Nobody told me this wasn't a game.

"...That's weird, why should I go out?"

The god muttered something to himself.

She quickly dismissed her doubts and said, "Okay. Anyway, I'm sleepy and want to go to bed."

……

……

In the huge conference room, only Zuo Chang and the Holy Maiden remained.

"call."

The saintess let out a soft breath, her shoulders, which she had been trying to keep straight, slumped, and a trace of fatigue showed on her expressionless face.

Zuo Chang smiled at her and asked, "Do you mind?"

The saintess turned her head, her eyes showing confusion.

Zuo Chang put it more precisely: "I mean... do you mind birds?"

"To be honest, I do mind."

The saintly woman uttered the chilling answer with ease.

She sighed and continued, "I've been thinking about this for a while now, and no matter how I try to convince myself, I can't erase my true feelings—I'm very bothered by the existence of the Jade Terrace Bird. But..."

but……

what else can we do?

In terms of who arrived first, the Holy Maiden of Time actually arrived later.

At the time, neither Zuo Chang nor she knew that Yaotai Feibiao was actually still alive; this was unexpected information.

Zuo Chang remained silent, unsure of what to say: "I'm sorry... this isn't your fault."

This scene...

Don't say you've never experienced it, you've never even seen it before!

Games are truly harmful, and even the gods aren't any better. Why didn't they put up a pop-up alert for something so important?

How do you write programs?

"Ugh."

The Saintess of Time sighed softly, feeling quite melancholy.

In the past, she would have felt a sense of superiority—because she was at the fifteenth realm, while Fei Niao was only at the twelfth realm.

However, now that the upper limit of cultivation level has decreased, the gap in strength has been largely eliminated.

The saintess turned her head and looked at Zuo Chang.

She was very understanding and changed the subject: "General, I'm very interested in your relationship with the gods. Could you tell me more about it? Are you and the gods allies now?"

Not allies, but symbiotic partners.

This is far superior to having allies.

Chapter 373 The Gods Only Speak When Necessary

Zuo Chang organized his thoughts and explained his relationship with the gods in great detail. Of course, he didn't mention anything about Earth and the game, nor did he know how to.

The saint listened quietly, then suddenly asked, "General, what does the god intend to do?"

Zuo Chang countered with, "What do you think?"

"From your description, it seems the goddess wants to sever supernatural powers? Why would she do this? Is it to be free from threats forever?"

The saintess spoke her subconscious thoughts.

But she quickly shook her head and said, "It doesn't seem like it... If she really had such thoughts, then she shouldn't have created the dungeon. A thousand years after the Age of Gods, the level of adventurers in the ascended world has increased dramatically. In the Ancient Kingdom era, an adventurer of the twelfth realm meant prosperity and stability for the region; a supreme being of the fifteenth realm was a mythical creature."

Looking at the present—

Within the high-level community, while the fifteen realms may not be ubiquitous, they are certainly not out of reach.

"The goddess is a rather strange person. I don't know if she's stupid or lazy, but she won't reveal some very important things immediately. She'll only explain them when it's 'useful'."

Zuo Chang frowned slightly, looking thoughtful.

"Her current reasoning is that she believes high-level adventurers are too powerful; they can easily crush low-level adventurers, not to mention ordinary people. Therefore, she plans to limit the cultivation level of adventurers to the seventh realm. This way, it will be easier to control the extraordinary and prevent humans from being powerless against natural disasters and demons."

"However, I don't think this is the final form of the Celestial Project."

The Saintess of Time was slightly puzzled and asked, "What is her ultimate goal?"

"I suspect it might be a separation between high-level adventurers and ordinary people. The gods may have hidden the method to advance to the eighth realm in the Sea of ​​Reflection, and everyone who tries to reach a higher realm must leave the real world and go to the Sea of ​​Reflection."

Zuo Chang made the judgment.

This conclusion was not confirmed by the gods themselves, but was derived solely through logic and their own reasoning.

Since the goddess has the ability to pull him from Earth to the Ascended World, she also has the ability to pull the people of the Ascended World into the Sea of ​​Reflection.

Zuo Chang believes that all of the gods' current actions are in service of this goal.

Otherwise, Zuo Chang wouldn't know the significance of her maintaining the Sea of ​​Reflection.

The saintess pondered for a moment and asked, "Is this your guess, or the thought of the gods?"

"My guess."

"is it?"

The Holy Maiden of Time said nothing more, only nodded.

The book club's predecessor was the "Church of Time," an organization aimed at helping promising communities rise to higher positions. In essence, even if the Church of Time did not reject God, it neither revered nor trusted Him.

After all, it was the gods themselves who created the "community system".

In contrast, the split-off Divine Sound Society is more like the spokesperson of the gods. Their ideology of control and conquest is remarkably compatible with the community system of the gods.

The saintess pondered for a moment, then said, "If the gods truly think this way, I will support them. I have visited many communities, but I do not have a single mortal friend. Without exception, everyone I know is an adventurer."

Zuo Chang listened quietly without saying a word.

The saintess spoke calmly, continuing, "Every operation of the reading group is briefed, which records the casualties among the personnel. If the casualties are adventurers, their basic information will be written in detail, while if the dead or wounded are ordinary citizens, only numbers will be recorded, or none at all."

“It took me a long time to realize this, and when I did, I felt like I had discovered a new world.”

She turned to look at Zuo Chang: "So, there are still ordinary people in this world."

Zuo Chang did not react much after hearing this.

In a world dominated by adventurers, ordinary people are insignificant. For them, being ignored by adventurers is already one of the best outcomes.

Zuo Chang didn't want to delve into this topic, since it was just speculation at the moment, and he wasn't sure what he could bring to those ordinary people.

He looked at the saintess and asked, "When will the meeting between the reading group and the Bichir clan take place?"

"Nine o'clock the day after tomorrow."

Zuo Chang nodded slowly and asked, "Could you bring a few more people in? I hope to be able to explore the interior of Crimson Blood Manor."

The saintess pondered for a moment: "The era of the gods has come to an end, and the reading club has lost its core principles. In recent times, many people have voluntarily resigned from their positions and no longer participate in affairs... The old reading club has died out, and what we have now is a completely new organization with an undefined mission."

"Furthermore, with the decrease in the cultivation limit, I have also lost my uniqueness and am no longer able to command everyone."

“It’s probably impossible to openly bring people in. Because the actual leader of the ‘reading club’ is the former vice president, a man named Tang Youjin.”

Zuo Chang sensed the underlying meaning and asked, "Did you bring it secretly?"

The saintess nodded slowly: "That's feasible. After I go in, I can use the Heavenly Transfer Technique in reverse to transfer people within a certain range into the Crimson Blood Manor—you can wear the Book Club's attire beforehand, pretending to be members of the Book Club, and move around inside the Crimson Blood Manor."

Zuo Chang thought for a moment and said, "It's worth a try."

“I can prepare the clothing and name tags for the book club members, as long as you give me the list in advance.”

The saintess stood up.

She looked at Zuo Chang and said, "I'm a little tired. I've been running around all day."

Zuo Chang remained calm: "A room has been prepared for you. Of course, you can also come to my room."

"...I'd better go to my room."

The Holy Maiden of Time had some concerns.

……

……

The following morning, an internal competition was held.

In the Grand Plaza of Sky City, a square arena has been set up – it was built overnight by Dr. Electronics controlling the SCV.

When Zuo Chang and the Heavenly God arrived, they found that everyone, including the Holy Maiden, was already there.

"Good morning, Gods and Generals."

"Good morning, Father, God."

Zuo Chang responded to everyone's greetings, then took the box from the deity's hands and said, "We're all on the same side, no need for formalities. Now that everyone's here, let's get started! Who wants to draw first?"

The group exchanged glances, and Mu Suogen stepped forward: "General Zuo, I'll go."

"can."

Zuo Chang handed over the box. Mu Suogen didn't try anything funny; he reached into the hole and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Upon opening it, I saw two words written on it—

Fankou.

Zuo Chang said, "The first match is between Mu Suogen and Fan Kou. This competition is just a test of skills, and also a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other's fighting styles and abilities. I hope you will give it your all, but also know when to stop. Let's begin!"

Chapter 374 The Instigation of Heretics

On the arena, Musuogen and Fankou stood facing each other, both with very serious expressions.

For Musuogen—