Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 366 Principles of Audience
Only believers of the God of Truth are qualified to have an audience with God.

Ethan thought the regulation was reasonable.

"But as far as I know, no one can have two faiths at the same time."

Professor Carl hesitated, clearly indicating that Ethan was a great elemental energizer, but this was not a good thing in this matter—the further he went down the path of elemental energization, the further he strayed from the God of Truth.

Cases of conversion usually only occur among followers of evil gods. Those who have been seduced by evil gods abandon their faith and will be punished accordingly for their betrayal. Even if we leave aside paths like the Nesseril Sanctuary, which can result in the loss of power or even life after breaking an oath, for those who are not punished for apostasy, conversion will also change their physical condition.

"You must have met quite a few followers of evil gods. The followers of Bazaros are generally... ugly and deformed. The followers of Caesaros will paint their bodies with special pigments to counteract the consequences of betraying their faith. The followers of Sincaros generally suffer from mental illnesses. They cannot control their emotions and are always on the verge of collapse."

There has never been a case where someone switched their faith from one or more established gods to another or a neutral god.

"Furthermore, I cannot guarantee you anything. Even if you pass the test of the Society of Truth, you may not have the opportunity to meet the God of Truth."

Professor Karl paused, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "In fact, I may be the only person in this era who has met the God of Truth."

This sounds somewhat boastful, but what he really wanted to express was that for high-ranking believers of the God of Truth, there is only an extremely slim probability that they will have the opportunity to meet the God of Truth.

This is an unparalleled honor, and it will bring unimaginable changes to them.

After that, he lived in this strange space for three years, during which time he never returned to the Truth Society, nor did he participate in any assessments or evaluations.

Therefore, Professor Carl could only judge the changes that had occurred to him himself; for example, after that, he became much more insightful.

This made him feel that he might have crossed the fourth-order boundary and reached the level of a saint.

"So, assuming I have already become a believer in the God of Truth, how can I obtain the opportunity to have an audience with Him?"

Ethan asked a question.

The God of Truth is undoubtedly the most unique among the upright and intermediate gods. He does not seem to have a higher level of faith; He is the embodiment of wisdom and truth.

This inevitably raised another suspicion for Ethan.

Perhaps the God of Truth is still alive, existing in some unexplored plane.

Even more subtly, the image described by Professor Karl is highly similar to the dimensional teleportation array created by the guild—a large, floating white sphere, only much smaller than the one Karl had seen.

Perhaps the God of Truth, like the Goddess of the Hunt, Cynthia, left this plane at the end of the First Era and also had intricate connections with the guilds.

Ethan consulted the guild handbook and some friends in the guild, but in reality, no one knew who had created those white orbs that served as teleportation nodes. Perhaps it was one of the guild's founders, now the actual head of the research and development department.

Unfortunately, his actions in the "Canopy" plane did not receive unanimous praise from the guild.

Although he described his participation as a guild member in repairing the abnormal plane in his written report to the guild, some cunning high-ranking members still blamed him for the death of the Crimson Queen. This caused other guild founders to keep their distance from him, and no one was willing to share with him the planes that the high-ranking members might be in.

If he were to search on his own, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are thousands of planes on record, and the guild believes there are many more areas that they have not yet explored.

Currently, Ethan can only uncover the truth behind the destruction of the City of Truth through "dreams".

“My situation is rather special. Perhaps it is because my ancestors’ act of collecting and organizing the books in the academy was approved by the God of Truth.”

Professor Karl was humble, believing he was merely fulfilling his duty as a professor at the Society of Truth. He stood on the shoulders of giants, protected by his ancestors who had shielded him from persecution by the Papacy.

Ethan will find it difficult to replicate his pattern.

"According to the methods provided in the scriptures, the God of Truth will only receive those believers who dedicate their lives to the truth."

Of course, this is the original version, full of mystical elements.

Without specific descriptions or objective standards, this did not conform to the narrative style of the Society of Truth. Therefore, in the following centuries, the believers of the God of Truth devoted themselves to clarifying this standard.

By the sixth era, they had come close to the truth.

"The answer is that you must find a truth that will interest Him, one that has a far-reaching impact, even one that could affect the survival of an entire civilization."

Professor Carl said, “If you are on such a path, at the most critical moment, you may have the opportunity to meet the God of Truth, who will answer your questions. After that, if you are still alive, you will cross the threshold of sainthood.”

"Thanks for clearing up the confusion."

Ethan suddenly understood.

Although he is not yet a student of the Society of Truth, the events he is investigating perfectly match Professor Carl's description.

According to this theory, all he needs to do now is wait patiently.

And his intuition told him that the destruction of the City of Truth was inextricably linked to the God of Truth.

"By the way, Professor Carl."

Ethan suddenly thought of something, "If you had a ticket to the City of Truth, would you be willing to go and take a look?"

"Is this true?"

Professor Carl didn't hesitate; he was so excited that he stood up from his chair, almost grabbing Ethan's leg.

"of course."

Ethan wrote down the address of the estate, "If you'd like, there might be some preparations to be made."

"Just say it!"

Professor Karl's eyes widened. He had made up his mind. Even if it was a one-way ticket, he would not hesitate. He had protected the books left by his ancestors, had an audience with the God of Truth, and had been granted three years of carefree life. If there was any unfulfilled wish, it was probably that he would not be able to witness the ending of "The City of Truth" in his lifetime.

The empire's philosopher spent the latter half of his life building an ideal state, but the story abruptly ended, becoming an unsolvable mystery.

More than anyone else, he longed to know what had happened to the starship, and why the City of Truth had severed ties with the philosophers, and why the philosophers had never set foot in the Ideal State again.

"It's very simple."

Ethan said, “Come to this address at 11 p.m., bring a bottle of sleeping potion, and a large golden bird will greet you on the first floor. Don’t be afraid, her name is Miss Chloe, she is gentle and never pecks people.”

He came up with a new idea.

"Besides that, Professor Carl, have you ever heard of role-playing?"

"You mean the principles left behind by the Goddess of the Hunt?" Professor Karl said. "The academy's instructors need to have some knowledge of other cultivation methods. We hope that our students can have a comprehensive understanding of the world they live in."

"Treat this trip as a real dream, and perhaps you can play the role of the writer well."

In Ethan's view, there was no one more suitable than Professor Karl. On the other hand, he had been missing in the Empire for three years, and even his colleagues in the Society of Truth believed that he had died in the persecution of the Vatican. Therefore, even if the "uninvited" guest that Xiao An mentioned entered his dream, he would not recognize Professor Karl.

Since they can't find out the truth in a short time, why not let the "dream" continue to unfold according to its original trajectory?
"No problem, of course no problem!"

Professor Carl paced excitedly back and forth in his study, eager to step into the "Consensus Obelisk".

He even wanted to skip the whole day and go straight to night.

……

The shelter, at dusk.

Zhuang Xiao was woken up by her alarm clock. She turned over, turned off her phone's alarm, and the default ringtone reminded her that her workday was about to begin.

She has gradually gotten used to the life of constantly jumping around in her dreams, and even the headaches she gets when she exits the dream have become tolerable.

Now, after a quick wash, she was going to Merlin's office to get an injection.

About a minute later, she would wake up from the other end of the "dream," sometimes in the office of the human resources manager at Pioneer Technology, and sometimes in her own large apartment bed, a bustling and beautiful city. Unfortunately, the fourth day was also filled with "work."

She wanted to increase her chances of meeting with Lin Dong, but a direct visit would be too presumptuous and arouse suspicion. Therefore, she decided to use the company's resources to organize an event for family members, plan the content of the event, set a time, and then send Lin Dong an invitation.

However, the shelter seemed unusual today, much quieter than usual.

The corridor, illuminated by incandescent lights, was deserted. Only a small group of shelter residents were gathered in the "Otherworld Radio" area. They were in low spirits because they had not heard any new information from the "Otherworld" for quite some time since the "Dream" experiment began.

This is because Ethan hasn't used the guild handbook for some time and hasn't been in contact with other guild members.

In a sense, they all became otaku under the influence of their dreams.

During the day, they stay indoors and sleep soundly, and at night they stay up all night in their "dreams".

Zhuang Xiao raised the corners of her mouth; at least in terms of their daily routines, she and Ethan had found some common ground.

But her good mood didn't last long. As soon as she entered the department, she heard a heated argument taking place in Merlin's office. Chen Qi had a loud voice and was as irritable as ever. In addition to shouting, there was also the sound of him slamming the table.

"Don't think I don't know what you're plotting behind my back!"

Zhuang Xiao listened intently through the closed office door, easily imagining Chen Qi pointing his finger at Mei Lin and yelling at him.

"I'm sorry, Minister, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Merlin remained as emotionless as a robot. Zhuang Xiao suspected that even if Chen Qi got carried away and punched him in the nose, Merlin wouldn't care, let alone yell at him.

The longer Zhuang Xiao spent with Merlin, the more she felt that he wasn't a normal person.

It's like a machine that will stop at nothing to achieve its goals.

"Do I need to remind you? Song Xian, he's already under security control. Don't be smug; he'll confess to your shady dealings sooner or later!"

“Minister Chen Qi, I think you’ve completely misunderstood. If you knew what we went through on the other side, you would know that Song Xian and I don’t get along.”

Merlin said leisurely, “You should still remember how I cut out of the ‘other world’, right? Although the identity on the other side was fake, the pain of death and injury was real... Moreover, I think you don’t have time to waste on me now. The experiment is on the verge of getting out of control, isn’t it? And at this time, the committee has sealed off the area, making it impossible to contact them.”

The shelter has been rather unsettled lately.

Even ordinary residents could feel the oppressive atmosphere.

They hadn't seen any members of the committee all day.

Something must have gone wrong on the committee side; otherwise, for such an important experiment, he should at least have assigned someone to oversee it entirely.

However, for those with ulterior motives, this was an excellent opportunity.

Zhuang Xiao heard Chen Qi's cold snort, followed by heavy footsteps. He quickly stepped aside to avoid being hit by the kicked-open door.

With obvious dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes, Chen Qi glanced coldly at Zhuang Xiao before walking towards his office.

Zhuang Xiao knew that every word Merlin said hit Chen Qi's sore spot. He was in charge of the "Dream Experiment" project, but the other end of the dream had completely broken out of their control. With the appearance of the "Consensus Obelisk", the Democratic Council became the city's highest authority, and the influence of Pioneer Technology was becoming smaller and smaller.

Although Ethan was still clocking in and out at the western suburban laboratory, he had long since gone beyond their control.

As it turns out, Ethan could do whatever he wanted in the "dream."

Zhuang Xiao heard that the experimental project at the West Suburbs Research Institute was progressing rapidly, and the HEV protective suits had entered the production stage. The reason was that Ethan had put forward a series of scientific theories that the professors could never have imagined on his second day in office.

But in reality, they all knew that these scientific theories were meaningless. The point was that Ethan wanted the HEV protective suit to be available so that he could achieve immediate success.

This was undoubtedly bad news for Chen Qi's team.

Zhuang Xiao watched Chen Qi's figure disappear into the distance before slowly walking into Mei Lin's office.

"Song Xian has been arrested?"

"There's no need to worry about him."

Merlin calmly tidied up the mess Chen Qi had made on the desk, then took out a syringe from the drawer. "I'll take care of things over there."

“I know, I know, it’s part of the plan.”

Zhuang Xiao couldn't help but be sarcastic. She could understand Chen Qi's feelings; Merlin was just a bit deserving of a scolding.

"He made some unexpected discoveries over there."

Merlin continued the conversation without a care, "He got the information smoothly, but on his way out he found an area that hadn't been recorded... It looked like it had been abandoned, but he only walked around the perimeter of the area before the committee's security personnel came to arrest him, which means there were a lot of surveillance cameras installed there."

"And I hope you won't do anything foolish."

Zhuang Xiao reminded him sarcastically, "I don't want to wake up one day to find that you two have been invited for tea by the committee."

(End of this chapter)