Burning

Following Zhou Kai's line of sight, one looks down toward the low-lying area of the town.

A cluster of flames burns silently in the darkness, like the only source of light in heaven and earth besides the thunder.

It dyes that entire area a deep crimson.

The fire rages, and the rising black smoke seems to twist into the shapes of wailing human faces.

Looking closely, it is a Wicker Doll standing seven or eight meters tall, walking slowly along the streets of Soraka Town.

Half of its body is wrapped in these eerie flames; whenever the rain touches the fire, it hisses and evaporates into a foul, pitch-black stench, unable to extinguish it at all.

It is precisely this thing that made Zhou Kai, who had just been brimming with fighting spirit, instantly decide to retreat into his shell.

"What on earth is this monster?"

Zhou Kai immediately retracts his gaze, not daring to look again, the warnings in the Morning Star Notes still ringing in his ears.

The fire that the rain cannot quench is truly too bizarre...

He saw with his own eyes a Chain-Hammer Armored Soldier who, merely by getting close, was instantly burned to a pile of ash, armor and all.

This thing is already beyond the scope of what he can currently handle.

"The good news is, it doesn't seem to have any desire to attack proactively, and it hasn't discovered me... I can only wait for it to get lost on its own."

A flicker of worry flashes through Zhou Kai's eyes.

But worry cannot solve the problem.

He has no choice but to go down to the first floor to continue practicing his swordsmanship by the Fireplace, honing his newly acquired power.

However, for some reason, the burning Wicker Doll begins to circle the area around Residence No. 777, as if searching for something, lingering and refusing to leave.

Over four hours pass in a flash, and the Wicker Doll still stands in the puddle in the lowlands like a silent, crimson statue.

The sense of unease in Zhou Kai's heart grows heavier and heavier.

"I feel like I've forgotten something... Oh no!"

Zhou Kai suddenly remembers a hint the Sanctuary gave him when he was forcibly conscripted last night.

[When you stand still, the darkness will follow like a shadow.]

Connecting this to the Chain-Hammer Armored Soldier who showed up inexplicably after the Blood Tide ended...

Zhou Kai's mouth twitches: "Fine, I get it now. This hellhole discriminates against shut-ins, right? If I dare to hide and stay put, you send a forced demolition crew?"

Otherwise, there is no way to explain the sudden visit of the Chain-Hammer Armored Soldier and the inexplicable increase in monsters around the area at that time.

Of course, with Zhou Kai's current strength, most monsters showing up at his door are just delivering takeout.

Even if he faced the Chain-Hammer Armored Soldier again, he could absolutely dismantle it into spare parts.

But now... what Zhou Kai worries about is the "demolition team captain" outside that comes with its own flames.

"What if we start fighting and it draws that thing over? How is that any different from deleting my account and starting over?"

"Hold the Sanctuary? If the house gets burned down by it, how much experience points will I have to spend to fix it?"

Zhou Kai steadies himself.

"Time to return to reality."

"There is no point in staying here and wasting time."

"Although I'll still have to face this thing when I come back tomorrow night, I have a whole day in reality; I should be able to get even stronger."

Most importantly, he has been thinking about the secret medicine from the martial arts gym.

Today, during the day, is the beginning of his step into the true world of ancient martial arts!

"Log out!"

Zhou Kai watches the dancing flames in the Fireplace, and his consciousness instantly detaches.

In the bathroom.

"Xiao Kai, are you performing performance art in the bathtub?"

Lu Yan holds up her phone, the beam of the flashlight acting like a stage spotlight, hitting Zhou Kai precisely as he lies in the bathtub.

Zhou Kai is dazed for a moment, thinking he has fallen into a dream within a dream, and subconsciously wants to "wake up" again.

And Lu Yan also thinks she is dreaming...

After all, what sane person would sleep in a bathtub in the middle of the night while fully clothed!

Ten seconds later, both confirm that this is not a dream.

"I'm going back to sleep."

Zhou Kai climbs out of the bathtub with stiff movements and rushes into the bedroom without looking back.

The entire process is smooth and fluid, so fast that it leaves no time for any awkwardness to ferment.

"Eh..."

Lu Yan held her forehead, watching his retreating figure as he fled in a panic, and shook her head with a strange expression.

In the guest bedroom where Zhou Qing used to live, Zhou Kai felt no sleepiness at all.

He drew the curtains, turned on the desk lamp, sat down at the desk, and took the Morning Star Notes out of his inventory.

The notes were exquisitely bound, like a fine piece of art, yet the paper was rough and yellowed, containing many unreadable inserts.

Zhou Kai flipped directly to the page that had allowed him to comprehend the Occultism skill.

It recorded a secret ritual of the ancient Church of Light.

[They would pack the annual harvest, catch from the sea, and game from the hunt into wicker human effigies, praying for a bountiful year through the method of burning.]

"So it was wicker men..."

"Harvest? How do I look at it, and see that what is packed inside those vines is clearly..."

Zhou Kai's eyelid twitched. He could see it clearly: within those deep red flames, there were countless struggling human silhouettes, and the soaring black smoke gathered into the shapes of ghostly faces!

"What is the relationship between the Church of Light in the dream and the one in reality?"

Zhou Kai's doubts grew deeper.

He had checked the information before, but no matter how he looked at it, the Church of Light in reality was completely different from the one described in the Morning Star Notes.

And that hundred-meter-tall black cathedral...

There was no such building anywhere near the real Soraka Town.

Not to mention any "Helen-Backerberg Parish."

After pondering alone for a while, Zhou Kai decided to... request outside assistance.

He logged into that antique forum once again.

In his friend list, the name "Flash Dirham" was lit up.

"This enthusiastic foreign brother isn't asleep yet... That makes sense, he knows so much about Soraka-related history, he probably lives somewhere near there in reality."

"On the other side of the Earth."

"It's the middle of the night here in Red Star, so it should be daytime over there."

As long as he was awake, Zhou Kai had something to ask him.

"Brother, let me ask you something. Does the Church of Light have a tradition of growing flowers and fire sacrifices?"

The other side replied almost instantly.

Flash Dirham: "Are you that interested in the history of the Soraka family?"

The other party did not answer directly, but this counter-question instantly cleared a hurdle in Zhou Kai's mind.

Zhou Kai followed up: "Of course, I've traced it all the way to the Church of Light."

Flash Dirham: "Come to think of it, the translation 'Church of Light' isn't quite accurate. In the ancient language, the word has a feminine connotation... if you were to translate it using the vocabulary of your Red Star."

"Calling it the 'Church of End-Light' or 'Church of Dusk' would be more appropriate. Its original meaning is the Light of the End."

Zhou Kai: "I see, I've learned something today."

The other party seemed very happy to share his professional knowledge, not only answering questions but also proactively throwing out many topics.

He was just waiting for Zhou Kai to follow his lead and ask more.

And Zhou Kai... was more than happy to oblige.

The two went back and forth, and an hour passed just like that.

Some key information finally surfaced.

The core point lay with the ancient conqueror who had bestowed the surname upon the Soraka family.

Last time, Zhou Kai had been too focused on researching the Soraka family and their swordsmanship, neglecting this most crucial figure.

Flash Dirham: "The church flower and sacrificial customs basically only appeared in a special sect of the Church of Dusk."

"Remember that ancient conqueror I mentioned last time? He was one of the sages worshipped by the 'Limpidi Sect' of the Church of Dusk."

"His name is hard to verify now, but as far as I know, he was called... Arcana II."

"The Soraka family were his personal guard knights, and also the protective army of the Limpidi Sect... The name means 'Sound of Silence,' and the family motto is 'Silence'."

"Although the Limpidi Sect belongs to the Church of Dusk, their faith... is a bit different."