Lin Xun mulled it over for a long time before coming back to his senses.

The two versions of the prophecy were completely opposite. On the surface, it really did look like something deliberately manufactured by two opposing factions.

It also felt a bit like they were deliberately picking both the right and the wrong answers so that they could never be wrong, which was absurd.

But both faction leaders were figures at the god realm. How could they casually issue prophecies for reasons like that?

Prophets were called Great Prophets precisely because they knew of things before everyone else.

Therefore, the two different versions of the prophecy should be the different futures the two Great Prophets saw, the two endings most likely to happen.

Perhaps in the eyes of the two Great Prophets, no matter what choices the Envoy made, the final ending would not escape the contents of their prophecies.

But in Lin Xun’s view, he still preferred the Multivision School’s prophecy.

Judging from the contents of the prophecy, the Multivision School did not seem to have any reason to harbor malice toward him.

[…]

[Once the Scholar sits back down, Sage Randall continues, saying that the Great Prophet foretold the Envoy’s descent and salvation. Yet the Direct Vision School attempts to use rumors and fallacies to deny the Envoy’s future of salvation, even going so far as to turn the Envoy into a terrifying evil god.]

[If the Direct Vision School lunatics were to find the Envoy first, the consequences would be unimaginable.]

[The Scholars below the stage all nod in agreement. You hear many people quietly cursing the stupidity of the Direct Vision School, and some of them are itching to leave the grand auditorium at once to search for the True God’s Envoy.]

[Sage Randall presses his hand down to calm the agitation and raises his voice. He says that he understands everyone’s feelings, and now he will announce good news.]

[That is, the True God’s Envoy has already secretly made contact with the President of this Association. At present, the Envoy is under the protection of the Great Sages, so the Direct Vision School lunatics have no chance at all.]

[With the Envoy’s permission, the Association will hold a grand banquet three days from now. The True God’s Envoy will attend as well.]

[He believes that with the Envoy’s support, their School will surely surpass the Direct Vision School and become the only orthodox School under the true Lord’s banner.]

[Every Scholar present will be able to take part in the grand banquet three days from now and see with their own eyes the Envoy of salvation appointed by the true Lord.]

[The Scholars below the stage are all deeply moved when they hear this. Their eyes blaze with excitement, and cheers roar through the grand auditorium…]

[You hear the Scholars around you chattering in excitement, saying that no wonder the Association had issued an emergency notice, it was because they had found the True God’s Envoy.]

[That is right. As long as the School wins the Envoy’s support, it is equivalent to obtaining the true Lord’s favor. Next time they meet those bastards from the Direct Vision School, they will definitely look at them through their nostrils.]

[The Envoy did not go to the Direct Vision Association and instead came here. That must surely be the true Lord’s oracle. It proves that the Multivision School is the one truly supported by the true Lord.]

[…]

Lin Xun frowned, feeling a bad premonition.

He had clearly never made contact with the Multivision School. Why would the Sage deceive all the Scholars?

“Could someone have impersonated the Envoy and gotten to the Multivision Association ahead of me?”

Lin Xun shook his head and soon dismissed that guess.

The Great Sages in the Association were figures close to godhood, scholars of profound learning, and they also possessed the Analysis ability granted by the main god. How could they possibly be fooled by a fake Envoy?

The Multivision Association’s actions were most likely deliberate.

[…]

[While you are lost in thought, the assembly in the auditorium concludes and most of the Scholars have already left.]

[You hurry to leave as well. You have barely stepped out the auditorium doors when you suddenly feel someone pinch your backside from behind.]

[You are instantly enraged and raise your staff, turning around to see which lecher has taken such liberties…]

[You see Sage Randall standing behind you. He softly says, Go to the office, then turns away.]

[You subconsciously follow the Sage’s steps to a Refined Copper elevator and accompany Sage Randall up to the higher floors of the Association building…]

[Some fragments of memory in the shell revive. You recall the unspeakable secret between you and Sage Randall.]

[You are unwilling to go to the Abyss or outer seas, those dangerous places, to do the life risking work of hunting mysterious creatures for money.]

[After all, you worked so hard to become a Grand Scholar on the strength of your exceptional talent. How could you die silently in some place far from the civilized city?]

[Yet work like giving lectures and easily earning extra income is not easy to find…]

[No, it is not that it is hard to find, but that there are too many wolves and too little meat. Above you are the Scribes and Great Scribes… With such easy work, no matter how it is distributed, your turn will never come.]

[In order to maintain your enormous expenses, you had no choice but to make a sordid deal with Sage Randall.]

[That is because Sage Randall is in charge of all the work commissions undertaken by the Branch Association. Nearly eighty percent of the extra jobs are assigned by Randall…]

[You heave a long sigh. You know that once you enter the office later, what awaits you will be a storm like infusion of knowledge…]

[…]

Lin Xun only felt his eyes burn.

He almost wanted to cleave Sage Randall to death on the spot, then toss away the shell he was currently possessing.

But the game still had to be cleared. Sage Randall ought to know many secrets and was a good breakthrough point.

[The elevator stops at the top floors of the Association building. You follow Sage Randall along a corridor and into his private office…]

[You casually close the door and lock it. Sage Randall says, Undress yourself, then goes to his desk and takes a small, delicate Refined Copper snuff bottle out of a drawer.]

[With his back to you, he takes out a familiar small piece of ore and grinds it into powder before pouring it into the snuff bottle…]

[Smelling the faintly cloying scent, you know that this ore is the Apizi Ore that can make a person extremely excited.]

[Sage Randall takes a deep sniff from the snuff bottle and immediately feels his whole body heat up, as if he has inexhaustible strength.]

[He is just about to turn around and begin his happy time when he feels a weight on his shoulder, icy cold to the touch.]

[A wide, thick scarlet greatsword has somehow appeared, resting on his shoulder. A man’s equally cold voice comes from behind him. Do not move. If you move, I will kill you.]

[The greatsword is wreathed in a savage, bloodthirsty aura. He does not doubt in the slightest that if he makes the slightest move, this sword will shear off his head.]

[Terrified, he follows your order and keeps his back to you, not daring to turn. But he secretly opens the eye on the back of his head and sees your appearance.]

[The plump, obedient female Grand Scholar is nowhere to be seen.]

[Behind him is a strange warrior holding a scarlet greatsword. Just from the pressure and imposing aura you exude, he can tell your strength is definitely not lower than that of a Sage like himself.]

[You say coldly that you will ask and he will answer, and if he dares speak half a lie, you will make him wish he were dead.]