Chapter 88: The Show Begins
Seeing that the old woman had no intention of letting her meet the candidate, Xu Zhi spoke again, “At the very least, I brought the person you wanted back. Don’t be so stingy.”
“If you don’t let me see him, I could destroy the heart you want at any time.”
As she spoke, one of her hands gently rested on Yu Shenwei’s shoulder.
Yu Shenwei’s whole body tensed up, frozen in place. To outsiders, it looked like she was frightened and nervous from being threatened. But only Yu Shenwei herself knew—she wasn’t exactly scared. What surprised her more was that she wasn’t particularly repulsed by Xu Zhi’s actions.
Even the hand on her shoulder didn’t feel threatening. Instead, there was a faint and inexplicable sense of familiarity.
This unsettled Yu Shenwei.
As a high-rank zealot, the old woman clearly understood more than the other cultists and was more rational. She knew that trying to wrest Yu Shenwei away from Xu Zhi at such close range would be too risky.
Yu Shenwei, the Saintess, was far too valuable to lose.
“…Fine.” The old woman temporarily compromised. Perhaps this could even be an opportunity. Once Yu Shenwei was away from this girl, she would immediately send people to rescue the maiden.
“Go bring A’Lin here,” she ordered one of the cultists.
Before long, a man in his forties arrived with the cultist.
Xu Zhi used her Eye of Secrets to examine the man. The red flame in his body was indeed brighter than Huo Ze’s. In addition, Xu Zhi noticed that a thread of flame extended from the man’s heart up toward his collarbone.
What is that? Her intuition told her this might be the reason he was chosen and Huo Ze wasn’t.
According to Huo Ze, there weren’t many high-level cultists in the camp—just five, including himself, the Saintess, and the high-rank zealots. Even Huo Ze didn’t know the reason for the selection, so likely only the old woman and the man himself knew.
Asking wouldn’t get an answer anyway—but that didn’t matter to Xu Zhi. She was curious, but not desperate to know.
Xu Zhi slowly lifted her hand from Yu Shenwei’s shoulder. Just as the old woman watched nervously, the hand had only moved about ten centimeters away when Xu Zhi suddenly flicked it lightly in the man’s direction.
Then, a white creature descended from the fog-covered sky at a speed too fast to see, and struck the man square on the head.
Before anyone around him could react, the man’s head exploded. Blood and white matter splattered across the faces of those next to him, who stood frozen in stunned silence—a scene both surreal and horrifying.
In the very next second, every cultist was enraged by the sudden attack, including the old woman.
That was her chosen candidate for the future Archbishop! And right under her nose, within two meters of her, he had been killed.
No matter how strong a cultist’s regenerative power was, no one—at least not now—could survive getting their head blown off.
Except, of course, the Saintess.
She would only die on the day of her final sacrifice. Until then, even if all her organs were removed, as long as she was sustained, she would cling to life.
Now that their most promising candidate had been obliterated, all their preparations were meaningless. Who wouldn’t be furious?
Some cultists, forgetting the high-rank zealot’s warnings, rushed past her straight toward Xu Zhi.
Naturally, none of them even got close. Xu Zhi’s familiars killed them effortlessly.
But this lack of control showed something important: While the high-rank zealot had authority over the cultists, it wasn’t absolute. Under extreme conditions, they could defy her command.
If the Archbishop were here, no matter what Xu Zhi did, the cultists would never act without orders.
After several failed assaults, with some cultists already dead, the high-rank zealots finally calmed down.
She scolded the others trying to attack and stared at Xu Zhi, her expression dark, “What exactly do you want?”
Xu Zhi smiled. “I just think… he wasn’t a good fit.”
“Hm, let me think. How about… you pick someone else?”
The old woman looked like she was about to laugh from sheer rage, “Girl, you just killed the person I picked, and now you’re telling me to pick someone else?”
Is this something a normal person would say? Something a normal person would do?
Xu Zhi gave an innocent shrug. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t agree, so I took the liberty of helping out.”
The old woman’s face twitched. “Little girl, don’t get too arrogant. If I go down, I’ll make sure you don’t leave here alive either.”
“Don’t be like that,” Xu Zhi said casually.
“I genuinely think he wasn’t suitable. Look—I even brought you a better option. Just switch candidates. It’s not that big a deal, right?”
At her words, Yu Shenwei’s expression turned a little stiff, while Huo Ze looked ecstatic.
“You don’t understand anything!” the old woman roared. “Huo Ze is completely unqualified! He doesn’t have the traits required to become Archbishop through the ritual!”
Her voice was filled with fury. Huo Ze’s expression darkened, but Xu Zhi remained indifferent.
She replied, “I don’t know what traits you mean, but… why not give it a try?”
“Impossible!” the old woman snapped.
Xu Zhi sighed and turned to Huo Ze. “You know what to do, right? If you do, I’ll take her out and let you perform the ritual yourself. How about that?”
She didn’t even try to whisper—everyone present heard her blatant scheming loud and clear.
Huo Ze nodded. “Of course. That old hag already did all the prep. We just need to activate the ritual!”
If it were earlier—during the prep stages—he wouldn’t have known how. But now, with everything ready, he could simply reap the benefits.
“Huo Ze, this is suicide! Someone without the proper traits will only die in the ritual!” the old woman shouted, trying to dissuade him.
But with Xu Zhi backing him up, Huo Ze felt bold, “How do I know you’re telling the truth? Don’t think I don’t see it! You picked him because he’s your son! You’re biased!”
Well, well, so there was more to it.
Xu Zhi wore an intrigued expression, while Yu Shenwei’s closed eyes fluttered slightly—clearly surprised by the revelation.
Huo Ze’s accusation pushed the old woman past her limit. Seeing that neither Xu Zhi nor Huo Ze could be swayed, she stopped talking and gave a direct order to the cultists:
“Kill them! Take back the Saintess!”
If it weren’t for the need to preserve low-tier cultists for the sacrificial ceremony, she would’ve given this order long ago. But now, it seemed there was no other choice.
They could always go find more offerings later.
Seeing the high-rank zealot go all in, the smug look on Huo Ze’s face faded slightly. He even took a few steps back in fear.
Xu Zhi gripped Yu Shenwei’s tense shoulder tightly, pulling her slightly closer, and whispered softly into her ear—just loud enough for only the two of them to hear, “See? None of them truly serve your god from the heart. They’re all using Him for their own gain.”
“But not you. You’re the most faithful one, aren’t you?”
“Open your eyes. The show’s about to begin.”
