Qi Gefei didn't dare take a breath in front of Bai Qingshuang, nodding frantically like a pecking chicken.

"I understand, Judgment Chief."

Bai Qingshuang then turned her head towards the Pope.

"Teacher Fan Zhen, are you curious why I didn't take Qi Xinzhu to the Doomsday Sanctuary?"

Bai Qingshuang's question made Fan Zhen frown slightly. The fact that she had not taken Qi Xinzhu to the Doomsday Sanctuary was indeed something he hadn't anticipated. After all, Qi Xinzhu was the most suitable candidate to inherit the power of the Alliance forebears. If Qi Xinzhu was not suitable, then there was hardly any chance for anyone else.

Fan Zhen looked at Qi Gefei, who was standing to the side. Although Qi Gefei was a very outstanding member of the Knights Group, his excellence was in the context of ordinary people. There are levels to excellence, and compared to Qi Xinzhu, Qi Gefei's was not on the same plane at all. Especially in terms of Sequence, Qi Xinzhu had mastered both Grade S Sequence Healer and Grade A Sequence Mirror Flower Water Moon. As long as she became the vessel for the successors, then the Church would be secure for at least another 100 years. Why hadn't Bai Qingshuang done so?

"Why didn't you choose Qi Xinzhu, but instead brought such an ordinary person to the Doomsday Sanctuary? You should know that the gap between them is enormous, right? This kind of gap simply cannot be bridged by cultivation. Even if someone like Qi Gefei received the successors' power, he wouldn't be able to reach the heights of Qi Xinzhu."

Hearing Fan Zhen belittling him, Qi Gefei, who stood aside, felt rather downcast. Though both were titans, Bai Qingshuang's confidence in him was obviously much greater than that of the Pope.

"Your Holiness, although I am not as talented as Qi Xinzhu, I believe I have the will to undertake everything, and the faith to sacrifice everything for the Church. If the Church needs me, I can do anything."

Bai Qingshuang smiled. Qi Gefei's stance was comforting. She didn't stop Qi Gefei from speaking at that moment but instead turned to look at the Pope across from her.

"Do you see? This is called determination, and it is exactly what you people lack the most. Qi Xinzhu is indeed exceptional, and her excellence could even be described as perfect. If it weren't for my arrival, she would have been the best substitute, right? How long did you plan for this? How long did you make arrangements? Unfortunately, did my arrival disrupt your plans? It's truly such a pity, isn't it, Teacher Fan Zhen?"

The Pope narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at Qi Gefei, and emphasized again, "The power of the successors should not be wasted like this."

"How can you say this situation is a waste? The power of the successors should be given to determined young people, not to those who merely cling to life, desperately trying to prolong their own existence. You know who I'm referring to, Teacher Fan Zhen. Though I do not know what ties they have with you, I can tell you clearly now. I actually want to kill you; I've wanted to for a very long time!"

Bai Qingshuang's tone suddenly turned cold, causing Fan Zhen, who stood across from her, to be taken aback.

"Want? If wanting were useful, the world would not be in this state. Bai Qingshuang, do you think such jokes are amusing?"

"He thinks I'm joking? What about you?" Bai Qingshuang looked at Qi Gefei, who was somewhat speechless. Why did they have to drag him into everything? As a nobody caught between two titans, life was incredibly hard.

"I'm not quite sure of the significance of 'the Pope is unkillable,' but since the Pope is the symbol of the Alliance Church, he should be unkillable, right?" Qi Gefei dared not say too much, as he did not fully understand the reasons himself.

However, Bai Qingshuang chose this moment to speak up, addressing him directly, "Heh, let me enlighten you today. The Pope may not be killed; this has been a rule since the founding of the Wasteland Alliance. This rule is not as simple as a mere verbal agreement. The life of Teacher Fan Zhen, from the moment he ascended to the position of Pope, took on a different meaning. For he is connected to the Dawn Disc, and should the Pope perish unnaturally, the Dawn Disc will run amok. The rampage of the Dawn Disc would lead to the collapse of the entire Inner Ring Alliance."

"The collapse of the Inner Ring Alliance? The rampage of the Dawn Disc? Why?"

"This is the reason I seek reform. Currently, in the Wasteland Alliance, most of the Seventh Tier are dependent on the Dawn Disc for their existence. Their life-advancement power, that is, the supreme Dark Energy, is separated from the Dawn Disc and converges upon them. This power is extremely scarce and rare, yet there is a great abundance of it on the Dawn Disc. Transcendents who reach the pinnacle of the Sixth Tier cannot condense the final supreme Dark Energy and thus cannot make that final step. So the Alliance Church devised a method, or rather, developed a technology. This technology can extract a portion of the supreme Dark Energy from the Dawn Disc and bestow it upon an individual. By such means, they can help Sixth Tier Transcendents reach the Seventh Tier. But in return, and as a price, Transcendents who ascend to the Seventh Tier through the Dawn Disc cannot stray too far from it. Once they distance themselves too much from the Dawn Disc, their Life Energy will continuously release itself, returning to the Dawn Disc. Doesn't that sound strange? Actually, it's not strange at all, as the operation of the Dawn Disc requires energy. Though it can obtain sufficiently strong Dark Energy from the void, this energy is far too crude. For the Disc, this Dark Energy is like air, while the life of a Seventh Tier expert is food. The life of a Seventh Tier expert is rich in excellent and perfect supreme Dark Energy. This supreme Dark Energy carries all of a Seventh Tier expert's insights and rules regarding their own power. After these rules return to the Disc, the Disc performs a series of Sequence completions. To put it simply, the Dawn Disc is growing; it is a living thing. Since it's alive, it needs to eat. And for the Dawn Disc, its food is those Seventh Tier experts it guides."

Bai Qingshuang spoke plainly, but Qi Gefei felt an intense sense of horror. Moreover, he seemed to recall someone discussing a similar topic once, during his time at Nightmare Castle. Someone had asked him what the Dawn Disc eats. Wasn't that person... Lu Luo? His response at the time was that the Dawn Disc, such a great entity, should not be spoken of in the same breath as eating and drinking. Even if the Dawn Disc needed energy, it would draw it from the void; surely such a magnificent thing would have a very high-end method of energy acquisition. But now, Bai Qingshuang was telling him that the Dawn Disc's method of energy acquisition was to eat. And to eat people, the highest echelons of the Alliance at that. The Seventh Tier experts were the Dawn Disc's sustenance. This thought made Qi Gefei, who had always believed in Li Ming and sought to follow its Holy Light, struggle with an unsettling feeling. The Dawn Disc represents the faith of the Dawn Church. Now the Judgment Chief was telling him that their faith requires the consumption of people, specifically those of the Seventh Tier. They strive in their cultivation, dedicating their lives to reach the Seventh Tier, but is it all just to become food for the Dawn Disc? Well, if this is considered returning to the Holy Light, then perhaps it is not entirely unacceptable. But if this is true, why has no one spoken of it in the past 400 years?

"Your Holiness the Pope, is what the Judgment Chief saying true?" In his urgency, Qi Gefei even forgot to use respectful language. At this moment, Fan Zhen looked at him with no intention of hiding anything.

"These matters are all true, but there's nothing we can do about them. Without leveraging the power of the Dawn Disc, the Wasteland Alliance would not be able to produce so many Seventh Tier experts. If we don't have enough Seventh Tier experts, we will be unable to confront the Exotic Monarchs. At that time, humanity will fall into a great crisis. We might even face extinction. Therefore, it's imperative that we utilize the power of the Dawn Disc; how to use it correctly should be the focus of our research."

The Pope explained but was quickly interrupted by Bai Qingshuang. "Teacher Fan Zhen seems to have omitted a few points. There's nothing wrong with humanity overcoming difficulties through the power of the Dawn Disc. But the current Dawn Disc has become a tool for you to control the entire Wasteland Alliance. The Church is entirely in your hands, and the council lives in your shadow. To this day, those fools in the council don't even know that humanity can reach the Seventh Tier without relying on the Dawn Disc."

Qi Gefei's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. If Bai Qingshuang said so, then it was very likely that she had reached the Seventh Tier through her own breakthrough. That's why Bai Qingshuang was so powerful, with such a huge gap between her and other Seventh Tier experts. If that's the case, everything made sense.

"Did the Judgment Chief reach the Seventh Tier through self-advancement? What is the method for breaking through to the Seventh Tier?"

Bai Qingshuang seemed to be waiting for Qi Gefei to ask this question, and even Fan Zhen, across from them, was actually curious deep down. He also wanted to know by what means Bai Qingshuang had made her breakthrough. If she had advanced in the Inner Ring, how could she be unaffected by the influence of the Dawn Disc?

"My breakthrough method was indeed self-advancement; this is also why I am different from other Seventh Tiers in the Inner Ring. You must have felt that I am far stronger than the average Seventh Tier. A large part of my power comes from extraction and training within myself. I rarely utilize the power of the Dawn Disc—and don't you dare say you also rarely use its power. Drawing on the energy of the Disc isn't calculated that way. Just about everyone living in the Inner Ring is influenced by the Dawn Disc. You can think of the Dawn Disc's Dark Energy as a kind of radiation. The radiation intensity of the First Ring is the highest, reaching 100 times that of the former Fourth Ring. The Second Ring's intensity is also very high, reaching 20 times. And the Third Ring, 4 to 5 times. This unnatural concentration of Dark Energy is not without cost. This Dark Energy is directly absorbed from the void by the Dawn Disc and manufactured. The attributes of this Dark Energy are very much skewed towards Holy Radiance, which is why the Dawn Church has its current scale. Because as long as you live in the Wasteland Alliance, almost everyone will feel the call of Li Ming. This calling is a kind of psychological feeling, not a baseless one. It comes after you absorb the Dark Energy of the Dawn Disc. As long as it's absorbed, there will be an effect. This is something that changes you imperceptibly, and that's the most terrifying ability of the Dawn Disc. It can silently affect a person's mind without them realizing they are being influenced."

Qi Gefei stood frozen, completely overwhelmed. All he had asked was how to reach the Seventh Tier, and Bai Qingshuang had revealed so many terrifying truths to him. Now he suddenly felt as if his faith had collapsed, his spiritual path shattered. If he continued to cultivate like this, would he also become food for the Dawn Disc?

"Judgment Chief, you still haven't said how one can reach the Seventh Tier by oneself."

Bai Qingshuang smiled, seemingly amused by playing coy. Today, she seemed to be in a good mood, as if something worth celebrating had happened, or was happening.

"Don't rush me. I'm in a particularly good mood today, so I've said a bit more."

When Pope Fan Zhen heard Bai Qingshuang say she was in a good mood, his expression suddenly darkened. Because he knew that, in this world, there weren't many things that could put Bai Qingshuang in a good mood. Such matters were generally significant and memorable. And things that made Bai Qingshuang happy usually weren't good for them.

"Go on, I want to know too. How did you, in the past, overcome that hurdle?"

Bai Qingshuang suddenly laughed. "Hahaha, so even Teacher Fan Zhen wants to know? It's really not a secret. People from the Inner Ring can't do it simply because they haven't experienced enough hardship. As long as one has enough talent, enough experience, and a sufficiently strong will, one can become Seventh Tier. The key to becoming Seventh Tier is to condense the supreme Dark Energy and break through life's tiered bridge. And supreme Dark Energy can be described as Life Energy, Sequence Force, and Dark Energy. It's what Teacher Fan Zhen referred to as fusion, a Trinity. Qi Gefei, did you know? Unbeknownst to you, you have already obtained the key that can lead to the Seventh Tier, and it's through your own breakthrough. Even if you reach the Seventh Tier, you will not be bound by the power of the Dawn Disc. Surprised? Unexpected? No need to thank me, consider it my gift to you."

Qi Gefei suddenly froze. He was indeed surprised and it was unexpected. But Bai Qingshuang's gift seemed a bit too generous for him, didn't it?

And Fan Zhen looked at Bai Qingshuang, his eyes filled with disbelief. "The Trinity is something many throughout history have achieved. But if reaching the Seventh Tier were really that simple, then humanity wouldn't need to rely on the power of the Dawn Disc."

Bai Qingshuang shook her head slightly. "Do you know where your shortfall lies? It's because there are simply too few people in the Inner Ring! And you rely too much on the Dawn Disc. This dependence ensures that you will never break through to the Seventh Tier. The Trinity needed to reach the Seventh Tier is comprised of two forces, plus the final component: personal will. Personal will is the key to everything. You don't have the will to resist the power of the Disc. Most peak Sixth Tier experts have, at some point, wondered if they could break through to the Seventh Tier on their own. But the moment they think this way, they are bound to fail. Because when they consider it, they are already factoring in reaching the Seventh Tier through the power of the Dawn Disc. Their hearts do not reject the Dawn Disc. They all leave themselves a way out, thinking that if they really can't make it on their own… The real way to reach the Seventh Tier is to utterly refuse the Dawn Disc. It's difficult for people from the Inner Ring to do this, but it's different for those from the Fourth Ring. A vast population has bred many exceptionally talented individuals, among them, those who embody experience, talent, and will. Take, for instance, the Fourth Ring Seventh Tier who died in battle previously: the former leader of Hunter Team 13, the King of Hunters, Ludie."

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