[Vol. 9] Chapter 85: Let Me Show Off Bro, Can You Stop Acting Cool?
Above the frozen sea, high in the sky hidden behind thick layers of clouds—
A gray-haired man in plain clothes stood in midair, hands clasped behind his back, calmly gazing upward. His eyes were fixed on the magnificent, semi-transparent barrier that stretched far above the sun, moon, and stars, separating two worlds from each other.
At such an altitude, he could clearly see every detail of that beautiful wall of light, even faintly glimpsing strange movements from the other side, where the sky seemed turned upside down, a realm that should have been connected to this one. He had once seen countless alien creatures pour out from that world into this land, but now, they were completely blocked beyond the barrier, unable to take even one step across.
Whoosh—whoosh—
The icy wind swept through his loose gray hair and fluttered the hem of his simple robe, but his body didn’t move at all. He let out a quiet sigh.
“What an astonishing feat... To protect an entire world with one’s own power, to create a system that runs on its own endlessly... Even the word ‘god’ may not be enough to describe such strength.”
As he said this, he finally turned around. His gaze shifted to a new figure slowly stepping out of the void. Yet, the gray-haired man didn’t look surprised at all. Instead, he smiled faintly, his tone playful and full of meaning.
“Miss Violet, you never fail to surprise me. Every time you act, it’s beyond what I can imagine. I’m honestly a bit curious about your secret~”
“......”
The silver-blue-eyed girl, who had just appeared, silently looked at the calm and handsome man before her. The faint glow in her eyes flickered slightly, though it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
Seeing her stay silent, the man smiled and was just about to speak again when—
“Hey, Let Me Show Off Bro, can you not start acting all mysterious every single time?”
“Pfft—!”
The sudden words made the man choke mid-sentence. His composed, elegant image collapsed instantly. His eyes, nose, and mouth twisted together in embarrassment. The serene, wise “master from beyond the world” act shattered completely, replaced by obvious frustration.
“Hey, hey, hey! Come on, Miss Violet, that’s not fair! Didn’t we agree not to bring that up again? It’s Minchen! Call me Minchen!”
He said this while hurriedly running his hand through his wind-tossed hair, pretending to be busy to cover his embarrassment. But the black-haired girl just rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, right. You just have to act cool every time. What, will you die if you stop showing off for five minutes?”
As the gray-haired man jumped up in protest, ranting about things like “This isn’t showing off, it’s called charisma!”, and “People need to look forward in life, why keep bringing up the past?”, Violet decided she had teased him enough. Ignoring his noisy complaints, she changed the subject.
“Alright, alright, ‘Mr. Charisma.’ Enough with that. I asked you to help teach that girl before, so why are you both suddenly here? Don’t tell me you’re planning something weird again?”
Even though years had passed, she hadn’t forgotten what happened back in the Holy Empire.
Minchen might not have been the mastermind behind the Divine Net project, but he had still played the role of an enabler, and even an accomplice. The two had fought a fierce battle over it. And now, with chaos rising again in the northern lands, there was no way his sudden appearance here with Hongyan was just a coincidence.
Realizing Violet wasn’t going to argue with him and had completely changed the topic, Minchen could only touch his nose awkwardly, letting out a helpless sigh.
“That’s exactly what surprises me too,” Minchen said with a light smile. “I rarely leave my place, and I didn’t expect to run into you the moment I came out, Miss Violet. As for that girl, Hongyan, she’s very talented and works hard. Her closed-door training has just ended, but if she wants to become truly strong, just practicing behind closed doors isn’t enough. That’s why I brought her out here, to train, fight strong enemies, and gain experience.”
He seemed very fond of this “disciple” who had conveniently fallen into his lap. The moment he started talking about her, Minchen’s face lit up with pride. He kept going on and on, his tone full of excitement, like a child eager to show off a new toy.
“You don’t know, Hongyan’s talent isn’t just—”
Listening to him endlessly praise his student, Violet was completely speechless.
What on earth is he bragging about?
Does he even remember who brought that girl out from the Ancient Spirit Realm? And who was the one that chose her and sent her to study under this so-called “mentor”?
Violet was certain that this guy probably didn’t even know Hongyan’s background as well as she did.
The priestess finally understood, this man had to act cool. If he didn’t put on that “wise and mysterious master” face, his childish and unreliable personality would show through in two sentences, and he’d lose all sense of authority.
“Stop, stop, stop! I don’t have time for your nonsense, just tell me the main point!”
“Uh...”
Seeing Violet raise her staff impatiently, clearly giving the look of “keep talking and I’ll show you what pain feels like,” Minchen instantly froze. Remembering certain traumatic memories from before, he quickly shut his mouth. After a brief hesitation, he finally said,
“Alright, fine. The reason I brought Hongyan north isn’t just for her training. There’s also something important I need to deal with. But it’s... a bit complicated. I’m not sure if you’ve heard anything about it, Miss Violet...”
“If it’s complicated, then skip the details and tell me the main part. Hurry up!”
“Hmm...”
This time, Minchen didn’t joke around. His face grew serious as he spoke a few simple words.
“The Grave Robbery Case.”
Hearing that, the priestess raised an eyebrow. The name sounded familiar. She thought about it for a moment before remembering.
“Oh—you mean that huge case that happened about a year ago, between the northern part of the Human United Kingdom and the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains? The one that shocked the whole world?”
“Exactly. Since you’ve heard of it, that makes it easier to explain. But... how much do you actually know about it?”
The black-haired girl hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
Violet had indeed heard of the case, but only briefly. Back when she went to the Prison in the Courage City to secretly meet the God of Paradox. At that time, the Right Guard of the [Sin Wardens] had mentioned it in passing.
Because of that very case, the former Left Guard had died in the line of duty, and a young girl had taken the position afterward.
As for the details, the Right Guard hadn’t said much, and Violet hadn’t paid much attention either. To her, it had just been an ordinary human case. Even if it involved some higher powers, it couldn’t have been too serious. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have ended with just one Left Guard’s death.
Noticing the doubt in Violet’s expression, Minchen didn’t seem surprised. He quickly began to explain.