Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 73: Preparing for a Breakthrough
"I came to find you, Space. You must have heard that fellow Thousand-Change is dead, right?"
The Corpse High Priest’s voice grew noticeably somber as he spoke.
That fellow Thousand-Change may have been a cross-dresser—a habit he, as a man, found utterly shameful—but he was still a High Priest. An equal. For someone with his power to die so inexplicably... And now the Spiritual Sect only had four High Priests left!
It sent a chill down his spine. Whenever he had a moment to himself, he couldn’t help but wonder if he, too, would die just as silently.
"Of course I’ve heard."
"His surviving subordinates, Priest Li Kong and that Assistant Priest, will be here soon."
The Space High Priest sounded perfectly calm, as if the death of the Thousand-Change High Priest didn’t faze her in the slightest.
She walked to a corner and sat. Space itself seemed to solidify, holding her suspended in mid-air. She then produced a small knife and began to leisurely file her nails.
"In our line of work, death... isn’t that a perfectly normal thing?"
"Our lives are meant to be in His service. When you make such a fuss over a comrade’s death, it’s no wonder Destruction won’t even give you the time of day."
"Why bring that guy up?"
The Corpse High Priest’s expression soured at the mention of the Destruction High Priest. He snorted and continued, "You say that as if he likes talking to you. In his eyes, aren’t all of us post-celestial Sequencers blessed by the Lord just the same kind of trash?
"So what if he self-awakened a Destruction sequence? What’s he so smug about?"
Hearing the Corpse High Priest’s words, Space paused, shot him a sidelong glance, and murmured:
"If you have the guts, say that to his face. I can open a spatial channel for the two of you. I’d love to see if he can still kill you with one punch."
"..."
The Corpse High Priest paused, then leaned listlessly against a wall and waved his hand dismissively.
"I didn’t come here to bicker with you. My wife and I are planning to take care of Su Yu’s brother, Su Xing, and Lu Anning. I need your help."
"My help?"
The Space High Priest glanced at the Corpse High Priest, then shook her head. "I still haven’t finished the Vice Bishop’s mission. I’ll probably be stuck here for a while, so I can’t act with you."
"Heh heh, Space, you underestimate me."
"The pleasure of claiming such a prize for myself—I’d never let anyone else interfere! This mission from the Lord must be completed by me!" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
The Corpse High Priest grew more and more fervent, practically roaring as he threw his hands toward the sky. Hearing his frenzied cries, the followers on the other side of the room, who were undergoing the Spiritual Sect’s indoctrination, started shouting as well. Cries of "Strengthen our Spiritual Sect! For our Spirit Lord!" echoed through the basement. After a long moment, the flush finally receded from the Corpse High Priest’s face, and he spoke again, his voice now low:
"I just want you to place a spatial marker on me."
"A spatial marker?"
The Space High Priest asked, confused. The Corpse High Priest simply continued:
"That’s right, a spatial marker. I want you to put a marker on me, one that automatically triggers and teleports me away if I’m in danger."
"Haha."
After hearing the Corpse High Priest, Space burst out laughing. "You were shouting so fervently just a moment ago. I almost thought you were resolute. And now you turn around and ask me for a turtle shell to hide in."
Laughing, the Space High Priest gathered her sequence energy and slapped a palm against the Corpse High Priest’s body, saying:
"It will automatically teleport you back here if you’re in danger. Also, your wife is a zombie, not a living being. My sequence can’t affect her."
"Heh heh, that’s enough."
The Corpse High Priest paid no mind to Space’s ridicule. Compared to lofty ambitions, saving his own hide was what mattered most to him.
He was the quintessential egoist. It was why he had turned his own son and wife into zombies the moment he became a Sequencer. He could still feel pain when his son died, and he could still make sacrifices for the Spiritual Sect—but only on the condition that he himself would survive and profit. This was the key difference between him and the other High Priests.
The other High Priests were truly willing to sacrifice their lives to bring about His descent.
"Alright, hurry up and get lost. Don’t pollute the air here with your selfish stench of death."
The Space High Priest glanced at the Corpse High Priest, then lowered her head and went back to filing her nails.
The Corpse Priest glanced at the Space High Priest, then turned to look at the new converts kneeling in pious worship. He chuckled and said:
"Am I selfish? Perhaps."
"I hope all these new believers you’ve recruited can maintain their piety for Him when they’re on the verge of death. Let’s hope they aren’t selfish and afraid to die, like me."
And with that, the Corpse High Priest promptly left.
...
"Class dismissed."
"Goodbye, Coach Su."
As soon as Su Xing’s words faded, the avatars in the online classroom vanished from his screen at an incredible speed.
Once nearly all the students had left, Su Xing took off his headset. He walked over to the sword rack, propped his teaching sword against it, and noticed Lu Anning off to the side. She was still swinging her sword over and over, as if practicing the techniques Su Xing had just taught.
[Sword Dao Points: 14]
He’d had a total of four classes today, plus one lesson with Lu Anning, earning him a full seven Sword Dao Points.
Other than the time he absorbed that burst of energy, Su Xing had never earned so many Sword Dao Points in a single day. Just like that, he had enough points for the Mortal Sword breakthrough.
This gave Su Xing a crooked idea: what if he taught Lu Anning multiple lessons in one day? If that worked, he’d never be short on Sword Dao Points again. He could just endlessly grind points off of this one Sword Disciple.
Unfortunately... Su Xing had only earned Sword Dao Points from the first lesson. Afterward, no matter what he said or what he taught Lu Anning, the system gave no response. This made Su Xing completely give up on his crooked idea.
Just as Su Xing was thinking about all this, Lu Anning seemed to realize his class was over and quickly said:
"Coach Su... is your class over?"
"I wanted to ask a question. Today, you told me that the breathing rhythm needs to..."
After hearing Lu Anning’s question, Su Xing suddenly felt that if she wasn’t first place in the school’s Sword Dao class, it was definitely the coach’s fault.
Just this afternoon, he had privately shared some techniques about breathing rhythm with her. Su Xing was well aware of how crucial breathing was for a Swordsman, but he never expected Lu Anning to identify her own weaknesses so quickly, let alone extrapolate from his teaching to ask such insightful questions.
After answering each of Lu Anning’s questions and receiving her thanks, Su Xing turned and headed for his room. A pale blue interface suddenly appeared before his eyes, and he thought to himself,
’Finally... I can break through to the fourth rank.’
