"Come out, Nana."
Otto put down his empty wine glass, his gentle and calm voice carrying to a corner of the room in shadow.
The shadow flowed slowly, appearing particularly sinister under the candlelight, and a female figure emerged from the shadow.
"Bishop Otto!"
Nana's dark red ponytail was tinged with gold by the dim light, her wheat-colored skin glowed with a healthy sheen, and her sharp eyes were filled with fanaticism.
"With a ghostly martial soul, your perception of spirits should be very keen.
What do you think of Orange?"
Nana paused, thought for a moment, and then, after organizing her thoughts, solemnly said:
"In my perception, the other party's soul is almost filled with rage, burning and frenzied."
"It's like...like a puppet, a puppet dominated by revenge."
After patiently listening to Nana's opinion, Otto chuckled, then turned to face Nana.
"A puppet?"
"Not at all."
"Love is a power that can create miracles, and so is the hatred born of love."
"I've always believed in this power to create miracles, so I want to give her a chance."
"I want to see how far she can go with this hatred."
Nana lowered her head and didn't speak, but Otto could tell at a glance that she still had some reservations.
"Are you worried she'll turn around and bite me?"
Nana was startled, her body trembled, and she lowered her head, saying with a slightly panicked expression:
"This subordinate dares not question any of the bishop's decisions."
Otto wore a confident smile, and a gentle soul force lifted Nana's body, allowing her to stand up.
"Your concerns are valid."
"She will definitely turn on me."
"But so what?"
"She's just a naughty child using a toy given to her by an adult, confidently thinking she can rebel against them."
"Heh, to put it bluntly, she doesn't have the brains or the ability."
"By the way, didn't I send you to the Heavenly Soul Empire a while ago?
Why are you back?"
Nana replied respectfully, word by word:
"This subordinate wanted to do her part for you, sir."
"Peaceful life is no longer suitable for Nana."
Otto shook his head slightly, choosing to respect Nana's choice.
"In that case, I'll give you a task."
"Recently, a group of people will arrive in Mingdu.
You will be responsible for guiding them to join the Holy Church."
"The leader is called Emiya Kiritsugu.
After that, you will follow them and manage the Mingdu stronghold."
Nana immediately bowed respectfully to Otto and said:
"Yes, sir!"
Otto waved to her and said,
"Go."
Nana's figure disappeared silently from the private room.
Otto put on the white coat on the rack next to him and looked at the magnificent palace in the distance through the transparent glass.
"A bishop?"
"That title sounds familiar."
"I didn't expect the Dragon Emperor Douluo to leave the Holy Spirit Cult without even saying goodbye.
How willful."
"I paid for his meals for so long."
"But it's fine. With the Dragon Emperor Douluo's remaining power, I can try to control the chaotic Hall of Worship."
A crimson feather appeared in Otto's hand at some point.
The edges of the feather emitted a faint white light, and it was somewhat transparent, like a phantom that did not belong to this space.
This was a pseudo-feather, an item that could manipulate and modify consciousness.
It was a Divine Key that Otto had recreated from his memories through the Void Archives, which once belonged to an old friend.
It was also an item that he was quite comfortable using.
Modifying consciousness and manipulating the mind was very suitable for a villain like him.
During this period, with Long Xiaoyao gone, Otto became the representative of the Hall of Worship, responsible for negotiating with Ye Xishui and Zhong Liwu.
Ye Xishui, that crazy woman, for some unknown reason, promoted Otto to bishop of the Holy Spirit Cult's Mingdu region.
Leveraging Long Xiaoyao's influence over the Hall of Worship, Otto truly began his comprehensive infiltration of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Otto sent large amounts of intelligence related to the Holy Spirit Cult to the Passionate Intelligence Department.
The locations of numerous Holy Spirit Cult strongholds, personnel information, and their assigned missions were all obtained by the Passionate Intelligence Department.
Otto also frequently dispatched promising young members of the Holy Spirit Cult to carry out intriguing missions, such as in-depth exploration of the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest or intelligence gathering on Shrek Academy's inner courtyard.
Occasionally, he would add a little something to the Holy Spirit Cult's ascension rituals, inserting the illusory image of Yu Duchen.
Initially, Otto was relatively cautious, proceeding slowly and not acting too outrageously.
Later, he discovered that the Holy Spirit Cult's high-ranking members, led by Ye Xishui, lacked nothing but brains, so Otto changed his tactics based on their intelligence.
Using the same tactics against Anti-Entropy and World Serpent against the Holy Spirit Cult was overkill, and the results weren't great.
It turned out that using tactics similar to those against Theresa was just right.
Recently, Otto contacted Huo Yuhao, preparing to infiltrate some of his own people into the Holy Spirit Cult. Huo Yuhao
dispatched the Root's Third Squad, led by Kiritsugu Emiya, to assist Otto.
The third group, known for their cunning and unscrupulous actions, was a perfect fit for Otto.
"It seems like the New Year in Xiru City is just a few months away."
"It's a pity I can't spend it with Karen this year. Sigh, I really want to retire."
"Unfortunately, the heartless boss won't let me off so easily."
The crimson feathers faded in the air. Otto smoothed the wrinkles in his white coat, confidently and calmly leaving the private room, heading straight for the magnificent palace.
Crown Prince Xu Tianran had just sent him a message to come to the Crown Prince's residence to discuss some matters, most likely related to reforming the court.
Xu Tianran planned to silence some disobedient members of the royal family.
Since Otto had restored Xu Tianran's standing and freed him from being a eunuch, he had completely trusted Otto.
He was particularly impressed by Otto's various ideas for eliminating dissidents.
He considered Otto a confidant, almost wanting to sleep next to him.
Xu Tianran began to gradually transfer his military trump cards to Otto, allowing him to slowly gain control of the army.
He even promised that once Xu Tianran ascended the throne, he would make Otto the Grand Tutor of the Sun Moon Empire.
Of course, Otto merely smiled at this; he too eagerly awaited the day Xu Tianran would ascend the throne.
...
Mingdu Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.
"Bang~ Bang~"
"You're here?"
"Come in."
A young man, probably no more than thirty years old, approached Jing Hongchen.
"Master, what brings you here?"
Jing Hongchen removed his glasses, a smile spreading across his face.
"You should have heard of this, right?"
Jing Hongchen pushed a photograph in front of Xuan Ziwen.
Xuan Ziwen looked puzzled.
He glanced at the photo, and his body suddenly trembled.
His voice stammered as he quickly said,
"Hall...Hall Master, is this a Soul Guidance Machine?"
"The legendary Soul Guidance Machine that can automatically carve core magic arrays based on blueprints simply by transmitting soul power?!"
"The core equipment for creating Soul Guidance Devices!"
"Did we finally get our hands on this?"
Jing Hongchen pressed his palm down, urging him to calm down.
"This thing isn't hard to obtain."
"Others may not know, but you should know about the relationship between Mingde Hall and Passion."
"Getting a Soul Guidance Machine from them isn't a problem."
"Aren't Xiao and Meng coming back?"
"They brought a lot of advanced knowledge from there.
It won't be long before our Mingde Hall can replicate our own machine."
"I called you here today to ask if you want to go to Xilu City?"
"I remember you were very supportive of their Soul Guidance Device concept, weren't you?"
Xuan Ziwen nodded without hesitation.
"Of course I'm willing to go, but the Empire here..."
Jing Hongchen waved his hand dismissively.
"Go if you're willing. The Empire won't know anything."
"Since you're willing, a group of Mingde Hall Soul Masters will accompany you to Xilu City tomorrow night."
"The route has been arranged; it's absolutely safe."
Although Xuan Ziwen disliked politics, he could see that Jing Hongchen's current actions were tantamount to treason.
Jing Hongchen, ever the shrewd one, immediately saw through Xuan Ziwen's thoughts.
"Don't overthink it."
"Don't have any reservations over there."
"Xilu City will provide you with suitable laboratories and funding."
"They have no shortage of money and equipment."
"Go."
"Go back and wait for news from the Magic Network."
Xuan Ziwen left. Although he felt uneasy, the thought of the Soul Guidance Devices in Xilu City that perfectly aligned with his ideals and the miraculous Soul Guidance Machine Tools made him forget all his concerns.
For him, Soul Guidance Devices were everything.
His dream was to make Soul Guidance Devices accessible to ordinary people, and his belief that powerful Soul Guidance Devices must be used by powerful Soul Masters was utter nonsense.
Ever since his accidental encounter with the soul tools and concepts of Xilu City, he was utterly astonished, wishing he could immediately become sworn brothers with the person who proposed these ideas.
He spent a considerable amount of money purchasing a large number of Xilu City soul tools, ranging from level one to level six.
He spent every day in the laboratory, tirelessly disassembling these soul tools.
Looking at those mechanical structures, so different from those of the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools, each exquisite component perfectly integrated with the core magic array, full of unique beauty,
Xuan Ziwen had written countless notes and drawn countless drawings, trying to understand the design concept of Xilu City's soul tools.
The more he pondered, the more engrossed he became.
He believed that this precise mechanical structure combined with the core magic array was the future of soul tools.
The Sun Moon Empire's design, relying on rare metals and the power of the core magic array, was simply primitive.
The Sun Moon Empire's soul tools lacked any structural design, like a pile of metal pieced together with a core magic array.
Every time Xuan Ziwen touched a soul tool made in Xilu City specifically for commoners, he felt like crying, because he realized that there were many people in this foreign land who shared his ideals.
He had essentially become a spiritual Xilu City citizen.
(End of Chapter)
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