Ling Cage: I am a spiritual master, devouring source matter to become a god.

Charles's back alveolar teeth were all worn down.

I came here to watch a play, but I ended up becoming part of the "play" myself.

Charles tried to calm himself down and said to Jingyuan, "Since that's how it is, I won't ask any more questions. Let's go!"

After saying that, Charles prepared to leave with his men.

"Wait a minute!" Jingyuan suddenly shouted.

Everyone was surprised. What else did Jingyuan want to do?

"Sir, these people who maliciously spread rumors and slandered our superior have not been dealt with yet!"

Charles couldn't contain his anger; he was indeed prepared to sacrifice Berry and a few others to damage Mark's reputation.

But Mark is unharmed, so why should he sacrifice himself?

But since Charles started this, he was the only one who could end it.

Charles gave Vatican a look, and Vatican immediately ordered: "Execute them! Fifty lashes each."

"My lord, I've been wronged!"

"Master, we know we were wrong, please forgive us!"

"Execution!"

A cleric drew his iron whip and struck Berry hard on the back.

Mark tried to step forward to stop them, but Jingyuan stopped him.

"Captain Mark, let's go!"

Mark was still somewhat reluctant to leave and wanted to step forward to stop him.

Jingyuan whispered in his ear, "He hit his own people, why are you so upset!"

Mark hesitated for a moment, then abandoned his plan to go forward.

After this incident, no one was in the mood to eat.

Mark and Jingyuan went outside.

Mark asked, puzzled, "Why did you stand up and speak just now?"

Jing Yuan smiled faintly, "Captain Mark, didn't you realize this was a setup targeting you? Does that guild leader usually eat in the cafeteria? Why did he suddenly appear there today?"

Jingyuan's question made Mark hesitate. Right! Why was Charles in the cafeteria?

Jingyuan continued, "Captain, I'm very grateful that you were willing to cover up my theft of the ground. However, I didn't expect Charles to use this against you. This whole thing started because of me, and I can't stand by and watch you be maliciously slandered."

“I understand! But if you do this, you'll offend Charles!”

"Offend Charles? I already offended him last time in front of the city lord, I don't care about this time!"

Mark suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "If Charles really asks you what your mission is, how will you answer?"

Jing Yuan smiled calmly and said, "We've found a way to kill the Devouring Beast. Doesn't that count as a special mission? If he insists on going to the city lord, I can say that I've deduced a method to kill the Devouring Beast, and you think it's feasible. So, take this opportunity to bring me to the ground to test it."

Mark thought about it and realized that this was indeed a special mission.

"Besides, such a big matter, you definitely need to report it to the city lord!" Jing Yuan said. "Captain, you have to report to the city lord before Charles discovers the truth. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble Charles will cause!"

"Alright! I'll go see the city lord right away!"

Mark left immediately. Looking at Mark's muscular back, Jingyuan suddenly thought of an animal—a water buffalo!

The water buffalo works tirelessly, yet it's constantly targeted by venomous snakes! And when the water buffalo is no longer useful, it'll be killed and eaten!

Ugh! To hell with the apocalypse!

Chapter 14 The Divine Decree of the Lord of Light and Shadow

When he returned to the dormitory, news of Jingyuan's confrontation with Charles in the cafeteria had already spread.

All three roommates were die-hard Mark fans. When they learned that Jingyuan had spoken up for Mark against Charles, they instantly became incredibly impressed with Jingyuan.

"But you'd better be careful from now on. The law firm manages all the affairs of this lighthouse, and since you've offended the head, things will probably get very difficult for you in the future!"

"You all know this, right? Charles is the son of Lord Morgan!"

"This is all due to the old world!"

"Even considering the connections of the old world, do you think Charles could have gotten to his current position without Lord Morgan?"

Jingyuan talked a lot about things on the lighthouse with his roommates, but these were things that couldn't be told to outsiders.

……

While resting at night, Jingyuan suddenly woke up from a dream.

In his dream, he transformed into a Devouring Beast.

A faint voice beckoned him forward.

But the distance was too great and the sound too muffled, so he couldn't discern any useful information.

When Jingyuan woke up, he was still in the dormitory.

Recalling the scene in his dream, Jingyuan was somewhat puzzled.

Why do you have such a dream?

Could it be because I absorbed the life essence of the Devouring Beast?

In his dream, he became a Devouring Beast. Could it be that he will eventually become like Mark?

Absorbing life essence is an inherent ability of the Devouring Beasts. Whether it's entirely safe for Jing Yuan to absorb the life essence of the Devouring Beasts to evolve his mental power, relying on the system, is uncertain.

However, it was just a dream, and Jingyuan didn't think much of it.

After lying down, I continued to sleep.

……

The next day, Jingyuan got up after resting enough. Seeing that it was still early, he went out for a run again.

After experiencing two incidents, Jingyuan's popularity also increased.

During the run, many people greeted him, but they were all hunters.

When Jingyuan returned from his run, he encountered two city guards at the dormitory entrance.

They came to take Jingyuan to see the city lord.

Upon entering the council hall, only Lord Morgan, Charles, Victor, and a middle-aged woman in a white coat were present.

Jingyuan recognized the woman as Dr. Carrie, the head of medical and ecological affairs.

Jingyuan knew this person, but this was the first time he had met him.

"Dr. Carrie, it was Jingyuan who found the method to kill the Devouring Beast. If you have any questions, you can ask him!"

Charles spoke first, and from his words, it was clear that Morgan had informed him of the situation.

It seems his father still loves him very much!

Charles certainly wanted to verify this, but he didn't want to interrogate himself, so he asked Carrie to come over.

Carrie is a research fanatic, and she definitely wants to know how Jingyuan killed the Devouring Beast.

Carrie looked at Jingyuan and said, "You must be Jingyuan!"

"That's me!" Jing Yuan nodded, then asked, "Dr. Carrie, are you looking for me? Or is it the Chief of the Society who wants to see me?"

Charles hadn't expected Jingyuan to say that in front of Morgan.

“It’s me who’s looking for you, it has nothing to do with Charles!” Carrie wanted to get straight to the point.

Jingyuan interjected, "That's good. Lately, the head of the association has been giving Captain Mark a lot of trouble. I thought I had done something wrong again!"

Charles snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

“Jingyuan!” City Lord Morgan spoke up, “Charles is in charge of maintaining order on the lighthouse, so some questioning is normal. Don’t worry too much. Yesterday, Mark told me about your plan to go to the ground to retrieve the Devouring Beasts for experiments, and you’ve achieved results. Very good! However, next time you can inform us in advance to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings!”

Jing Yuan bowed and said, "Lord City Lord, it's not that I didn't want to inform you in advance, but I was worried that if I told you beforehand, some people would worry that Captain Mark's contribution was too great and would try to obstruct the experiment, causing it to be impossible to proceed."

Charles began to grit his teeth again, but he dared not lash out in front of Morgan.

"You're pretty straightforward, aren't you!" Carrie laughed. "But I like it. Tell me! How did you find a way to kill the Devouring Beast?"

Jing Yuan was prepared. He said slowly, "One night, I had a dream. In the dream, the Lord of Light and Shadow told me this."

Hearing this answer, Carrie was a little angry. "I'm serious."

“Dr. Carrie, I’m serious! The Lord of Light and Shadow conveyed a divine decree to me through a dream, is that not allowed?”

“Impossible! How could the Lord of Light and Shadow possibly convey a divine decree to you!” Charles was the first to speak. On the lighthouse, he was the Lord of Light and Shadow’s spokesperson.

Jing Yuan said with a puzzled look, "How is it impossible? Chief, if you don't believe me, then please tell me, didn't we kill the Devouring Beast? Even if you don't believe Captain Mark, there were dozens of Hunter members who went down to the surface with us. You can ask them one by one! Ask them if the Devouring Beast turned into Breath of Earth and died completely! Without the Holy Decree of the Lord of Light and Shadow, who could have done this?"

“Impossible! The Lord of Light and Shadow doesn’t exist at all…” Charles was so angry that he almost blurted out, “The Lord of Light and Shadow doesn’t exist.”

The higher-ups at the Lighthouse all know that the Lord of Light and Shadow does not exist, but they cannot say it!

“Charles!” Morgan interrupted Charles, then looked at Jing Yuan and said, “We are all subjects of the Lord of Light and Shadow. The Lord of Light and Shadow favors each of his subjects. His message to Jing Yuan is the result of Jing Yuan’s devout prayers. Jing Yuan, did the Lord of Light and Shadow convey any other information, such as using scientific methods to find the weaknesses of the Devouring Beasts?”