Chapter 306: Cheating

Karon had originally assumed that they would teleport to some enormous cavern again, but when the white light dissipated, he discovered that he was inside a towering building.

Above him was a massive dome, which depicted a majestic figure. This was a mural Alfred had longed for day and night. However, the figure was not the God of Order, but one of His four great attendants: Tiranus.

Within the Light of Order’s mythological narrative, Tiranus did not have the strongest presence. Compared to the other three attendants and the Twelve Knights, nearly all of whom had their own legendary stories and glorious accomplishments, Tiranus was relatively low-profile.

Yet within the Church of Order, Tiranus enjoyed the highest status of all beneath the God of Order himself, because Tiranus was the one who had inherited the God of Order’s will and established the Church of Order. The God of Order was the church’s totem and symbol, but Tiranus was its true founder. It was he who had compiled the very first edition of the Light of Order.

“The Hall of Tiranus?” Richard looked around. “I’ve always known it’s in Veyn, but I never knew which city or its exact location.”

“Your grandfather doesn’t know?”

“He probably does, but he wouldn’t tell me. The church has many places that only specific departments can access and use.”

Karon could not help thinking of the light spheres he had met with before that were studying time-space.

All of the participants in the selection were young, as there was an age limit. Because of that, this was the very first time that most of them were visiting this place, or even anywhere of such importance. Driven by youthful curiosity, everyone started wandering about and looking around.

Karon saw Leon and Larry gather with a small group. It included more than a dozen people, who all stood together chatting. It was likely that their families’ elders had good relations with each other. There were many similar groups gathering, formed by roughly half of the people present. The other half essentially stood alone or were touring on their own, and could be considered unaffiliated individuals. In short, things looked very polarized. People either had family connections or might have created networks of their own, or they were entirely independent. However, this situation was very common, given the ages involved.

It was similar to an elite school, where the students were either exceptionally talented or came from influential families. Of course, there was often overlap between the two.

Apart from Leon’s group, two other circles caught Karon’s attention. One consisted of only about seven people, yet those seven stood together in silence. They quietly waited without speaking a single word. Although they wore the Order robes, their posture was exceptionally stiff. Compared to them, even members of the Whip of Order looked a bit unprofessional in the way they carried themselves. Either these people were already part of the Knight Regiment, or they were from Knight Regiment families.

The other group consisted entirely of girls, all of whom were remarkably young. Even in this gathering of youths, they stood out as being particularly young, as most of them looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. There were seven or eight of them, and a slightly taller girl led them from the front. The ceiling of the Hall of Tiranus was a mural dedicated to Tiranus, while circular walls that surrounded the hall below recorded his life. The group of girls looked like they were touring a historical site, with the taller girl serving as the tour guide.

Richard followed Karon’s gaze. “They look to be from a specific system. My grandfather once mentioned that there’s a system that’s specifically responsible for cultivating demonic beasts, and while it’s divided into many departments, one of the higher-level ones is basically all women. They’re responsible for cultivating top-tier demonic beasts.”

“Like the hawks used by the Knight Regiments?” Karon asked.

“That shouldn’t be their department; That’s beneath them. The department they’re in only cultivates top-tier demonic beasts. It’s said that they once followed an independent belief system which was then absorbed and fused into our church.”

Karon nodded, indicating that he understood. That also explained why the group was all girls. This was not due to discrimination between men and women, but because some small churches, such as the church of the Goddess Mios, primarily had women as their believers. As for someone like a moon goddess, or the Darkmoon goddess who might have existed in the distant past, believers would not be limited by gender.

“They must be very strong in terms of soul, since they need to communicate with those powerful demonic beasts,” Richard said.

“Mhmm.” Karon nodded.

“Karon, I feel so much pressure!” Richard said.

“Relax,” Karon tried to comfort Richard.

In truth, even Karon himself had not expected a district selection to include so many outstanding peers. Apart from the eye-catching groups, there were also unaffiliated people who were clearly extraordinary with just a glance. For example, there was a young man sitting on the ground playing with stones, the girl leaning sideways as she dozed, and the young man playing rock-paper-scissors with himself...

In this place, there was no attempt to draw attention from others. Some people’s seemingly strange behavior actually produced energy fluctuations. To be able to immerse oneself in their own world in public at such a young age was itself a rather rare ability. More importantly, Karon believed that there had to also be people in the crowd who were like himself, appearing to be rather ordinary. This was the foundation of the Church of Order... Even though he had become a member of the Whip of Order and had carried a number of missions, the truth was that Karon’s understanding of a powerhouse of an orthodox church was still very shallow.

The organizers seemed to have deliberately allowed the young people a bit of time to tour the hall. Only after half an hour had passed did a voice finally sound from above, “Next will be the pre-selection inspection. You will each pass through security, one by one, and then gather in the examination venue outside. Items that should not be taken to the exam should be deposited in the storage area. If any prohibited cheating items are found during the inspection, your qualifications to participate in this selection will be immediately revoked. As for what qualifies as a cheating item, if we find it, it counts. If we don’t, then that’s your skill. Whether you want to take that gamble is up to you.”

Hearing these words, Richard looked at Karon beside him in astonishment. Karon had said virtually the same thing to him in the car. “Karon, that’s exactly what you said!”

“This is perfectly normal. If something is detected, it means that you lack skill. If it isn’t detected, it means your ability is high enough.”

The four main doors of the Hall of Tiranus all opened. A desk stood in each doorway, and there were priests beside them ready to conduct the inspections. In addition, there was a group of priests pushing over an enormous grid of storage boxes for the candidates to deposit their belongings.

“I’ll go store some things. Karon, is there anything in your bag that you need to have turned in?”

“Just take out my credentials for me. Store everything else.” Karon remembered that Alfred had packed some potions for him. Those needed to be stored.

“Oh, alright. You don’t need to bring food or drink. I brought some. Grandma made a lot of delicious food for us.”

Karon’s fingertips touched his ring, and he glanced down at it, but still chose not to place it into storage.

Richard carried two bags over, and returned with one. He hung the backpack in front of his chest and took out two bottles of water, handing one to Karon. Inside the bottles were orange peels, with some white sugar added. They carried the fresh fragrance of orange without any sour bitterness.

“Let’s go through security,” Karon said.

“Mhmm.”

Karon and Richard went to the southern door. There were people in line ahead of them, though not many, because just moments ago, one candidate had manifested a phantom turtle from within his body and had been immediately disqualified from the examination.

Cheating items did not merely refer to objects carried on one’s person. Anything hidden within one’s body was also forbidden. This was mainly to prevent certain candidates’ parents from making “special arrangements” for their children. Some parents operated at very high levels, and the methods they could employ were bizarre in every conceivable way. Compared to those, finding a spiritual entity and forming a temporary pact with it to help a child pass the exam was not even considered particularly sophisticated.

As a result, many people who had originally been waiting in line were forced to step out and carefully reexamine everything on them and within them.

Richard went through the checkpoint ahead of Karon. When it was his turn, he first handed his credentials to the examiner. After verifying them, the examiner gave him a card, presumably his examination number. Next was an inspection of the items he carried. Richard produced a large pile of food and drink from his bag. Nearly half of the enormous office desk was covered with the food and drink he had brought.

The examiner frowned. “Are you here for a picnic?”

Richard smiled. “Sigh. My grandmother insisted that I bring all of this. There was nothing I could do.”

After his belongings were inspected, he entered a scanning ritual array. After passing through that, someone conducted a further full-body hands-on inspection, with male and female inspectors assigned separately. Richard made a point to walk towards the woman, but she completely ignored him. In the end, he could only turn and walk over to the male inspector. Throughout the entire process, two priests stood on each side. Their gazes were hollow, though that was likely because they were using Arts to scan the candidates as they passed through inspection. The spiritual object inside of the earlier candidate had been stimulated awake by one of these individuals. After everything was done, Richard retrieved his backpack.

It was then Karon’s turn. He handed over his credentials. The examiner looked at them, and then at Karon. “Divine Servant?”

Karon nodded.

“You’re quite the low-profile one huh.” The examiner handed the credentials back along with a card.

Clearly, he understood that although the vast majority of people would immediately update their credentials every time they advanced a realm in order to receive a larger allowance and a more impressive status, there was also a small handful who were too lazy to update their credentials. The examiner would not assume that Karon was really just a Divine Servant... though he did feel that Karon’s laziness was a bit absurd.

All of Karon’s belongings were with Richard, so he had nothing to place on the table to be inspected. He simply walked through the security array, and then he arrived before the inspectors. The female inspector pushed her male counterpart aside while personally stepping forward to conduct Karon’s physical inspection. Throughout the entire process, Karon sensed two divine senses scanning and probing his body, going back and forth. The inspector found Karon’s ring. A tag hung around her neck, and it was emitting fluctuations from detection Arts.

“This silver ring is very beautiful.”

“My grandpa left it to me.”

“Alright, you may pass.”

“Thank you for the trouble.”

“You’re welcome.”

Karon walked over to Richard, who helplessly commented, “Actually, being good-looking is also a cheat.”

“Then you can go suggest to the examiner now that they drain your blood.”

“Haha.” Richard laughed. “I’m number 189. What number are you?”

“13.”

“I’m doomed.”

“Don’t let it affect your mentality.”

“Alright, I understand.”

The two walked out of the Hall of Tiranus. Outside was a vast plaza, and at the center of it stood a colossal stone statue of one of the monstrous beasts that had once been sealed by the Church of Order, the Illusion Demon, Corvasini.

According to the mythological narratives of Light of Order, Corvasini had once attempted to build a fantasy kingdom of its own within an entire nation, only to end up personally suppressed by the God of Order.

The inspections would continue for some time, so Karon and Richard were in no hurry to find their circles. Instead, they sat on the steps, and Richard took out some of the food his grandmother had made. He let Karon eat first, while Richard himself put both hands inside of his backpack and pretended to search for something. However, the reality was that he was fidgeting with his Cube Key. Karon ate a stuffed pancake with his right hand while his left casually rested on his knee, hidden beneath the wide sleeves of his priest’s robe. As he ate, the Cube in his left hand was conducting rapid calculations nonstop.

“The Cyrmos Amplification Array amplifies the effects of illusions. The core of the array is within that statue of Corvasini. The array’s effects will gradually intensify before weakening again. Since the amplification is extremely strong, the key is to simply endure the middle phase. No matter what happens, just grit your teeth and hold on.”

Karon nodded. “There’s an array embedded beneath the statue of Corvasini. During the exam, someone will be inside it and controlling it, so the pattern you mentioned is uncertain.”

“Amplification. I’m talking about amplification. The organizers will allow a small number of accidents, but they can’t possibly drive the whole group of people insane. The duration and magnitude of the amplification are objectively fixed there, so what I said isn’t wrong. Listen to me. I just finished deducing it with the Cube Key. Trust me, Karon, I’m a professional.”

Karon sighed. “Look at the sculpture’s eyes.”

“Mm? What about them?”

“They can move.”

“That—”

“You thought the whole field would be unified? No. Its eyes have already started scanning individuals. You don’t need to use the Cube Key to identify the Cyrmos Array. I believe many candidates here can see it as well. When the time comes, when it reaches the strongest stage, if you think the intensity will begin falling after that, those eyes can just sweep over your area multiple times, causing all of your earlier psychological preparations to collapse and throwing you into self-doubt.”

“Fuck!” Richard cursed. “Can they actually do that?”

“The purpose of the exam’s rules is simply to leave the final five people. Beyond that, there are no real restrictions. Look over there; those three stone chests. They probably contain psychic-type holy relics. They’re meant to gradually escalate the changes and intensity once the situation reaches a stalemate.”

“Karon... there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Hmm?”

“Even if you can sense me during the exam and protect me, if you feel that I’m dragging you down or putting pressure on you, just kick me away. Don’t hesitate, don’t feel embarrassed. Even if I don’t pass the selection, at most I’ll get beaten by my father again when I get back, but after all, my surname is still Gorman. I won’t lack resources in the future. You need this to win your own status and get better treatment. You need to do your best.”

“I know. You’re not worth me giving up my own future.”

“Fuck! I thought my words were quite moving, but your reply instantly destroyed the atmosphere I painstakingly built up.”

“Just relax. It won’t be a big problem.”

Although the scale of this exam and the quality of the candidates surprised Karon as well, it did not have much of an impact on him. When it came to the strength of the souls for people of his own age, he was someone who stood at the very peak of the pyramid. As for how bloated the middle of the pyramid was, that had nothing to do with him.

At that moment, Karon saw a red-robed bishop walking up from below. The nearby examiners and candidates all respectfully greeted him. Bishop Byrne?

This was the father of Delius, the Divine Progeny of the Church of Pamireth. Is he responsible for this York City district selection?

Karon and Richard also stood and saluted Bishop Byrne. He stopped and specifically lowered his head to look at Karon. “I remember you.” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

“Your Excellency.”

“Delius said that you are an interesting person.”

“I am honored to receive the Divine Progeny’s consideration.”

“Do your best.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

Bishop Byrne continued walking upward, and before long, a voice rang out from above, “Please enter your designated examination circles...”

Then the selection guidelines began to be recited.

“Huu...” Richard began taking deep breaths. After saying goodbye to Karon, he went to his own position. Karon, meanwhile, walked to the fountain that stood at the edge of the plaza to wash his hands, then leisurely found his own position: number 13.

After stepping inside his own circle, Karon was surprised to discover that Leon and Larry in the row ahead of Karon’s were actually standing together. No, it was not just them. The people in the circles around them had been arranged into practically a single line.

Inside arrangements.

To Karon’s left stood the tall girl who had acted as a guide for the group of girls earlier. Noticing him looking at her, she also turned her head to smile at him. “My name is Ashley. What about you?”

“Karon.”

“Do your best, Karon!” Ashley raised a fist to him in encouragement.

“Alright.” Karon nodded to her.

“You need to cheer me on too.”

“Oh, alright.” Karon copied her gesture and also raised a fist. “Do your best, Ashley.”

“Mhmm!”

To Karon’s right stood a young man around his age. His expression was stern, and he stood as straight as if he were on military drill. His military bearing was unmistakable. He was clearly from the Knight Regiment.

However, he also clearly had no intention of interacting with whoever was beside him.

Karon turned and looked diagonally behind him to both sides. One circle had a young man sitting there playing with stones, while the other held a girl who leaned forward. She was actually snoring. Seeing this, Karon could not help thinking of Eunice. Could this girl also be digesting her own bloodline power?

As for the person directly behind him, it was the young man who had been playing rock-paper-scissors with himself. When he saw Karon looking at him, the young man smiled and asked, “Do you want to play with us?”

Karon smiled back. “I won’t interrupt you guys. Please continue.”

This person should be introduced to the captain.

At this moment, Bishop Byrne appeared atop the head of Corvasini’s sculpture. He was indeed the chief examiner for the district exam.

The bishop placed both hands before his chest and said in a deep voice, “Praise the God of Order!”

All the candidates below responded together, “Praise the God of Order!”

“I hereby announce that this district’s examination officially begins.”

The moment his words fell, the enormous eyes of the Corvasini sculpture beneath the bishop’s feet glowed with a red light. At the same time, the sky grew dark, and everything around them became pitch-black. Just a second ago, they had still been in the exam venue, but a mere moment later, they were already isolated from the world.

No, there was one area that was not completely black. A person was kneeling there. That was right, kneeling, as if in prayer.

That person turned his head and looked Karon’s way, looking pleasantly surprised. “Karon, you came to find me so quickly?”

Clearly, Richard had been so nervous that he acted like a quail, which had caused his Altair bloodline to activate as soon as the exam had begun, and he had immediately sensed Karon.

Karon felt helpless and beckoned to him. Richard immediately got up and ran toward Karon, waving and shouting as he ran, “Karon, I’m coming!”

Upon reaching Karon’s side, Richard looked at their pitch-black surroundings with some confusion and asked, “Um, why is it so calm?”

“Because it hasn’t truly begun yet. The Cyrmos amplification array isn’t fully activated.”

“Oh. Then what do I need to do later?”

“Sit.”

“And?”

“Don’t move.”

“That’s it?”

“There’s more.”

“Hmm? What else do you need me to do?”

“Shut up.”