"The Scepter"

Inside the restaurant.

The old man with white hair was still in a daze.

The clown glanced at him, pulled out his professional card from his chest, and returned to his original appearance.

He looked back at the pile of bones and shook his head, saying, "What method did those two devils use to take away everything from this fallen card master?"

Аndrea replied, "It's the Card Tome. Sister Yana is still sleeping, so let me explain—"

"The legendary Card Tomes each have unique powers, but it's hard to find such things in reality. Most of the Card Masters we usually encounter use ordinary Card Tomes, so deciphering them is not a difficult task."

"So his Card Tome was taken by those two devils?" Liu Ping asked.

"Yes."

Andrea chuckled softly, covering her mouth, and whispered, "But they overlooked one thing."

"What is it?" Liu Ping asked.

"Before I killed this fallen Cursemancer, he was holding a card in his hand."

"Then—"

"Liu Ping, let me just tell you directly, actually when I met you before, every time I pretended to be able to eat monsters, it wasn't the case at all. I possess a certain ability—"

"To gain benefits from the newly dead."

As Andrea spoke, she walked to the pile of bones, took a quick look, and suddenly moved like lightning, pulling out an object from the bones and handing it to Liu Ping.

Liu Ping took it and saw that it was a card depicting a pitch-black beast trap.

Lines of burning small letters floated in the air:

[Card: Magic Restriction Beast Trap]

[Trap card, Star level card, Level: One Star]

[This beast trap, once placed, cannot be discovered by means other than the mysterious type.]

[If you don't need this Star card, you can either absorb it or offer it to the Eternal Night Divine Pillar. According to the rules of equivalent exchange, you can obtain an equally valued Eternal Night card from the Pillar.]

Liu Ping accepted the card and smiled, "Well done, Andrea!"

"Hehe, my ability is not bad, right?" The little girl proudly lifted her chin and glanced at Zhao Chanyi.

Zhao Chanyi immediately sensed a faint hostility.

She rolled her eyes and said softly, "Hey, Liu Ping."

"What?" Liu Ping looked down at her.

"I'm currently a free card. Do you want to just watch me get taken away by others and become a slave with no means of survival or death?" Zhao Chanyi said with reddened eyes.

"Alright, it really is time to deal with your issue. We'll solve it in a bit." Liu Ping patted her head.

"Uh, Liu Ping is the best!" Zhao Chanyi immediately laughed, discreetly glancing at Andrea.

Andrea crossed her arms and sighed. "This cat is really foolish. How old is she now, still playing the favoritism game? I wouldn't stoop to compare with you."

With that, she turned around—

"Where are you going?" Liu Ping asked.

"Going out for a bit, I'll be back soon." Andrea said nonchalantly.

She walked towards the exit of the restaurant.

With each step she took, the ground cracked beneath her feet, as if it had been stomped on by a giant.

Creak!

Creak!

Creak!

Andrea walked away.

"She looks like she's throwing a tantrum…" Liu Ping murmured.

Twenty minutes later.

Two figures appeared on the long street of Misty Town.

Chen Ling, Chen Feng.

They looked around little by little as they made their way to the tavern.

"Welcome, please come in and have a seat," Liu Ping said with a smile.

"Why haven't you recruited some subordinates yet? This way you'll have some power." Chen Ling assessed him.

"I just got into a fight, and I haven't had the time yet." Liu Ping replied.

"A fight?" Chen Ling asked.

"Yes, a Fallen Cursemancer wanted to disrupt the world's plot to gain some benefits." Liu Ping said.

"And what was the outcome?" Chen Feng asked.

"I teamed up with a lord from Purgatory to kill him." Liu Ping said.

Chen Feng and Chen Ling both breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.

"But there's a piece of information I'm not sure if I should share." Liu Ping hesitated.

"Say it!" the two said in unison.

"That lord hinted that opportunities coming from Purgatory are becoming increasingly rare. In the future, we need to be more vigilant, who knows when there might be a situation where the lords can't arrive." Liu Ping said.

Both of them changed color at the same time.

"It's that kind of situation." Chen Ling stammered.

"Exactly, the passage is about to close!" Chen Feng said, his face pale.

Now Liu Ping was somewhat surprised.

He originally just meant to scare them, but he didn't expect their reaction to be so intense.

"What are you two talking about?" Liu Ping couldn't help but ask.

"Brother Liu, you might not know, but the goddess is hesitating whether to give up on this place." Chen Ling said.

"Yes, since she has decided to gradually pull away her forces, this place will surely be abandoned." Chen Feng said.

"In other words—are all the beings in this world free?" Liu Ping asked.

"Free? Are you joking?" Chen Feng exclaimed.

"Once the goddess gives up this place, the script here will be completely rewritten—a final battle will occur between Demon Beasts and humans, those who die will be eliminated, and the goddess's war pets will consume their souls, those who survive will qualify as slaves to serve the goddess on the real battlefield." Chen Ling explained.

"If that's the case, we should plan ahead." Liu Ping pondered.

"What can we do? Practitioners are all exceptionally strong-willed individuals, it's extremely difficult to subdue them." Chen Feng sighed.

"That's right, we've exhausted all means and have only a few hundred practitioners willing to follow us." Chen Ling said.

"At this point, I have a favor to ask."

Liu Ping beckoned Zhao Chanyi over.

Zhao Chanyi remained motionless behind him, wearing a conical hat, and was under Liu Ping's aura isolation technique and transformation technique, making it hard for others to discern her true depth.

"This is a free card I obtained. Please help cut off the divine power Thread connected to her." Liu Ping said.

In the past, Liu Ping would certainly have been wary of these two and wouldn't have casually exposed Zhao Chanyi.

But now, having fully recognized their personalities and carrying the residual power of defeating the Fallen Cursemancer, he had fewer concerns.

This was the best opportunity to possibly resolve Zhao Chanyi's issue.

Even if they did end up fighting —

He wouldn't be afraid.

Chen Ling and Chen Feng turned to look behind Liu Ping, where they saw a female cultivator wearing a conical hat.

The female cultivator appeared somewhat shy and was reluctant to step out from behind Liu Ping.

"Haha, Liu brother, have you found a cultivator as your partner?" Chen Ling winked at Liu Ping.

Liu Ping smiled but didn't say anything.

"What's the problem? Just take out that card, and we can all channel our intent into it." Chen Feng suggested.

Chen Ling reached out and pulled a card from the void, immediately offering it to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng looked at the card for a moment, then handed it to Liu Ping.

The card depicted a wooden staff, intricately carved with a solemn and dignified female figure that bore some resemblance to Lady Agony.

Lines of burning small text appeared before Liu Ping's eyes:

[Slave Capture Permission Staff of Lady Agony.]

[Decided by the will of all saints, to assign the right of belonging to a certain slave.]

[—Having received the will of two saints, the staff will take effect once you also channel your will into it.]

Liu Ping squeezed the card and infused his intent into it.

"Alright."

He threw the card out—

Boom!

A staff floated in mid-air, gently pointing toward Zhao Chanyi.

A long line emitting a faint glow appeared behind Zhao Chanyi, one end tied to the back of her head and the other leading into the depths of the sky.

The line grew indistinct and gradually disappeared.

"She is free now, you can take her as your own card." Chen Feng said.

"Thank you both, but I will take her later. Now we need to discuss what to do about the current situation." Liu Ping immediately shifted the topic.

He gestured to Zhao Chanyi, whispering, "Go take care of that matter."

"Understood."

Zhao Chanyi didn't dare linger, fearing that the others would notice something amiss.

She answered softly, kept her head down, and quickly retreated from the inn.

Chen Feng and Chen Ling glanced at Zhao Chanyi, but realizing Liu Ping was watching them, they felt awkward to keep looking at his companion.

They averted their gaze and began to consider the current issue.

Chen Ling said, "According to what we discussed earlier, the situation is actually quite clear now—"

Chen Feng interjected, "It's getting increasingly dangerous here."

Liu Ping smiled and said, "Actually, that's a good thing."

"A good thing?" Chen Ling and Chen Feng replied in unison.

"Yes, if the goddess isn't paying attention here, and the three of us stand guard in this world, then the benefits of this world will be ours to take since we are saints." Liu Ping explained.

Chen Feng couldn't help but say, "But it's also more dangerous, we could encounter those untrustworthy card masters at any moment—these are desperate individuals."

Suddenly, an intense sense emerged in the hearts of the three.

An inexplicable pressure descended from the depths of the sky, piercing through the thick leaden clouds and directly arriving in the inn.

Chen Ling fumbled in a panic and pulled out a card from his pocket, where he saw illustrated on it a book radiating a sacred light, with lines of divine text quickly appearing on the opened pages.

Chen Feng took a glance and exclaimed:

[The Divine Oracle! The goddess has delivered a divine oracle!]