"Xia Hongmian proves her path through strength; she doesn’t need such crooked methods!"

"Do you underestimate the pollution intensity of the Qin Palace Divine Ruins, or do you overestimate Qin Shanwei? I bet he absolutely, absolutely won’t come out alive!"

Everyone was in a heated argument, each voicing their opinions.

To many, Xia Hongyao and Lin Baici going to Qinling must be for an important mission, otherwise why would Xia Hongmian send her own sister and her top fighter?

"Could it be to boost her sister’s political achievements?"

A new registered user named "Three-legged Cat" posted rapidly, refreshing the screen, thrilled to participate in such a discussion.

He hadn’t expected to encounter such a major event just after becoming a God Hunter.

"Are you a newbie?"

"You must be. Otherwise, how could you say something like boosting political achievements without thinking?"

"Rookie, search the forum first, and check out the battle achievements of Haijing god of forest and Xia Tuan. Do they need to boost achievements?"

"If they keep boosting, Lin god could even take a seat as Minister of the Haijing Security Bureau!"

Three-legged Cat immediately typed "Haijing god of forest" in the search bar, and many posts popped up.

Pages full of them.

He quickly flipped through them and was astonished.

How powerful is this?

In just a year, Lin Baici had grown from a newbie to the Nine Provinces Dragon Wing?

On the forum, everyone was excited, thinking something big was coming.

To them, Xia Hongyao and Lin Baici were part of Xia Hongmian’s inner circle.

Xia Hongmian certainly wouldn’t let them take risks, but they didn’t need to boost their credentials, so why go to the Qinling Mountains?

It must be to scout and gather intelligence.

Although many had never seen Xia Hongmian with their own eyes, her achievements convinced them that she was not one to seize opportunities opportunistically.

She would slay gods and cleanse the Qin Palace Divine Ruins, indisputably ascending to the position of head of the Jiuzhou Security Bureau.

Only by doing so could she live up to her title as the number one in Jiuzhou.

In short...

There’s going to be a good show this time.

The level of excitement on the Origin Forum clearly shows it.

...

Early the next morning, just as the freshly spread dawn hadn’t pierced through the dense forest to reach the leaf-strewn ground, ethereal singing echoed through the camp.

"What’s that sound?"

Lin Baici listened carefully.

Click!

It’s quite nice, reminiscent of the kind of music played in Western churches.

"It’s the choir!"

Kim Myungjin, who frequently traveled abroad and was exposed to music and painting, understood: "It’s like in European churches, where a group of kids sings holy songs!"

"I’ll go take a look!"

Lin Baici grabbed the jeans beside his bed and slipped them on.

He had a guess about who they were!

From the data he saw yesterday, he knew that the godfather of the Illumination Hermit Association, Dudek, was also in this camp. It was likely his God Hunter team.

Lin Baici went out, following the sound of singing to the west.

Soon, he saw the boys and girls singing in three rows on the small square.

Judging by their age, the youngest was around fifteen, while the oldest probably didn’t exceed eighteen, with more boys than girls.

Each of their faces bore youthful innocence, showing a lack of worldly experience, but Lin Baici always felt something was a bit strange.

At this age, they should be in adolescence, their voices changing, yet their voices remained tender, childlike.

The choir kids were all dressed in white linen robes, with flat sandals on their feet.

They wore olive branch wreaths on their heads, painted gold, looking beautiful when sunlight fell on them.

They seemed to have walked out of heaven.

Each held a thick book, which might have been a Bible or something similar, thick enough to be used as a brick if thrown.

In their right hands, they held a silver cross.

The cross hung around their necks by a chain.

As they finished singing the holy hymns, they returned to their tents in orderly rows.

"Alas, poor cannon fodder!"

Xia Hongyao, who came over five minutes ago, sighed as she looked at the kids.

"What?"

Lin Baici was astonished.

"Cannon fodder!"

Xia Hongyao lowered her voice: "You can think of them as the youth army!"

"Who isn’t afraid of death? But these kids, with their faith, aren’t!"

"In God’s ruins as cannon fodder, they’re incredibly useful!"

Gu Qingqiu followed the sound over, not surprised at Xia Hongyao’s words.

"Seriously?"

Lin Baici was shocked: "So inhumane?"

"How much is humanity worth?"

Xia Hongyao rolled her eyes: "At least as cannon fodder, they can learn skills. If they perform well, they might be selected and escape this fate!"

"From what you’re saying, there’s something even more cruel?"

Lin Baici didn’t know about these things.

"Have you heard of Saint James Island? The playground for American millionaires, with things no one would ever think of, but they’ve done them all!"

Xia Hongyao didn’t want to discuss this topic further: "Let’s go, just in time to meet the godfather!"

This choir belonged to Dudek, who was originally a godfather. His church was affected when the first gods’ bones carrying meteors fell in the Americas.

In the end, Dudek was the sole survivor.

The Illumination Hermit Association is the largest and strongest God Hunter organization in the Americas, and Dudek is one of the founders.

While walking, Lin Baici listened to Xia Hongyao’s rundown on Dudek’s past.

After listening, he was puzzled.

"What is a figure like him doing in Qinling?"

He certainly wouldn’t be kind enough to enter God’s ruins to help Jiuzhou purify the Qin Palace.

"Who knows!"

Xia Hongyao shrugged: "Maybe he’s coveting the gods inside?"

For figures of such stature, the things that could capture their attention and make them fight to the end were very few and far between.

Aside from a few extremely valuable taboo things, only the gods remained.

"Could it be that he thinks Qin Shanwei might cleanse the Qin Palace, so he’s here to try his luck?"

Gu Qingqiu speculated.

Even though Qin Shanwei was overshadowed by Xia Hongmian, the fact he was competing with Jiuzhou’s number one suggested he had strong potential in everyone’s eyes.

...

For someone like Dudek, even within Jiuzhou’s domain, he was qualified to have a well-equipped residence in the camp. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

But he didn’t; instead, he lived in an ordinary tent.

The tent was unguarded. Xia Hongyao asked for permission politely but didn’t wait for a response before lifting the flap and entering.

Lin Baici and Gu Qingqiu followed inside.

The tent lacked air conditioning, and the air was a bit stuffy.

A middle-aged man, past his fifties, sat at a simple desk, solemnly reading a book.

He wore round spectacles with copper frames.

Even the weakest God Hunters, after enhancing their bodies, had at least 5.0 vision, so Duke’s glasses were likely a taboo thing.

He wore a dark priest’s robe with sashes on the shoulders, a square face, and meticulously combed short hair...

Honestly, he was a charismatic middle-aged man.

Seeing strangers enter, Dudek wasn’t angry. He closed his book and looked up, his wise gaze sweeping over the three.

Gu Qingqiu, attentive to detail, noticed the priest’s gaze lingered a bit longer on Lin Baici.

"Father Du, I’m Xia Hongyao, taking over this camp. From today, I am officially in charge!"

Xia Hongyao got straight to the point: "I hope you follow all Jiuzhou laws and regulations!"

"If violated, I will enforce the law impartially!"

Both Lin Baici and Gu Qingqiu winced at Xia Hongyao’s address. Dudek was just called "Dudek," not following the nine provinces people’s habit of address.

"Are you Xia Hongmian’s sister?"

Dudek’s demeanor was kind, unaffected by Xia Hongyao’s firm words.