Chapter 2802: A Ray of Hope

Upon mentioning the Beggar Sect, Zu An felt as if he had had an epiphany, but that feeling passed him by before he could grasp it.

“The Sacred Fire Tokens are in my bedroom,” Cult Leader Shi suddenly said.

“Bring me there.” To stop them from playing any tricks, Zu An layered more restrictions on Cult Leader Shi and Left Envoy Yi.

Cult Leader Shi and Left Envoy Yi traded helpless and fearful gazes. They weren’t afraid of death, but this fellow was too despicable.

So, they left the secret tunnel and made their way to Cult Leader Shi’s room. Despite bumping into several cult members along the way, both Cult Leader Shi and Left Envoy Yi knew they would only be dragging their cult members down by asking for help, so they didn’t bother putting up any resistance.

The cult members thought that Cult Leader Shi was bringing the Radiant Left Envoy, the holy maiden, and the Persian envoys to his room for a private conversation, so they didn’t probe into it.

Cult Leader Shi opened a hidden compartment built into his room and took out six Sacred Fire Tokens.

Zu An took the tokens. They felt heavy, and they had a peculiar texture that felt like an amalgamation of metal and jade. There was no way to fabricate such a material.

“I’ll borrow your cult’s Sacred Fire Tokens. You can be assured I’ll return them to the Radiant Peak once I’m done with them.” Zu An stowed away the Sacred Fire Tokens. He didn’t explain further as he didn’t want to reveal the Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber Plan.

Cult Leader Shi harrumphed. “I only have myself to blame for my weakness. Should a cult member surpass me in the future, you can be certain he’ll knock on the Beggar Sect’s doors.”

Zu An simply smiled, not bothering to argue. He took the goatskin containing the Great Cosmic Shift manual and handed it to Isabella.

Isabella stared at the blank goatskin in a daze. The sharp-witted Radiant Moon Envoy bit her finger and scattered her blood on it. Only then did pictures and words surface on the goatskin.

Isabella passed the goatskin to Zu An. “Big brother, why don’t you practice it too? This is the Ming Cult’s highest martial art. It should prove to be useful in this world.”

Indeed, the Great Cosmic Shift likely wouldn't be much in the Myriad Worlds, but it was definitely one of the strongest martial arts within the restrictions of this trial world. So, Zu An didn’t turn down her offer.

“You should study it, too.”

Isabella leaned on his shoulder, and the two of them studied the manual together. Moments later, their expressions darkened.

Zu An leaped away and knocked out the Radiant Moon Envoy and Left Envoy Yi. Then, he glared coldly at Cult Leader Shi and asked, “Where’s the real Great Cosmic Shift manual?”

Cult Leader Shi laughed. “That’s the real one.”

“Impossible! This manual only contains the first three layers!”

The parts detailing the subsequent layers were so badly damaged that there were only bits and pieces left, and the choice of words was so obscure that it was impossible to comprehend them without context.

Cult Leader Shi sneered, “Did the Persian Ming Cult, despite being the creators of the Great Cosmic Shift, lose their manual too? In the history of the Central Plains Ming Cult, only the powerful Cult Leader Zhong has been able to reach the fifth layer. Only a small handful of cult leaders had been able to reach the fourth layer. Furthermore, we have faced a great deal of infighting over the years. We only have the first three layers now.”

Isabella believed his words, but Zu An’s expressiom darkened. “Impossible. There has to be a complete Great Cosmic Shift manual. Where did you hide it? Don’t force me to resort to violence!”

Cult Leader Shi’s face reddened in anger. “I’d have practiced it if I had the complete manual; then I wouldn’t have been captured by the likes of you people!”

Isabella pulled Zu An aside and whispered, “I don’t think he’s lying. Big brother Zu, you don’t have to worry about me. It looks like I’m fated to fail my mission.”

Zu An patted her head. “It’s still too early to give up, Isabella. There has to be a complete Great Cosmic Shift manual in this world. Have you forgotten the plotline of the ‘Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber’ I shared with you?”

Isabella was startled. “Ah, you’re right. Could there be another copy of the Great Cosmic Shift hiding somewhere?”

“Impossible. The Great Cosmic Shift manual is strictly passed down only through the line of cult leaders. There can’t be a copy of it.” Cult Leader Shi refuted that conjecture.

Zu An pondered for a long while. “Cult Leader Shi, I’ll be staying at your Ming Cult’s Radiant Peak for a while. I hope you don’t mind.”

Cult Leader Shi was speechless.

Will you leave if I say that I mind you staying?

Obviously, that was impossible. Zu An stayed behind, taking up residence beside Isabella.

In Isabella’s room, Isabella worriedly asked, “Big brother Zu, do you think Cult Leader Shi will rally the experts of the Ming Cult to encircle us?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Cult Leader Shi is a smart man. He knows it’s futile to send his cult members at us, and there’s no need to take such a risk since we don’t plan to destroy the Ming Cult. He’ll weigh the pros and cons and decide on the optimal course of action.”

“Then why did you choose to stay behind?”

“I need time to think things through. I have an idea what the goal of the trial is.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“It won’t work if I say it aloud.”

“You’re terrible, big brother Zu.”

Just like that, Zu An stayed on the Radiant Peak for half a month.

...

“Impossible!” Cult Leader Shi exclaimed while staring at the goatskin presented to him.

It contained the subsequent layers of the Great Cosmic Shift manual, which should have been lost to time.

“There’s nothing impossible about it. I found the full manual,” Zu An said.

Cult Leader Shi was skeptical.

Who knows if you fabricated it?

He browsed the manual and found that the subsequent layers were aligned with the first three layers he had grasped. He had spent many years studying the Great Cosmic Shift, and he couldn’t confidently say that this manual was fake.

He wanted to study the goatskin more, but Zu An sucked it back into his palm. “I’m not giving you the full manual for free. There is a condition.”

“What is it?” Cult Leader Shi’s eyes heated up. He would even step down as the cult leader if it meant completing the lost layers of the Great Cosmic Shift.

“Join the Mongols.”

“Dream on!” Cult Leader Shi was infuriated. “I thought the Beggar Sect was persistently holding the line against the Mongols thus far, but to think you people are already thinking about surrendering.”

“Calm down, Cult Leader Shi. I’m merely asking you to surrender in name.”

“Surrender in name?”

“How much longer do you think Southern Song can hold on against the Mongolian invasion?”

Cult Leader Shi pondered. “At most a few years more.”

“Once Southern Song is destroyed, the Mongols will have the manpower to clear away surrounding flies. How long do you think the Ming Cult can last against the Mongol army?”

“Hmph! Kunlun is a vast mountain. The Mongols will suffer huge casualties if they invade our Radiant Peak. The Mongol Khan won’t be so foolish.”

“What if they execute the surrendered soldiers of Southern Song instead?”

Cult Leader Shi was startled. Cold sweat rained down his back. He had turned down the Persian envoy because he knew it simply wasn't worthwhile for the Mongolians to send their troops to attack the Ming Cult.

But it was very possible for the Mongols to execute the surrendered Song soldiers instead. That was an effective way to reduce the size of the Song army, thus making it less likely for the Han to overthrow them in the future.

“But if we surrender to the Mongols, we’ll become a laughingstock.”

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Only a coward dies in vain. A hero stands firm amid criticisms to accomplish their goal,” Zu An argued. “Besides, you’d just be feigning surrender. You have a holy maiden here to help you strike diplomatic relations with the Mongols; there would be no reason for the Mongols to interfere in the distant Radiant Peak. The barbarians won’t be so lucky as to last beyond a century. Who knows? The Ming Cult might just play a critical role in overthrowing the Yuan Mongols.”