Inside a cafe near the North Tivian Church District, Dorothy sat in a quiet private room, looking at her reflection on the glass window beside her, while recalling the contents of the secret transmission she had just read from the restricted section of the St. Yong Cathedral's underground library. She particularly focused on the few entries that were more valuable, the first of which was a semi-autobiographical secret transmission written by a Sister named Yunina.
'This Sister named Yunina has some similarities in experience with Vanya. Both believed in the Holy Mother from a young age, both were 'Extraordinary' in some sense, and both gradually rose from the grassroots to high positions within the Shining Light Church system, eventually reaching at least the Scarlet level... The biggest difference from Vanya is probably that Vanya's faith in the Holy Mother is not as pure as this Yunina's.
'This Yunina was fanatical in her worship of the Holy Mother, even to the point of wanting to personally hear divine oracles. However, under the teachings of the Shining Light Church, the only one who can directly communicate with the Three Saints is the Pope, which made her secretly feel dissatisfied... I always feel that the Shining Light Church's rule that only the Pope can communicate with the divine is quite troublesome and not very reasonable.'
Dorothy thought to herself, realizing that the Shining Light Church's foundation is based on the faith in the Three Saints. There are countless devout and fanatical believers, so the phenomenon of Yunina is almost inevitable. However, while the Church cultivates fanatical believers in the Three Saints, it also monopolizes the power to communicate directly with the Three Saints in the hands of the Pope, which is a significant issue.
The Pope's monopoly on the right to communicate with the Three Saints might not be a major problem for ordinary Shining Light Church followers and lower-to-mid-level Church personnel, as both the Pope and the Three Saints are existences far beyond their reach. However, the situation is different for high-level Church officials at the Scarlet level and above.
Extraordinary individuals at the Scarlet level of the Church have a deep understanding of secrets and the Extraordinary. Having learned about otherworld religions and their gods, they would find the phenomenon of the Shining Light Church's three gods sharing a single messenger highly unreasonable. Fanatics among them would likely develop doubts.
'The Three Saints sharing the Pope as their messenger also means that within the vast Church, the Three Saints only acknowledge the Pope. This feels very strange. Although the Shining Light Three Saints seem much more united than the Placenta Three Gods, they are indeed three distinct gods. Even if their relationship is very good, it wouldn't go so far as to share a single messenger, would it? Can the three of them always discuss and reach a unified agreement every time they issue a divine oracle?
'The situation in the Shining Light Church is less about believing in three gods and more about believing in the Pope... It's more like the religious leaders in the godless world I came from, where the void gods never speak, and only a single spokesperson uses the name of the divine to command the believers. The Pope's power is too great, holding the sole right to interpret scriptures, and their authority over high-ranking clergy within the Church even surpasses that of the divine themselves. It's truly hard to imagine such a scene occurring in a world with true gods.'
Dorothy pondered this internally. In her view, the Shining Light Church's mode of operation is very prone to fostering otherworld, and the author of this secret transmission, Yunina, already has the potential to transform into an otherworld.
'This Yunina... at the end of the book, she wrote about wanting to obtain the name of Saint Amanda, meaning she wanted to become one of the seven living saints. If I remember correctly, Amanda is Vanya's biggest backer within the Church right now, which means she could be the former Yunina? That's hard to say... Who knows if that Yunina succeeded back then.'
Dorothy thought this, then slowly let out a breath and took another sip of coffee, starting to recall some other notable secret transmissions.
Besides the 'Thirst for Faith,' suspected to be written by the Sister who eventually turned dark, Dorothy also noticed two secret transmissions about "Shadow." One was a messy notebook with no specific name, containing a collection of scattered fragments describing a mysterious "Shadow" society.
The name of this society is the'Silent Brotherhood,' a purely assassin group composed entirely of killers. Their movements are secretive and unpredictable, and wherever their members appear, someone is sure to be assassinated and die.
These assassinated individuals included royal nobles, important secret figures, involving various countries and different societies, whether cults or official organizations. From the leaders of evil societies to Church Archbishops, all have experienced being successfully assassinated by them, with few failures. They can be said to be the most powerful and professional assassin group in the secret world.
The Silent Brotherhood's capabilities are extremely strong, their assassination range is very wide, and they make no distinction between good and evil. Therefore, many people believe they are a group of hired mercenaries, working for pay. However, the actual situation is not like that. The notebook said that in the secret world, no one has ever known how to contact the Silent Brotherhood, let alone hire them. Although the Silent Brotherhood has carried out multiple assassinations over hundreds of years, no one knows why they carried out any specific assassination. Their targets seem to be random, and no one knows how a target ended up on their list.
People know that an assassination is related to the Silent Brotherhood solely because they leave a distinctive object after successfully committing the crime: a very thin, crescent-shaped single-handed sickle, forged from a special material that only they can use.
The Silent Brotherhood is very mysterious, their origin is unknown, their purpose is unknown, and they seem to carry out various seemingly unrelated assassination activities at will, including many well-known figures in the Church. The Church, various Royal Families, and even major cults have also made full efforts to track the whereabouts of the Silent Brotherhood, but with little success.
According to the notebook, the Silent Brotherhood's activity was mainly concentrated around five to six hundred years ago. Although there have been no rumors of them being eliminated, their level of activity has been decreasing over the past few centuries, gradually approaching zero. In the last one or two hundred years, there has been no clear information proving their renewed activity. Therefore, in the current secret world, the Silent Brotherhood's presence is not high; they are more of a legend.
'An assassin group with no employer, unknown purpose, extremely wide target range, making no distinction between good and evil... Is there such a free-spirited killer organization in this world? Looking at the description in the secret transmission, it feels like these people kill just as they please.
'Such a secret assassin organization... not only exists but is also ridiculously powerful, capable of killing high-ranking officials from the Church Kingdom to major cults. After killing, they can still escape unharmed, avoiding revenge and pursuit from multiple parties... It feels like this can only happen with divine protection, but which god is protecting this strange society? And what is Their purpose?'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. The hook-shaped crescent sickle symbol immediately made her think of a certain familiar god, but she wasn't sure if that god and the Silent Brotherhood truly had a close relationship.
'From the surface, this Silent Brotherhood seems to have a slight connection with the Mirror Moon Goddess, but it's hard to say exactly what kind of connection it is. Perhaps they are some forces left by the Mirror Moon Goddess on this continent? But why would She do that? What is the purpose of the Silent Brotherhood indiscriminately attacking so many important figures in the secret world? Why have they stopped being active in the last one or two centuries?'
Dorothy pondered this in her mind, but with insufficient other conditions, such contemplation could not lead to any valuable clues, so she decided to temporarily put it aside.
Another secret transmission that Dorothy found noteworthy was related to ""Shadow"", titled ""Shadow Thief's Notes"". It was a manual used by a clandestine organization called the ""Shadow Thief Guild"" to train advanced thievery techniques. If the Silent Brotherhood was an assassin group, then they were a den of thieves.
The Shadow Thief Guild was a gathering place for thieves and pickpockets. They profited by stealing valuable items from wealthy merchants, officials, commoners, and even secret organizations. Among them were Extraordinary thieves with Extraordinary abilities, but the vast majority were ordinary thieves. Many of these thieves joined the guild without even having any knowledge of secrecy or the Extraordinary.
The Extraordinary level of the Shadow Thief Guild was not high; Black Earth was difficult to find, and Chalk was rare. However, their scale was unusually large, with members spread across major cities in several continents and countries. The organizational structure was extremely loose, with each city having its own faction, almost independent of each other. Different factions would elect respected individuals to serve as joint Mentors, but the hierarchical relationship between the Mentors and these factions was very weak. The Mentors were only responsible for imparting experience, strengthening communication, guiding direction, and coordinating collaboration. The entire organization also lacked a clear leader, only having some loosely enforced tenets.
Within the Shadow Thief Guild, various branches of the Extraordinary were inherited, but none were high-level. They had intricate connections and frequent collaborations with treasure-hunting societies that focused on tomb raiding. They operated under different names in different cities, disguised as local ordinary gangs. The Mentors were the most experienced Extraordinary among them, and this secret transmission was a compilation of stealing techniques summarized by countless individuals.
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'This Shadow Thief Guild... rather than being an Extraordinary organization, it's more like a free mutual aid society for a large group of thieves. Their organization is so weak, and they don't have any other ambitions besides stealing things. The overall Extraordinary component is also ridiculously low. Compared to some other cult organizations, their danger level is quite low. This kind of organization... or rather, this kind of organization should be the most reassuring for the major official forces.'
Dorothy commented in her heart. She found the way this thieves' mutual aid society existed quite interesting. The content within this secret transmission might even come in handy unexpectedly in the future.
Finally, a secret transmission that Dorothy paid attention to was titled ""Rough Study of Rot"". As the name suggests, this was a secret transmission that recorded content about the Order of Rot, briefly outlining information about this mysterious branch of the Taiyi Three Teachings.
The term Order of Rot is, in fact, a unilateral and relatively biased designation given by various organizations in the Main Continent to that group of people. The main activity area and base of the Order of Rot are very far from the Main Continent, located deep within the southern hinterlands of the Ufeiga Continent, in the vast and boundless rainforest region. Countless indigenous tribes collectively participate in and believe in it. There, the Order of Rot is also referred to as the ""Long Life Church"".
In the harsh environment of the Southern Ufeiga rainforest, miasma is everywhere, mosquitoes and insects are rampant, and epidemics are widespread. All sorts of venomous snakes and fierce beasts emerge in endless succession. Countless indigenous tribes struggle to survive here. They often believe in a deity named ""God of Extended Rot and Longevity"", and under the leadership of chiefs and priests, they have formed a strict religious organization. The Long Life Church is the de facto ruler of these tribes.
Followers of the Long Life Church advocate for illness and parasites. They grow up suffering from various diseases from a young age and actively implant different parasites into themselves and feed them. They believe that illness is a test-like gift bestowed upon them by the deity. Those who pass the test can obtain a stronger body and a longer lifespan, while those who die without being tested will offer their bodies as culture mediums, contributing to the cultivation of new divine gifts.
Here, powerful parasites are regarded as messengers of the deity. For the followers of the Long Life Church, incorporating and raising parasites within their bodies is equivalent to being with the deity, and they are happy to do so. The situation and atmosphere of the entire region are extremely pathological and bizarre.
'I really didn't expect... the base of the Order of Rot would be so far from the Main Continent, not on the Conquest Sea, not in North Wu, but in the genuine edge of civilization like Southern Ufeiga. No wonder I rarely heard any clues about the Order of Rot in the past.
'The Order of Rot is so far from the Main Continent, far from the disputes between various major Extraordinary organizations and national Churches, and now they suddenly act, traveling thousands of miles to proactively provide support to the Wolf Blood Society. They are truly dedicated...'
After finally finishing the coffee before her, Dorothy commented in her heart. After her thoughts swept over all the secret transmissions worth noting, she began to focus on the entirety of these secret transmissions.
There were about ten secret transmissions, each with various different Spirituality attributes. After extracting all of them into Spirituality, Dorothy obtained a very generous Spirituality reward. In total, there were 14 cup, 12 Stone, 17 Shadow, 8 Light, 9 Silence, and 29 enlightenment.
Adding the Spirituality Dorothy had left after the St. Yong Cathedral attack, her current Spirituality status was as follows:
18 cup, 16 Stone, 25 Shadow, 16 Light, 20 Silence, and 37 enlightenment.
Overall, this could be considered a Spirituality harvest. Although this amount of Spirituality was still far from meeting the requirements for advancement, it was enough to support one or two tough battles against strong enemies. Dorothy finally had almost complete combat capability.
'Phew... In that case, the lack of Spirituality caused by advancement is finally over. With so much comprehensive Spirituality, I don't have to worry about unexpected situations...'
Dorothy sighed in relief and thought in her heart. The Wolf Blood Society attack incident was definitely profitable for her. After replenishing so much Spirituality in one go, Dorothy had nothing to worry about in the short term. Next, she could slowly prepare her own plan.
'I have just advanced to Scarlet. I am not in a hurry to find a way to advance again. The current priority is to continue to consolidate and increase my Spirituality reserves while expanding the influence of my own power...'
Leaning back in her chair, Dorothy thought this while shifting her gaze to the wolf-shaped monster she had drawn in her notebook on her desk.
'Based on current practice, the ability of a Bizarre Artist is very useful, but there is also a problem, which is regional limitation. Powerful Anecdote Entities can only achieve the best results when summoned locally where the anecdote is circulated. I cannot stay in one place forever. If I leave the place where the anecdote is circulated, some powerful Anecdote Entities will not be as effective as before.
'Can I... find a way to solve this problem?'
Dorothy pondered this in her heart, and soon after, an idea came to her.
With this idea, Dorothy picked up her notebook again. After turning the page with the wolf-shaped monster drawn on it, she picked up her pen, paused for a long time on the blank page, and then began to write.
"Legend of Blood Origin"
Chapter One: Beast Disease
...
Hmm... I've had a fever for two days, and it's finally gone down now. Although I still have some other symptoms, at least my head doesn't hurt anymore. Since it doesn't hurt, I'll start writing again.
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