Chapter 1039: Chapter 1039

"I currently have two investigative topics,"

Bright sunlight scattered over the old floor tiles and the open-air round tables at the cafe by the street, as the girl in a simple dress placed her hands on the keyboard of a slim laptop. While scrolling through a webpage on the computer, she touched her headphones and said softly,

"One is a report on ’Collective Trauma Memory and K Worship in the Western Lands.’ As you know, last time K revealed itself, piercing through that colossal blood sun in the sky, witnessed directly by tens of millions of people,

"Although the Research Institute and the World Tree spent a great amount of time and used Extraordinary Items to ’cover up’ the memories of all the people directly shrouded by the blood sun, these memories were not completely erased. The marks etched into the subconscious couldn’t be wiped away.

"As for the blurry memories of ’K’ destroying the blood sun, within the core area affected by the blood sun, a lot of worship phenomena regarding ’K as the savior Divine Being’ have emerged.

"Beyond the core area, even in the ’peripheral areas’ that were irradiated by the power of the blood sun but didn’t directly witness the blood sun and the events of that day, a massive amount of ’K worship’ has also appeared.

"And these irradiated areas cover the most central, populous regions of the Western Lands, enveloping populations amounting to hundreds of millions,

"In fact, according to the intelligence we’ve obtained, some areas have already formed Primitive Sects with K deity worship at their core.

"With such a large area and such a large population base, even a minor issue could be a big problem.

"That’s why, whether it’s the senior management of the Research Institute or the teacher, they are all very concerned about the specific situation of the ’K Worship’ phenomenon in various regions."

The girl’s hand stopped moving the mouse, she shrugged, "I was just thinking if I could go and take a look in person, to actually see what the ’K Worship’ phenomenon in the Western Lands is like."

She placed both hands on the keyboard, entered new information in the search box, and hit enter.

Then she paused, apparently asked a question on the phone, and while waiting for the webpage to refresh, she continued,

The webpage refreshed on the computer, and the girl moved the mouse.

At this moment, a waiter brought over a hot cup of coffee.

The girl received the coffee, expressing her thanks in not-so-fluent Yika language, then returned her gaze to the screen and continued, "The other topic is actually quite similar to this one, it’s to specifically survey the residents in various regions of the Western Lands.

"Didn’t I tell you before, sister, that the World Tree headquarters doesn’t really have much control over its major branches? Those local Transcendent forces have their own cliques, much like Princes, who heed orders but not proclamations.

"Whenever the World Tree headquarters has any tasks, they just ask them to pool in some manpower and money. Personnel and finances are not in the hands of the World Tree.

"Teacher’s role as a special advisor for the World Tree this time is to deal with this issue.

"I took a look at the data over the years; the information reported to the headquarters by the various branches of the World Tree is basically just flattery like ’the country is prosperous and the people at peace.’ As long as they don’t rebel, the headquarters doesn’t seem to care much about them.

"Based on my experience from history books, under such circumstances, local powers are generally not so honest, so those beautiful words about ’country’s prosperity and peace, songs and dances’ are mostly false.

"So I was thinking, maybe I should go take a look myself and write an investigative report or something.

"Actually, both of these topics can be combined. Investigating the ’K Worship’ phenomenon will likely involve surveying the specific situations of the local Transcendent forces and their residents,"

The girl raised her hand and looked up at the sky, stretching lazily.

It seemed there was another question from the other end of the phone, and she continued to answer,

"Yes, this would involve leaving the Yika Republic,"

"I plan to start with the Trok Republic. This country is Yika’s eastern neighbor and also a region where the World Tree’s local power is the strongest. The situation there should be somewhat representative.

"I bought a train ticket for later tonight from Mote City to Feklay, the capital of Trok. I’ll change trains once at a border city, and after sleeping overnight, I will probably arrive by tomorrow morning.

"Don’t worry about me, sister,"

The girl waved her fist in the air and laughed, "I’m pretty tough too, so I can take care of myself, and I’ve got a permit from my mentor. Now his people are everywhere, so I can just contact them if there’s any issue.

"Of course, in principle, I’ll try not to reveal my identity if I can help it."

She picked up the coffee beside her and took a sip, laughing, "Back in ancient times, I’d be like an imperial envoy on a secret mission!"

Then she put down the coffee cup and nodded like a pecking chicken, "Yes yes, I’ll practice my punches seriously, even when I’m outside, I won’t slack off. I don’t want to have to practice five hundred times in front of the mentor. Senior sister, did you see me nodding?

"Alright, alright, I’ll also eat on time."

The girl smiled, her hand reaching for the headphones on her ear, then she seemed to hear something that surprised her,

"The mentor said there’s a new person coming to learn martial arts today? A new disciple? Oh no? Just to teach martial arts? Hahaha, this ’new person’ must be really outstanding, I trust the mentor’s judgment completely. When I’m back at the hall, I’ll make sure to have a good look at him.

"Okay, okay, I’ll be careful with my safety, senior sister, goodbye."

She took a deep breath, removed her headphones, and hung up the call.

Glancing at the call log on the table, the girl’s eyes paused for a moment, her hands propping up her cheeks as a slight smile curled her lips.

She subconsciously picked up her phone, tapped the pinned chat, and sent a message, [Brother Hao Yi, good afternoon].

And she included a cute sticker with it.

Then she put down her phone, took another sip of coffee, and continued to go over her materials.

Sunlight shined down from above, and people bustled on the streets.

The coffee beside the girl’s table was replaced cup after cup.

After an unknown amount of time, a woman’s voice came from nearby, "Would you be interested in learning about the great ’K’?"

A flyer was handed to her.

The girl immediately lifted her hand, instinctively speaking, "I’m not..."

Then she saw the large ’K’ printed on the flyer, her reaching hand hesitated briefly before taking the flyer, and she said with a hint of surprise, "This is ’K’?"

"It seems you’ve also been called by the great ’K’,"

The woman handing out flyers looked at her earnestly, "Most people living in this land have felt the call of ’K’; perhaps you’ve lost your memory, but the mark of ’K’ is already branded into our souls.

"He is the creator of all and also the destroyer who brings about the end of worlds. Only by following Him will we find salvation and protection."

Classic religious propaganda lines.

"It’s that mystical?"

The girl looked at the flyer in her hands, which simply talked about a gathering to listen to the voice of ’K’ and invited people to scan a QR code to join a group.

Interestingly, the flyer was written in Icarus, Tia, and Central Earth languages, meaning the target audience was not just native to the Yika Republic but also included Tia speakers and people from Central Earth.

At that moment, the girl realized that she was not approached randomly but rather she was the ’target user’ for them.

After all, her Central Earth features stood out among a crowd of Icarus people.

"This is not some figment of the imagination, but a real phenomenon. The great ’K’s mark resides in the minds of us all," the woman said, looking at the girl and pointing to the QR code on the flyer, "If you truly wish to hear the voice of ’K’, then scan this QR code and join us, ’K’ will protect all His followers."

"Is this some kind of group chat QR code?"

The girl raised her head to look beside her.

But the woman had already moved away without answering her question, continuing to distribute flyers at other tables.

The girl picked up her phone and scanned the QR code to join the group.

Then she discovered that there were already quite a few people in the group, and notifications of new members kept coming.

At this moment, the chat group was in mute mode, and the group announcement was listing the schedule for the upcoming ’gathering lectures.’

The next ’lecture’ was scheduled for tonight, right at dinner time.

At this moment, the phone on the table vibrated, and a new message came through.

Hao Yi Brother: [Looks like there’s something to be happy about today.]

The girl immediately picked up her phone and quickly replied,

[Because everyone at the Martial Arts Hall is really great, the master is a bit stern during lessons, but you can feel that he’s genuinely earnest in teaching me. The senior sister may be a bit obsessed with martial arts, but under her valiant appearance, she’s actually very gentle, hehe.]

Then she paused for a moment, picked up the flyer in her hand, took a photo, and sent it over, along with the story of her recent experience.

At this moment, He Ao was controlling Hao Yi’s clone, walking along the riverbanks of Mote City.

A gentle breeze was playing through his hair strands.

He lowered his head to look at the message Lin Chichi had sent him, viewing the flyer in three languages and the screen capture of the group notice.

Lin Chichi also sent a message at the end saying she was interested in checking out this ’lecture.’ The timing of the ’lecture’ was just right and wouldn’t affect her train schedule.

He Ao was holding his phone, about to reply, when suddenly a somewhat stuttering Central Earth language came from beside him, "Hello, do you have an interest in learning about the great Destroyer K?"

He Ao turned his head to look beside him.

A young man was standing next to him, extending the flyer he held towards He Ao.

He Ao, with a hint of interest, glanced at the young man, took the flyer, and naturally asked in Icarus language, "Are you a Sect that worships ’K’?"

The young man was slightly startled by He Ao’s question, seemingly not expecting the ’Central Earth man’ before him to speak Icarus language so fluently.

However, he quickly recovered and rapidly said, "Of course, have you ever felt a grand Illusion built of brilliance in your sleep, or had a Dream where you were saved by the grand Illusion amidst scarlet brilliance? Or perhaps, you feel this scene seems familiar?"

"I haven’t had such dreams,"

He Ao glanced at the flyer in his hand, then back at the young man, slightly shaking his head, "But what you describe, indeed feels ’familiar.’"

Hearing his latter statement, the somewhat dejected young man immediately perked up, "That is the Echo left in our subconscious by the great ’K’, the proof that He created everything. The crimson brilliance signifies the imminent World Apocalypse, and by following ’K’, we can be saved from destruction.

"’K’ is a great Divine Being, He created everything, and He will destroy everything. He is kind yet indifferent, wielding supreme power. Only by following Him can we earn His Favor and receive His gaze."

Hearing these words, He Ao was slightly stunned, looking at the young man and smiling, "This is actually the first time I’ve heard this."

Then he paused, "All these things in your theory, they’re all intangible, like World Apocalypse, creation of the world – I’m not concerned with that. By following your ’K’, can’t we obtain something more concrete?"

This time, it was the young man’s turn to be taken aback. He had not expected He Ao to ask such a question. After a moment of hesitation, he said quietly,

"The great K will grant Favor to the devout. He will bestow extraordinary powers to his most faithful Believers."

He Ao was briefly taken aback.

"It means possessing powers beyond what ordinary people can imagine,"

The young man explained quietly, "All of this is bestowed by ’K’."

The young man stiffened at the question, then quickly said, "The great Church Leader will show you. Your blasphemy against the great Divine Being will be punished."

With that, he no longer spoke to He Ao and hurried away.

He Ao chuckled to himself, lowered his head, and looked at the flyer in his hand.

The river breeze brushed against his fingertips, causing the soft yet firm paper to flutter and rustle.

The quality of this flyer was quite good, and the design had a feel to it, unlike those cheaply printed flyers from roadside shops.

This indicated that the ’Sect’ had at least some organizational and financial backing.

He picked up his phone, scanned the code, and joined the group chat.

In a winding alley, An Ming was holding his phone, following the navigation through bends and turns, deeper into the city.

At last, an old courtyard gate appeared in his field of view.

And next to the courtyard gate, there hung a solid wood plaque, on which three meaningful and prolonged characters were written in Central Earth script – ’Martial Arts Hall.’

Merely gazing at those three words, An Ming felt as if a distant ancient bell was tolling by his ear, a timeless path unfolding before him.

At the same time, numerous Martial Arts Training thoughts and ideas bloomed in his mind like flowers in spring—he had never found his mind to be this active.

And at that moment, the firmly closed courtyard gate opened abruptly.

A red-eyed girl with her hair tied in a high ponytail and carrying stone weights appeared in An Ming’s field of view. She glanced at An Ming and spoke gently, "An Ming? The master and I have mentioned you, come in."

An Ming finally reacted, quickly following the girl’s footsteps into the courtyard.

A modest and profoundly meaningful courtyard came into his sight.

He had never imagined that he would see such a quaint courtyard here; an ancient high-ranking courtyard, this place fulfilled all his fantasies about the site of Martial Arts Training.

He looked up at the girl leading the way, carrying the stone weights, and subconsciously folded his arms, "May I ask..."

The heavy stone weights were set down by the girl, producing a dull thud. She turned back to look at An Ming, raised her hand,

"The master said, let us have a spar first."