No strange things are allowed to evolve!

So is it actually permissible to lie?

Why is it that you can lie without any problems, but I get locked by the magic-suppressing stone when I lie?

Just because I'm from out of town?

With a stern face, Jiang Shu repeated, word by word, just as the man had instructed: "The Temple of Lies allows lying."

Sure enough, after repeating it again, the red light disappeared, and the anti-magic stone returned to calm.

Before the red light disappeared, Jiang Shu clearly heard a strange sound coming from the anti-magic stone.

It was a sense of danger that I could detect intuitively.

Seeing that the crisis was over, the man, who had been very tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief and warned, "Don't tell such a huge lie again next time!"

"..."

It's hard to hold back.

"Then I don't understand." Jiang Shu asked with great curiosity, "If the Temple of Lies allows lying, and the people in the temple lie all the time, then why does this so-called anti-magic stone you mentioned only target me and not you?"

"This..." The man was about to explain.

But just then, several more people dressed in black robes arrived after hearing the news.

After the alarm about the magic-suppressing stone was lifted, they relaxed a little and then surrounded Jiang Shu, the instigator.

Seeing this, Strawberry Milkshake tugged at the hem of Jiang Shu's shirt and quietly pulled him back. At the same time, she slowly retreated towards the main entrance, ready to run away with Jiang Shu if things went wrong.

But they didn't make a move or cause too much trouble for the two; they simply surrounded them and questioned them.

"What are you doing here? What's your purpose in coming here? Are you acting on someone's orders? I'm warning you, don't lie. The Anti-Magic Stone is right here watching you!"

They seemed to have an aggressive demeanor.

However, Jiang Shu could see through their bravado and cowardice.

They seemed to be afraid of something.

Glancing at the anti-magic stone, Jiang Shu temporarily put aside his doubts and explained honestly, "We have awakened the Mouth of God and want to become registered Lie Poets of the Temple of Lies, so we came all the way from a faraway place."

After hearing this, the men in black robes did not judge for themselves whether it was true or false, but instead looked at the anti-magic stone.

"No response."

"What he said must be true."

They were finally completely relieved.

This strange reaction left both Jiang Shu and the strawberry milkshake somewhat puzzled.

However, at this stage, they do not seem to have the right to raise questions.

The attitude of these people suddenly turned hostile after they discovered that the two of them were just ordinary people who wanted to become registered poets of lies for the temple.

"Seriously, that startled me."

"Turns out he's just a country bumpkin who doesn't know our local customs."

After saying that, they glared fiercely at the black-robed man who had helped Jiang Shu resolve the crisis of the magic-suppressing stone.

"You have absolutely no sense of caution as a poet of lies. You dare to say anything to outsiders. Do you know that you almost caused a huge disaster?"

"In the end, he's just a newcomer, and he's far from being good enough."

"Forget it, there's no need to waste time with this piece of trash. Let's go."

The group came and went in a hurry, and Jiang Shu didn't even have time to remember what they looked like.

"It's alright, everyone keep going. Everything's fine over there now."

With them declaring that nothing had happened, those who had been looking this way and busy in the temple hall turned their attention back to their tasks.

As for the man in black robes who started the conversation, they kept him behind, seemingly to handle Jiang Shu's affairs.

It was clear that although they were all wearing black robes and there were no special markings on their robes to indicate their status, meaning their status should be similar, the men did not seem to have much say in this group.

Even though he was being verbally abused by that group of people, he didn't argue or talk back; he just silently lowered his head.

After those people left, the man remained silent, his fists clenched tightly.

Even if it's possible that the man did indeed break a taboo and did something he shouldn't have, so he's not in the right and has no way to refute those accusations.

Judging from his reaction, Jiang Shu was more inclined to believe that he was often treated like this, and those people were just taking this opportune moment to rightfully curse him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted so humiliated.

It was just something I said without thinking.

And the situation was exactly as Jiang Shu had observed.

The man's emotions had been suppressed to the extreme at this moment.

He admitted that he had acted impulsively and shouldn't have handled matters related to the anti-magic stone so simply, nor should he have told people outside the Temple of Lies about its rules.

However, the anti-magic stone only works on the Liar Poet, which proves that this country bumpkin in front of me is also a Liar Poet, doesn't it?

So he didn't understand what was wrong with wanting to save one of his own kind.

Ultimately, isn't it because I was the first person to arrive and handle this matter?

You already have deep prejudices against me, so no matter what I do, it will be wrong.

Even if I stand idly by, you will still blame me for being inflexible and ruining a potential ally into an ordinary person who has lost the power of lies and the mouth of God.

What you're really targeting isn't the issue itself, but me...

The man grew angrier the more he thought about it, clenching his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, drawing blood.

He vaguely heard a faint, ethereal voice—

Do you hate them?

Do you crave power?

"Perhaps... I can help you teach them a lesson."

The man paused, a twisted smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

He instinctively answered the voice, "Yes, I hate them, I crave..."

But he hadn't finished speaking.

hum-

The anti-magic stone suddenly emitted a low, resonant sound.

Jiang Shu was shocked and quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was just joking. I can't give you power, and I can't help you."

The magic-suppressing stone immediately returned to calm.

The man looked up: "?"

Strawberry Milkshake, who witnessed Jiang Shu whispering to the man who was lost in thought with his head down: "..."

The man opened his mouth: "No, buddy, you..."

......

A moment later.

"So you still can't lie in the Temple of Lies, right?"

"No, I've already explained it to you." The man said helplessly, "It's not that you can't lie, but that you should lie in a planned way, slowly, carefully, steadily and orderly, and also according to the specific circumstances. You can't lie blindly; you have to be precise and efficient, while also taking special circumstances into account and speaking flexibly."

By this time, the man had already verified through the anti-magic stone that Jiang Shu and Strawberry Milkshake were not malicious individuals targeting the Temple of Lies, but simply registered poets of lies. Therefore, he lowered his guard against them and began their initial onboarding training.

However, in his opinion, Jiang Shu was really stubborn. Even though he had already told him that some lies could be told and some lies could not, he still kept asking about this issue.

But actually, this can't be blamed on Jiang Shu.

He wasn't ignoring what was being said; on the contrary, he understood the mechanism of the anti-magic stone, which is why he made that judgment.

According to the man, the poet of lies categorized lies into five levels based on their degree of danger.

The first level is similar to a joke, where even if it's exposed, it's not a big deal.

For example, when they were in the village, Jiang Shu told Strawberry Milkshake that he could see all the scenery on her chest as soon as he looked down. This kind of lie would not have any real impact and could be easily verified.

The second level is a white lie. Although it is still a lie, it is for love and peace. Even if it is exposed, the person who was deceived may feel sad at the time, but upon closer examination, they will find that the liar was actually thinking of himself.

For example, Windsor was tricked by Jiang Shu into thinking the fruit tasted very sweet, but it didn't actually taste special. However, this allowed the tense Windsor to relax and enjoy it. Even if she gained weight someday and was able to taste it herself, and found that it didn't actually taste like Jiang Shu described, she wouldn't be angry because she was deceived. Instead, she would love him even more and cherish and remember this time.

The third level is the most despicable lie. When the lie is exposed, the deceived person will feel extremely hurt.

For example, those evolved individuals who were deceived by Jiang Shu in women's clothing were enough to cause them enormous psychological trauma.

Fortunately, Jiang Shu made amends for his mistake. They now have bigger problems to worry about, and at least they shouldn't think about this matter again until they leave the village.

Level four lies are those that can have extremely serious consequences, going beyond sadness and distress to become genuine danger.

For example, the two people who were swallowed by the centipede.

They paid the ultimate price.

As for Level 5, it involves the issue of world peace.

As the central hub for poets of lies, the Temple of Lies, which formally registers all poets of lies, exists for the sake of world peace. Therefore, the rules that all poets of lies must abide by within the temple are naturally related to world peace.

Therefore, although Jiang Shu's words seemed insignificant, they were actually a challenge to the rules of the Temple of Lies. Thus, they undoubtedly belonged to the fifth level, which was also the most dangerous and had the most serious consequences.

According to the man, in the Temple of Lies, first and second level lies can be told, but higher level lies will be detected by the anti-magic stone.

Upon hearing this, Strawberry Milkshake couldn't help but look at Jiang Shu.

From this perspective, the two lies the other party casually told were at level five and level three respectively, and they had even dabbled in every other level, which shows they were exceptionally gifted.

So the man had already made himself very clear, and the reason Jiang Shu raised questions was not because he didn't understand.

He didn't doubt that the man was lying to him. He didn't even trust the anti-magic stone, but he had secretly verified it with the [Truth-Seeking Scales] and concluded that the man was telling the truth.

As a price for verification, he also told a truth about the organizational rules for maintaining world peace: "Our agents are also divided into five levels."

However, since Jiang Shu's current identity is that of a country bumpkin, the man thought that "operator" was a dialectal way of saying something like "lie," so he didn't pay any attention.

But Jiang Shu was just very curious.

"I understand what you mean. I just think, can the first and second levels be called lying? If we can't say anything after the third level, isn't that the same as not being allowed to lie at all?"

Upon hearing this, the man was taken aback, then silently squinted and sized up Jiang Shu.

This kind of person... must be allowed to join the temple.

It's not for any other reason than that without the constraints of the temple's rules, this child would surely become a menace!

That will only make the already infamous reputation of the "lying poet" even worse!

"Hmm... what did I say wrong again?"

Seeing that the man remained silent, Jiang Shu asked.

“It’s nothing.” The man shook his head and extended his right hand: “Hello, I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself yet. My name is Moore.”

Jiang Shu also reached out and grasped the man's hand: "My name is Zhuang Yuan."

The strawberry milkshake poked him, and he changed his tune.

"My name is Larry, this is grass... not... milk..."

“Nancy,” Strawberry Milkshake said calmly.

Chapter 103 Past Events of the Temple

"So, why does the temple have such a rule?"

After getting to know each other, Jiang Shu asked, somewhat puzzled:

"Isn't it strange that even poets who lie are restricted in their ability to do so?"

In Jiang Shu's view, this was just as absurd as not being allowed to show one's spirit ring in the Spirit Hall, or not being allowed to have books on a desk, trash in a trash can, or sleep on a bed in a dormitory.

"That's a long story. Let's go sit down over there and talk about it."

"it is good."

Arriving at a relatively quiet corner by the window in the temple hall, the three sat down on a bench next to the green plants.

"This is not actually a rule set by the poets of lies."

Moore sighed: