Chapter 1088: Chapter 1086: If You Were Given Light in Three Days
As if pondering Long Mei’er’s words, after several seconds, Richard looked at Long Mei’er and asked, "This matter isn’t as easy to resolve as you supervisors make it sound, is it? If I sincerely join the organization, can everything I’ve done before be overlooked? Can Cheka Inspector agree?"
Long Mei’er smiled slightly, "About this matter, it can be either really difficult or really simple to handle. It’s difficult because it won’t be easily resolved. It’s simple... let me tell you something."
"What is it?" Richard asked.
"Do you remember a few months ago when you asked me for the last part of the Void Treasure Book and agreed to a duel with me in the forest half a month later?"
"I remember." Richard nodded.
"Then you must also remember that before parting with you, I killed an enemy with the power of a Level 4 Wizard. Before his death, he kept shouting ’Yugen’."
Richard blinked, recalling, and the images of that day flashed quickly through his mind:
At the time, he and Long Mei’er were discussing the details of the duel in half a month when a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation deep in the forest.
Accompanied by a stench, a humanoid creature over two meters tall, half-human and half-beast, charged out. The creature had a human-like face, wore clothes, but its arms and shoulders were covered in dense gray fur like a bear, and its bare feet had tiger-like sharp claws.
The creature kept shouting "Yugen" and launched a furious attack at Long Mei’er.
Long Mei’er promptly and decisively struck the creature’s head, killing it instantly.
From that, Richard realized how strong Long Mei’er was, and even if he used all his means in their duel half a month later, he only managed to injure Long Mei’er, which didn’t surprise him much.
After the duel, Long Mei’er once said, "Unless a body is destroyed completely in an instant, even if only a heart or a drop of blood is left, it can be resurrected," which Richard didn’t doubt.
Recalling, Richard looked at Long Mei’er and said, "Yes, I remember him shouting ’Yugen’."
"Do you know why he shouted ’Yugen’?" Long Mei’er asked again.
"Well—" Richard hesitated, although he had a wealth of knowledge buried deep in his mind, this question was out of that range. After all, he had never seen such a strange creature before, how would he know why it shouted ’Yugen’."
"Is it a kind of fixed expression to convey emotions, like the barking of dogs or meowing of cats?" Richard looked at Long Mei’er, finally giving a speculative answer.
"No." Long Mei’er lightly shook his head, revealing the mystery, "Actually, ’Yugen’ is my name."
Richard couldn’t help but widen his eyes slightly.
"A bit surprising, right?" Long Mei’er smiled, his smile carrying a hint of bitterness.
"So, the opponent knew you, Supervisor? The opponent was an intelligent being, or rather, a... person?" Richard said.
"Precisely, the opponent was my teacher." Long Mei’er said.
Richard couldn’t help but open his mouth wide.
"My full name is Long Meier Yugen." Long Mei’er slowly said, "I wasn’t a member of the Truth Society from the start, nor did I serve it from the beginning. Initially, I was an apprentice of another Wizard Organization—the Natural Balance School.
The Natural Balance School has a very ancient heritage, revering nature and the wild, loving to delve into the deepest powers of biological life, transforming themselves. The look of my teacher you saw back then is a manifestation of one branch of their transformation. If nothing unexpected happened, I would have become a combination of many beasts, even stranger and stronger than my teacher.
However, many years ago, before I became like that, a camp of the Natural Balance School was attacked by the Truth Society. From then on, I had contact with the Truth Society. At first, I hated the Truth Society and grew while hunting its members. The greatest achievement was when I paid the price of being severely injured and near death to acquire this."
As he spoke, Long Mei’er touched the item on his finger.
"A ring?" Richard raised his eyebrows.
Long Mei’er chuckled, "That’s right, don’t be surprised, this Golden Ring was what I stole. As for the fate of its original owner, you can guess—he’s dead. Actually, calling him dead isn’t accurate, since his memory backup still exists in the headquarters’ Resurrection Room. But considering the massive resources needed for resurrection and the inability to grow further, it’s almost the same as dead."
Richard looked at Long Mei’er, truly shocked in his heart, not expecting Long Mei’er to have such a past, subconsciously asking, "And what happened afterward?"
"Afterward." Long Mei’er said, "Afterward, it became a long story. To make it short, after I killed a Truth Society Golden Ring Supervisor, some time passed, and I met Lord Fen Feng, the supervisor.
To me at that time, it was an irresistible force, so unsurprisingly, I was defeated. However, Lord Fen Feng didn’t kill me but took me to the Truth Society headquarters, where he treated me and let me witness a larger world. From then on, I became a new Golden Ring until now."
Long Mei’er was silent for several seconds, as if giving Richard time to process the information, then waved his hand, "You see, I killed a Golden Ring Supervisor, and it’s not a problem. So what problem do you have? Unless you’ve killed a Colorful Rings Supervisor? So, if you sincerely join the Truth Society, there may be some difficulties, but in the end, it’s safe.
I trust my judgment, just like Lord Fen Feng trusted his. I killed one of the weakest Golden Rings of the Truth Society but gave it one of the strongest Golden Rings in return. And you... no matter what you’ve done before, I believe your future contribution to the Truth Society will far outweigh the damage caused."
"But how can I prove that I sincerely join the Truth Society?" Richard thought for a while and raised a crucial question, "It’s not possible to just say it and be recognized, right? If so, I should have been recognized a long time ago."
"Of course not." Long Mei’er shook his head, "There’s only one way to prove your sincere joining of the Truth Society, and that is to allow your soul to experience true enlightenment."
"Hmm?"
Long Mei’er explained, "Specifically, it means opening up defenses and letting your soul be baptized by the light of the True God. You can consider it a kind of spell; during the process, you’ll connect with the True God, gain more understanding of the Truth Society, receive special gifts, and have an immortal mark engraved on your soul.
After the experience, your personality will undergo some slight changes, but don’t worry, you’re still you, just with a deeper understanding of the world. This way, you will be considered a true core member of the Truth Society, qualified to become a senior member of the Truth Society. Meanwhile, you’ll have unwavering loyalty to the True God, and thus, Cheka’s questioning of you can be entirely ignored."
Richard listened, and after a while seriously asked, "Will I really still be myself? If after the experience, I have unwavering loyalty to the True God, isn’t that a kind of shackle?"
"That depends on how you see it." Long Mei’er gently said, "In my view, it’s more like you’ve understood a truth, much like one plus one equals two being an absolute truth. Once you know it, you won’t deny it and will always consider one plus one equals two as correct. The True God is the same; when you encounter His light, you’ll be sure that He is a truth more undeniable than one plus one equals two, and you’ll naturally believe and be loyal to Him.
Richard was silent, a long silence. He wanted to say something, but pursed his lips, and in the end, said nothing.
Long Mei’er saw this and didn’t force it, lightly sighed, "Your reaction was not beyond my expectations, sure enough, there’s some hesitation. After all, you have always been persistent in your established views. So back then, to adhere to your research, you didn’t hesitate to duel with me, and this is precisely why I view you favorably.
However... the matter of the True God is indeed somewhat different than research. I admire you, but I can’t change for you. I can give you some time to consider, and hope that in the morning three days later, just before I reply to Cheka, you will give me an answer. If you choose enlightenment, then you will be my successor. But you..."
Long Mei’er didn’t continue, paused, and said, "Alright, there’s no but. I hope there’s no but, and I don’t want you to choose but. So, within three days, I want you to give me a singular answer, and that’s it."
Having said that, Long Mei’er stepped towards Pompeii Town.
After walking tens of meters, the voice came, "Wizard Richard, be clear about one thing: all along, I’ve had high hopes for you. I hope you don’t disappoint my expectations. I can assure you, as long as you’re willing to surpass yourself and take this most crucial step, you will not regret it."
Under the night sky, Long Mei’er walked further and further away...
...
