of Frost White City in groups, expelling the residents from streets, shops, and even their homes one by one. They did not even spare those in the toilets, reaching in to drag them out roughly before tossing them into the crowds in the streets.

Xiaowalus's eviction order was in full swing. Such a sudden, large-scale operation without any explanation naturally incurred the dissatisfaction of the masses, leading them to take up weapons and start a riot.

However, just as the guards were struggling to suppress the anger of the civilians, Xiaowalus appeared in time, once again using his magnetic voice to begin a large-scale brainwashing of the crowd.

In the end, the furious people suddenly returned to calm, then put down their weapons with dull eyes, lined up in an orderly fashion, and walked out of the city gates obediently under the guidance of the guards.

The sun set and the full moon rose. As the hour hand on the clock turned round and round, the once noisy Frost White City finally quieted down, while the plains outside the city gates were packed with people.

Ye Chen, located in the Lord's mansion, stood on the balcony outside the study, looking out at the subsiding chaos in the city, then shifted his gaze to the bright, cold moonlight in the night sky, remaining silent with a firm look in his eyes.

The youth knew in his heart: soon it would be time for him to reveal his true identity as a Hunter and carry out his final hunt in this world, so he must do his best to let this final trial end perfectly; he must not let his teacher down.

Absolutely not!

Ye Chen resolved.