Mystery: She came from the Chaos Sea

Chapter 167 The Truman Show

Russell frowned slightly, his mind churning with thoughts. After a moment of silence, he directly raised his doubts:

"You two have taken the time to talk to me about so much about True Gods, and even the secrets beyond the Sequence. I can sense that you have high expectations of me. So, may I ask, do I still have a chance to become a 'Perfect One'?"

Hermione was silent.

Grisha saw this and took the initiative to take over the conversation, saying, "There can only be one True God of the 'Perfect One' path, but there are many vacancies for True Gods of other sequences."

Upon hearing this, Russell raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said with a somewhat teasing smile, "I thought you would say that I am the one who best fits the 'perfect person', and even intend to hand over the opportunity to become a god to me."

Grisha's expression remained calm, his tone indifferent yet solemn: "As long as you swear to become the core of the intelligent computer, I can give you everything."

Upon hearing this, Russell waved his hand. He was one of the few people who knew the intelligent computer best. He declined politely, "Forget it then..."

Then, a hint of curiosity flashed in His eyes, and He continued to ask, "Which paths of True Gods have vacancies? What plans do you have for me?"

If possible, Russell wanted to make choices more freely rather than be arranged by others. But Russell knew that the sequence path was difficult to change.

Seeing Roselle's thoughts, Hermione said, "There are only three paths that align with you: 'Perfect One,' 'Hermit One,' and 'Black Emperor.'"

There are actually three more? Russell listened to the names of these three paths and suddenly continued the topic by asking, "The hermit? The sage old man... Is he a true god?"

For Russell, the "Hidden Sage" was the first person in the world to show a friendly attitude towards him, and the first guide who led him into the mysterious side.

Although he would not shout the slogan of living and dying together, he also wanted to hear from Hermione and Grisha what kind of role the "Hidden Sage" was from their perspective.

"That all starts with your origins," said Hermione.

Hermione had anticipated this topic and wanted to win over Roselle to her ship. The "Hidden Sage" who had guided Roselle and the "Angel of Time" who had hunted Roselle were both unavoidable topics.

As for why she chose to win over Russell instead of training others, it was a decision Hermione made after considering various factors.

Of course, the world has changed the course of many things under the fluttering of her butterfly.

However, the unreasonable mystical connection of the mysterious world makes it possible for some things that have not happened and those that belong to the original time and space to affect the world she is currently in.

The strong connection between the awakened Grisha and her, the "Sun God", is a proof of this.

Therefore, Hermione intended to push Russell back to the position of "Black Emperor".

After all, Russell Gustav was a "Black Emperor" in the original time and space.

It would be fine if Roselle had never been born, but knowing that Roselle had already appeared, he insisted on leaving Roselle aside to train a new "Black Emperor". I am afraid that this would leave some hidden dangers, which would most likely be exploited by the Outer Gods in the future.

What's more, the "Black Emperor" itself is a path with "twisted" power.

Of course, Hermione is also searching for another "Black Emperor" Solomon in the human kingdom, but there has been no news so far.

Seeing Roselle listening attentively, a rare sight, and realizing he was also interested in gathering information from different angles, Hermione said:
"In the distant prehistoric era, our civilization suffered a devastating disaster. After that catastrophe, a large number of humans died. But fortunately, some humans tenaciously survived."

Seeing a glint in Roselle's eyes, Hermione continued, "These survivors are the ancestors of today's giants, elves, and pure-blooded humans. With your current abilities, it shouldn't be difficult for you to verify these things yourself."

"But you, Grisha, and I, the remnants of the Old Ones, are different from those ordinary human survivors. We are special beings. In layman's terms, we are the 'protagonists' chosen by fate."

Talking about the "protagonist", Hermione sighed slightly. The sense of fate in the mysterious world and the almost strict class divisions made it so oppressive that ordinary people could hardly breathe.

Although she was delighted that she lived in such an extraordinary world, which gave her extraordinary power to realize her ambitions.

But for ordinary people and even the vast majority of extraordinary people, this world of "conservation of extraordinary characteristics" is really cruel.

Although embarking on an extraordinary path is destined to be accompanied by danger, living an ordinary life in an extraordinary world is also another form of ignorance and weakness.

In particular, most of the time, no one can control the extraordinary people, or no one is willing to control them.

Unable to change the underlying rules of this world, all Hermione could think of at the moment was to do her utmost to narrow the huge power gap between mid- and low-sequence Extraordinaries and ordinary people, while at the same time incorporating those super-standard Extraordinary powers into an orderly regulatory system to the greatest extent possible.

Of course, the reason why she is so persistent in pushing these things forward is not only because she still retains her humanity and the powerful power she currently possesses, but also because of her connection with the shared destiny of mankind.

"We are the 'protagonists' chosen by the Old Ones." Hermione emphasized her tone and said slowly:

"Before the end of prehistoric civilization, we were like God's chosen people who boarded 'Noah's Ark' and received special protection."

"The essence known as the Sea of Chaos protects Grisha and me."

"And what protects you is the source substance called 'Source Castle'."

Sephira... Russell had just heard Grisha mention it and knew that Sephira was the key foundation for becoming the Old Ones.

"It's precisely because you were born from Sefirah Castle that you were targeted by both the Hidden Sage and the Angel of Time," Hermione continued.

"According to my prophecy, you were supposed to come down from Sefirah Castle in the 'Dark Iron Age', but the Outer Gods, with their control over fate, took you away before me and set you on the path of the 'Perfect One'."

Russell keenly grasped the key information and asked, "'So, the 'Perfect One' path is not the best choice for me?'"

Hermione nodded and said:

"Just like the potion system, every Beyonder's advancement has a predetermined path. The same is true from True God to the Old One."

"The Sefirot corresponding to 'Perfect One' is called 'Wild Knowledge'. The paths corresponding to 'Sefirah Castle' are 'Fool', 'Gate', and 'Error'."

Russell asked, "So, the three gods that are suitable for me are 'The Fool', 'The Gate', and 'Error'?"

"Indeed, if you had chosen any of these three paths when you came down from Sefirah Castle, you would have most likely successfully accommodated Sefirah Castle and become the corresponding Old One." "However, now that you have embarked on the 'Educator' path, you have completely lost this opportunity."

Russell raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then what about the two paths of 'Hermit' and 'Black Emperor'?"

Hermione patiently explained, "'Hermit' is an adjacent path to 'Perfect'. At high-sequence stages, adjacent paths can be converted to each other. As for 'Black Emperor', due to its inherent uniqueness, Beyonders from any path have the opportunity to jump to this path."

"'Black Emperor'... Is this path related to imperial power?" Russell asked, pondering. Judging from the name alone, he instinctively felt that "Black Emperor" was more suitable for him than "Hermit."

Hermione said, "It's 'Shadow of Order'."

"Shadow? I see. No wonder he's called the 'Black Emperor'." Russell suddenly understood and then asked curiously, "Then which path represents order?"

"It's 'The Judge'."

Russell sensed a heavy sense of responsibility in the name of this approach. Currently, part of the work done by the intelligent brain was related to judgment and supervision.

Afterwards, Russell asked Hermione in detail about the specific contents of the three paths: "Black Emperor", "Hermit" and "Perfector".

Hermione didn't hide anything, concluding, "However, I have already promised the uniqueness of the 'Hermit' pathway to someone else. As for the uniqueness of the 'Black Emperor' pathway and its high-sequence Beyonder characteristics, they are currently lost in unknown corners, their whereabouts unknown."

Russell couldn't help but widen his eyes and said in surprise, "Eh? No way, beautiful sister, are you kidding me?"

Roselle's reaction was predictable. Grisha then stepped forward and said, "Philip, if you cooperate, we can confidently find the unique identity of the Black Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Roselle was silent for a moment. According to Grisha's words, he also revealed that he had a connection with the "Black Emperor".

Without waiting for Russell to ask, Hermione said directly: "In the future, you will be the 'Black Emperor'."

Russell suddenly understood. He pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Then what price do I need to pay?"

Hermione shook her head slightly and chuckled, "The price? Roselle, don't overestimate your importance... You will indeed be the 'Black Emperor' in the future, but you are not the only 'Black Emperor'."

There is not only one "Black Emperor", but there is definitely only one true God on each path, otherwise Grisha would not have to talk about giving up resources.

Russell guessed the reason behind this statement and asked in astonishment, "Can a true god fall?"

"Of course," Hermione said, "Just like how we can gradually ascend to become true gods, the death of true gods naturally exists."

"Also, Russell, you should understand that we are not making a deal with you. Instead, we are offering you an opportunity. A chance for you to control your own destiny."

"The opportunity to control your own destiny?" Russell repeated in a low voice, a complicated look in his eyes.

He now vaguely knew that he seemed to have been under some invisible control since he came to this world.

He felt like the Truman of the movie world.

Now, when part of the truth was revealed, even though he was filled with ambition to pursue greater power, at the same time, these truths also made him feel a little powerless.

"What about the 'Time Angel'?" Russell asked again.

"As you can see, He is my child," Hermione admitted.
"He pursued you because when you fell from Sefirah Castle, you carried with you a Beyonder characteristic that He needed to become a god. That Beyonder characteristic was later taken away by the Hidden Sage."

Russell asked sharply, "Is it the 'wrong' path of the 'Fool' 'Gate'?"

"Yes." Hermione did not explain the harm this characteristic would cause to Russell. Russell might not believe this explanation at the moment, so it would be better not to say it.

Anyway, it was the "Hidden Sages" who led Roselle onto the path of the "Perfect One". As long as he knew this, he would not blame them for the choice of path.

The more Russell realized the error of his chosen path, the more he doubted the initial guidance of the Hidden Sage.

At this moment, Russell's expression gradually became firm. "He" asked, "How do I cooperate?"

"You are now a Master, Sequence Two of the Perfectionist Path, but your only three copies of the Dark Light attribute have already been used by Grisha. While there is a way to separate them, doing so will affect the stability of the intelligent brain."

Hermione extracted a Beyonder characteristic from the dream space and said:

"This is the Beyonder characteristic of Sequence One of the adjacent pathway, 'Knowledge Emperor.' Once your condition stabilizes, you can use this characteristic to advance to become 'Knowledge Emperor.'"

"After you discover the uniqueness and extraordinary characteristics of the Black Emperor, you can then switch paths and become the Black Emperor."

……

Western Continent.

After becoming a recipient of the ordination certificate, Zhou Mu truly integrated into the world of extraordinary people. She and Napolidisli both worked hard to continue studying literature and martial arts in the sect. During this process, Zhou Mu also came into contact with some members of the Holy Sect.

There are not many disciples in the Holy Sect. Even if Zhou Wei and Napolidisli are included, the "Master of the Dark House" only has five direct disciples.

There are still two uncles left in the sect.

However, it is not only the Holy Sect that can inherit the name of "Anlu". Other branches of the Holy Sect, as long as they can conform to the Tao and are granted talismans, can also become holy masters and call themselves "Masters of Anlu".

The person Zhou Mu has had the most contact with so far is a senior uncle named Lin Jing, and all the sect lessons are taught by this senior uncle Lin.

However, Uncle Lin's teaching philosophy was more inclined towards indulging desires, so Zhou Mu suffered a lot, and fell behind Napoleon Bonaparte in terms of progress in cultivation.

If it weren't for Hermione's interpretation and guidance of the scriptures and martial arts, which prevented Zhou Mi's training progress from lagging too far behind the "amazingly talented" Napolidisli, Zhou Mi would even have become the target of bullying by the Saint Sect's disciples.

Hermione did gain something as well. In addition to further understanding of the Western Continent system, she also learned from Uncle Lin that the Taoist Heavenly Master and the Luojiao Saintess, whose status was equivalent to that of the "Master of the Dark House", had both disappeared several years ago.

(End of this chapter)