Chapter 565 - 35: I Confess, I’ll Tell All

’Well now, I knew it was you.’

I mused inwardly. ’It really is this organization.’

Ever since I escaped the Continuous Prayer Meeting’s sacrificial ritual two years ago, I’d wondered if the long-standing Mysterious Organization would retaliate against us survivors. I’ve been on guard against potential attackers this whole time.

But they hadn’t done anything so far.

I had considered the possibility that their Elites had been wiped out, leaving the remaining members with no knowledge of the survivors’ specific identities. However, given how active Su Zhou has been, and with major powers from every nation digging into his background, it was only a matter of time before the Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association found out. In fact, they should have realized it by now. And of course, I would be exposed along with him.

As for why they came looking for me...

’The Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association might have sensed the unusual relationship between the Great Being, Yara, and Su Zhou. After all, the Great Being they worship is sitting right on my friend’s head. Is that why they want to test the waters?’

Not many people knew about the relationship between the Great Being and Su Zhou, but I happened to be one of the few who did.

Of course, the Continuous Prayer Meeting probably didn’t know that I was aware of this. They were likely approaching me now because they valued the fact that I was there, seeing me as a potential source for more details.

I bet they never imagined Su Zhou would actually tell me about it. What they would find even more unbelievable is that I was the one who recited the ritual text back then, which allowed Yara to unleash its power and save Su Zhou’s life.

Theoretically, that makes me the first human in the world to communicate with Yara’s True Body. In any other Mysterious Organization or religion, I could have been the first Pope. Of course, Su Zhou would be the Contractor, holding a status akin to the Divine Son.

My thoughts flashed by in an instant. In reality, 014 didn’t waste any words and, with considerable sincerity, began to lay out their purpose.

His explanation was winding and incredibly complex, laced with verbal probes and hints. According to 014, he was just an ordinary core member of the Continuous Prayer Meeting—and you’d have to be a fool to believe that; this man was definitely in the top brass. Their goal was to establish a connection with Su Zhou, who possibly... no, *definitely* possessed the ’Undying Blood’.

"If possible, we would even consider making Su Zhou the leader of our organization. A nominal leader would be fine, too."

014’s tone was reverent, and his words were completely sincere. My intuition immediately told me he sounded like someone who’d gotten a thorough beating from Su Zhou. But I’d never heard about anything like that, which was strange. After all, every time Su Zhou crushed an enemy worth boasting about, he’d message me on WeChat to brag.

Then, he continued, "But we know that’s not possible, so we’ve shifted our focus to you."

To summarize, 014’s point was this: the Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association had lost most of its Elites but still retained considerable power. For some reason, however, they could no longer contact the Great Being they worshiped.

According to their ancient texts, the only possible explanation for this was that the ’Holy Favor’ had transferred from them, the holders of the Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Book, to Su Zhou, the possessor of the Undying Blood. This, in turn, severed their causal link for communicating with the Great Being in the Void.

To maintain their connection, they had to involve themselves with Su Zhou. And in a sense, Su Zhou’s fan club was his de facto organization. In other words, in the realms of Mysticism and Cause and Effect, his fan club was equivalent to the original Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association. It sounded ridiculous, but it wasn’t entirely without reason—especially since I knew just how close Su Zhou and Yara’s relationship really was. These people had somehow managed to hit the nail on the head by accident.

In short, if 014 became the fan club’s top administrator, he would effectively re-establish a channel to communicate with the Great Being, the Holy Snake Spirit, through Su Zhou’s causal link. This was also why he had tried to hypnotize me earlier, to make me willingly focus on my Cultivation and hand over my authority.

Although his reasoning was quite convoluted, I couldn’t find any holes in it. After all, my knowledge in this area was indeed lacking, and I wasn’t embarrassed to admit it.

"Why should I agree?"

Finally, I spoke, deliberately lacing my tone with anger. "You do realize I was almost a blood sacrifice for your organization’s ritual—and you just tried to hypnotize me."

"Apologies are meaningless. I am willing to demonstrate my sincerity."

014’s tone was earnest. "Since you’ve already discovered my objective, let’s try another approach. Mr. Shao, would you be willing to join our Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association?"

"While it’s true that we are considerably weaker compared to our peak, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Our resources are more than enough to help you rapidly advance to the Extraordinary High-tier and catch up with your friend."

"Right now, you’re just living in Su Zhou’s shadow... Don’t you want to quickly catch up to your friend and become a real help to him? We can give you a way to advance quickly. While we can’t promise you’ll surpass Su Zhou, you can at least significantly close the gap between you."

From the very beginning, 014 had been repeatedly hinting at his assumption: that as Su Zhou’s friend, I must feel anxious and desperate about being left so far behind, eager to quickly catch up.

Perhaps even harbor a trace of jealousy.

It was a reasonable assumption. Any normal person would probably feel that way. A friend you once played with as an equal suddenly skyrockets to the heavens while you remain on the ground. Their constant support, while beneficial, turns you into their dependent. You are no longer equals.