Chapter 265
Chapter 265
Chapter 265
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 265: Lan Qi’s Duality of Black and White
The atmosphere in the hall was so tense it could almost be cut with a knife.
Caius sat on the high main seat, his cold eyes fixed on the candidates in the distance.
The deep-gray armored priest beside him held his breath, as though the very air in the hall had frozen solid.
In less than a minute, one villain was the first to step forward and present to High Priest Caius his act of disrespect toward the Goddess of Fate.
“High Priest Caius, I’ve completed mine.”
The man offered up a shattered statue of the Goddess of Fate, a confident smile on his face.
However—
Caius merely glanced at it coldly.
Then shook his head.
“Just destruction? The level of insult is far too low.”
The villain’s face changed instantly. He wanted to say something in his defense.
But Caius simply made a gesture, and the deep-gray armored priest at his side strode forward, seized the man’s arm, and dragged him toward the inner passage of the hall.
The villain’s face was filled with terror and disbelief, shouting:
“I am loyal to the Church of Resurrection! I have not betrayed it!”
No one responded. His cries echoed in the empty cathedral until they vanished.
The other candidates watching this scene felt a chill run down their spines.
“Such a perfunctory work cannot prove your loyalty. And if your loyalty is insufficient, suspicion of being tied to the Church of the Goddess of Fate will naturally arise. We will detain and observe you.”
After Caius finished speaking, he once again propped his chin with one hand and fell silent.
Some villains immediately began anxiously revising their works, afraid they too would be deemed unqualified.
At this moment, a few others in the audience understood.
Caius didn’t really care whether the candidates were actually tied to the Church of the Goddess of Fate or not. He would not easily release anyone who had passed the written exam to the Batian Branch.
He intended to swallow them all. That was his true purpose.
Originally, no one thought anyone would dare submit their work right away.
Yet in just over ten seconds—
A tall woman in a silver skirt-armor stood up, walked straight to Caius on the high platform, and placed a cube of stone with six clear edges on the desk.
“……”
This made Caius pause in surprise.
He had not expected Sid, the one with the greatest suspicion, to be so direct.
She had simply reduced the statue of the Goddess of Fate back into the most ordinary piece of stone.
A stone cube—whether by unique magic or sheer skill, she had molded it back into its raw form.
“Decisive and swift. I’ll let you pass.”
After a moment of thought, Caius placed the stone cube on the left side of the desk.
Unlike earlier candidates whose works were discarded, he kept this one—proof of passing.
His doubts that she might be an undercover member of the Church of the Goddess of Fate only grew deeper.
But if she truly was an infiltrator, Caius was even more interested in drawing her in, playing with her, and letting her experience what it meant to be utterly trapped in despair.
Several in the audience lifted their eyes to glance at her.
From their perspective, her work might or might not qualify.
But perhaps it was her strong, decisive attitude that made Caius choose to let her through.
Sid returned to her seat, arms folded, eyes closed, her face as indifferent as ever, quietly waiting for the results that would be announced in twenty minutes.
Time ticked away.
Gradually, more villains finished their works and stepped forward.
Among them, the well-known [Tongue of Fire] Redor strode forth. His red hair swayed like flames in the wind as he presented his statue of the Goddess of Fate. He burned it with fire until it turned charred black, barely human in form, a hideous corpse of cinders.
Caius studied it for a moment, nodded, and placed it on the desk—passing.
The imitator of the Bishop of Destruction, Redor, turned back with a confident smile, clearly believing his work fully met the standard.
Yet the next few candidates weren’t so fortunate.
Their works were deemed unqualified and thrown onto the trash heap. Each person was escorted away by the deep-gray armored priest, causing waves of panic among the remaining candidates.
Almost every candidate dragged off shouted desperately:
“I am loyal to the Church of Resurrection! Why?”
But Caius remained indifferent, his eyes already on the next submitter.
Until [Flesh Scraps] Graf stepped forward, his massive frame making the high platform seem small.
He laid down a dismembered statue of the Goddess of Fate, as if he had butchered a human being. Caius could even see faint bloodstains upon it.
Caius paused for a moment. “This piece… is very good.”
Next came those Caius had favored during the written exam.
[Poison Sting] Walter sculpted the Goddess into a figure mutilated by forbidden living modifications, a human form dying in anguish.
[Bloody Throat] Gia embedded the statue with sound-magic, turning the Goddess into an evil deity wailing in hell.
Then [Eye Collector] Tors approached, handing over his work.
The statue’s eyes had been gouged out, its body riddled with holes filled with strange living eyeballs. With some unknown magic, all the eyeballs turned to stare directly at Caius.
Even Caius himself felt disgusted, but he placed it on the desk—passed.
With these increasingly grotesque works, the unfinished candidates grew even more anxious.
The great clock above the door ticked. Each gear’s turn marked the passing of precious time.
“Ten minutes remain.”
Caius’s cold, emotionless voice rang out.
“Fail to finish on time, and you will be deemed followers of the Church of the Goddess of Fate.”
Like a chilling wind, his words dropped the temperature of the hall.
This punishment and threat crushed down upon the others, forcing them to work even more desperately.
Some glanced at the clock with nervous, restless eyes. Others stayed calm, clearly confident their works would meet Caius’s standard.
Those who had passed sat motionless, expressionless, waiting for the final test to be declared.
Fewer and fewer continued working. The sound of chisels and stone grew faint, overshadowed by the relentless turning of the clock’s gears.
Caius leaned slightly on his throne, chin in hand.
Though he wasn’t focused on any single candidate—
Among the remaining, the only one who still drew his attention was that youth named Lan Qi.
Caius thought: Someone capable of such a written exam answer could hardly be a cleric of the Church of the Goddess of Fate.
But this re-exam was necessary. Every person’s true nature must be judged.
No matter how excellent the written score—if their stance and loyalty were not firm, they must be destroyed, never to be used by others.
Finally—
As Caius waited, Lan Qi finished his work. His eyes carried satisfaction, and a hint of weariness, as he stood and walked toward Caius.
He placed his work before him.
It was a reshaped statue of the Goddess of Fate.
Caius lifted his gaze to Lan Qi, then back to the statue.
His eyes seemed frozen on it, silent for a long moment.
Because Caius gave no immediate judgment, the unusual quiet spread, drawing other candidates to glance at Lan Qi’s work.
Lan Qi himself appeared calm.
But his work puzzled Caius deeply.
The statue, reshaped, had its pose altered and refined to exquisite detail.
Like a masterpiece crafted by a legendary artisan, the goddess’s figure seemed alive, radiating warmth, as though she would step forth in the next second.
Other candidates stared in awe at its artistry.
If they were amateurs, this man was surely a professional among professionals. None of them had ever seen sculpture of this level before. Some eyes even gleamed with greed, suppressing the urge to snatch it away. Without doubt, this was a priceless treasure.
But then—they noticed the problem.
And their expressions grew like Caius’s.
For the once divine and serene goddess now bore a faintly arrogant smile. Her pose had shifted—one hand raised, index and middle finger lifted in a V-shape with palm inward.
A gesture full of mockery, as if scorning every villain present.
Logically, sculpting the goddess so radiant and beautiful should have been an immediate failure.
But Caius realized—this youth carried a duality.
He could not even tell whether Lan Qi was glorifying the goddess… or mocking her.