Lord of Prayer

She crumpled the visitor’s guide into a ball, casually tossed it on the ground, and strode into the zoo.

Not long after she entered, she came face-to-face with two rabbits.

Li Xiye recalled the first rule in the visitor’s guide: This park has no rabbits. If you see rabbits by the roadside, please flee immediately or find a staff member in a black uniform for help.

While she was still thinking, the two rabbits let out strange shrieks and sped toward her.

Then, Li Xiye charged forward at an even greater speed, stomping on the rabbits and crushing them. Sticky blood and entrails splattered everywhere.

Having broken the taboo and violated the Rule, she acted as if nothing had happened and headed deeper into the zoo.

“Wait, is she also going to—”

In the Observation Hall, a Priest realized something, his expression twitching.

Unlike the Golden Apple trial, the tenth trial—a bizarre tale of rules—was clearly designed to test one’s intellect. Yet Li Xiye had once again chosen to use Power…

“This is also a valid way to pass,” the High Priest said with a carefree wave of his hand and a chuckle. “Whether by wits or by force, any method that clears the trial is a good one. If everyone used the same solution, what would be the point of us painstakingly designing different trials?

Don’t forget, the ultimate purpose of the twelve trials is to select a Divine Mark that suits the challenger’s personality.”

Li Xiye’s use of brute force throughout the trials indicated she was suited for a Divine Mark like that of the War God, the Mighty God, or the Goddess of War and Wisdom. It was just like how the first-generation Fire God passed the twelve trials with his Forging skills, ultimately obtaining the Divine Mark of Fire God Vulcan.

And so, the Priests witnessed a scene that made their eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

Li Xiye showed them the true meaning of violence, rebellion, and carnage.

She completely ignored the visitor’s rules, stomping on every rabbit she saw and killing every goat she encountered.

When she saw there was only one path in the tiger enclosure, she punched the path until it split in two, then charged in and slaughtered all the lions. If there were four tigers, she got an Extraordinary Quadra Kill; five tigers, a Pentakill; six tigers, a Hexakill.

When she saw a zebra that had transformed into a strange shape, she beat it back to its original form. When she heard strange laughter, she threw a punch toward the source of the sound. When she heard an ape speaking human words, she beat it until it stopped.

When she saw the bear enclosure had no elephants and was only full of bears, she jumped in and beat the bears until they looked like elephants!

She beat up any staff member she saw, tore down every notice on the path, and smashed every vending machine!

She was like a one-woman demolition crew, a living King of Hell, smashing everything in her path. She left no stone unturned, even shaking the eggs in the vending machines until their yolks broke.

“…”

The Priests all fell into a speechless silence, quietly shifting their gazes to the other screen.

The Saint had just entered the zoo and come face-to-face with two rabbits. He remembered the rule’s warning, so he turned and ran, looking for a staff member in a black uniform for help.

’This is how it’s supposed to be! This is how it’s supposed to be!’

’This is the right way to do it!’

The Priests nodded repeatedly. Only through a normal clearing of the trial would all the effort they, the designers, had poured into it not be in vain.

They turned their attention back to Li Xiye’s screen and their eyes went wide.

Because Li Xiye had caused such a huge commotion, she had directly drawn out the zoo’s final boss.

BOOM!

With a massive bang, cyan arcs of electricity flickered around Li Xiye as her unstoppable fist violently shattered the bizarre statue blocking her path. The statue was a vessel of chaos and distortion, as if thousands of animals had been crudely mashed together. Its entire body was covered in the organs of various creatures. It had six octopus heads, four snake heads, and countless animal limbs extending from its body, which writhed like a dense mass of tentacles.

Just a single glance at its abominable, twisted form was enough to make one dizzy.

Yet, despite its sinister and bizarre nature, it was ultimately smashed to pieces by a single punch from Li Xiye.

The corners of the Priests’ eyes twitched. In their design, defeating this boss required a step-by-step investigation into the zoo’s truth, followed by long and arduous preparations. The Saint was currently fumbling his way through that process, searching for the truth hidden within the rules.

But Li Xiye had already reached the zoo’s exit.

She found the main gate tightly shut. She threw a punch, and the terrifying force seemed to make the entire zoo tremble.

“Open.”

She commanded coldly.

The gate shuddered and slowly opened, revealing a curtain of light leading to the next level.

Li Xiye calmly walked through.

The style of this trial changed abruptly. She found herself in her own villa, with bright sunlight streaming in through the window, casting a dreamlike golden glow over the room.

Standing in the light was the figure she had longed for day and night.

Zhou Chen opened his arms and smiled at her. “Did you miss me?”

Li Xiye watched him in silence and slowly walked over, as if to accept his embrace.

“This is a trial of the mind. She will face her deepest desires. No matter how great her Power is, there’s a ninety percent chance she will fail,” a Priest said with a frown.

In previous years, every challenger who reached this point failed at this eleventh trial.

Every person has something they desire—love, family, past regrets… Under the trial’s influence, this longing would become as vast and deep as a bottomless pit. No matter how strong one’s Willpower, facing the deepest desire of one’s heart would inevitably cause hesitation and doubt.

One of the Priests discreetly observed the High Priest’s expression, only to find that he wasn’t nervous at all. In fact, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

BAM!

Immediately after, they heard a sound from the curtain of light. When they got a clear look at the scene within, their eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

Li Xiye had slammed a fist into “Zhou Chen’s” chest, caving it in. He coughed up blood endlessly, mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

The illusion looked at her in disbelief. “Xiye… why…”

“Save it. I already saw him before I came here and fulfilled a wish I’ve held for years. So I know perfectly well that you’re just an illusion.”

The bewitching illusion, which had been the downfall of countless genius Ascenders, had no effect on Li Xiye. Her tone was level as she said, “To be honest, after he deceived me and I waited so long for him, it’s impossible not to feel some resentment. I’ve wanted to beat him up for a long time, but… if I actually hit the real him, I know I’d feel bad.”

“Fortunately, now I have you, you fake. I can finally vent the decades of anger I’ve been holding in.”

BANG!

A deafening sound echoed.

A few minutes later, the “Zhou Chen” who had been beaten to a pulp vanished, and a curtain of light rose in its place.

It led to the final trial.

Li Xiye calmly stepped through. She arrived in a pure white space, where a Clone that looked identical to her appeared in front of her.

’So, this trial is about fighting myself? A test to surpass myself?’

Li Xiye stretched her limbs and remarked, “Finally, something interesting.”

「Half an hour later.」

Covered in blood, Li Xiye finished off her mirror-image Clone and stepped into the curtain of light that appeared after her victory.

·

「Meanwhile.」

In Akita Town, a sudden change occurred.

Zhou Chen, Liu Ling, and Chengzi were rushing to forge an Extraordinary Artifact. But in that instant, an ominous premonition welled up from the depths of their Souls, causing all three to stop what they were doing and look toward the Barrier.

A vast malice was brewing, yet Natas was clearly still asleep within the flames.

In a daze, they heard the sound of explosions and gunfire in the distance.

It wasn’t Natas…

It was the citizens of Akita Town!

Under the influence of the power of sin, the citizens of Akita Town had long since undergone a change in temperament. Their once simple and honest ways were now comparable to those of Gotham.

Furthermore, some people had personally witnessed the Satanic Demon in the sky, causing rumors of the apocalypse to spread rapidly through the town.

Fueled by the apocalyptic atmosphere, the riots in Akita Town had begun.