Can't we stop disparaging each other? Can't we be a bit more sincere and less manipulative?

"No!"

Fine, blame your own shortcomings on me. Good for nothing, first in passing the buck.

While Lu Luo's inner thoughts were rich and varied, he still maintained a contemplative expression in front of Bai Qingshuang.

"A game of chess over an item, huh..."

"You could say that. But a tool, after all, is just a tool. Everything the Dawn Disc does seems to have a grand scheme, but often, it's all derived from its memory and instincts. As a tool, the Dawn Disc lacks strong empathetic abilities and logical thinking. This is its biggest flaw. And it is precisely because of this flaw that the Dawn Disc lacks precise control over the extent and direction of the Holy Radiance's infiltrations. When its power was sufficient to control the Doomsday Halo, it realized that this land could no longer produce Eighth Order individuals. Even Seventh Tier Transcendents required the Ultimate Dark Energy it released to advance. This was undoubtedly a method of consuming its own origin. It consumed its origin, reclaimed its origin, and continued to erode the Doomsday Halo. After repeated cycles, this resulted in a vicious circle."

When Bai Qingshuang reached this point, Lu Luo immediately understood the implication.

"So, Judgment Chief, you mean the Dawn Disc needs a host of at least the Eighth Order. But the people of the Wasteland Alliance are incapable of reaching the Eighth Order, right?"

Bai Qingshuang nodded; it was less effort speaking with someone intelligent.

"That's about right. The Dawn Disc is a Divine Artifact, but as a tool, it needs a host. Because of my uniqueness, the Dawn Disc chose me, to nurture as its new host. Throughout my growth, the Dawn Disc repeatedly provided me with hints and guided my power. These hints and guidance indeed allowed my strength to substantially increase. At first, I also thought I was the chosen one, selected by the Holy Radiance. I was supposed to become the ruler of this land. But just as I said before, the Dawn Disc doesn't possess much empathy nor good logical thinking ability. Its thoughts and actions are a replication of its former hosts. This has resulted in it being an entity that judges based on results. It only looks at outcomes; it only wants results. In the process of interacting with it, I increasingly sensed something wrong with the Dawn Disc. Its power, its methods, its demands—none were intended for justice or benevolence. It can't lead others to the light. Its goal has always been for itself: to leave this place. Fortunately, I became enlightened during my growth. And from that moment on, I rejected the Dawn Disc. What the Dawn Disc wanted was not some ruler of the Wasteland or any Pope. What it wanted was merely a shell to manipulate."

Bai Qingshuang's words were impactful. Lu Luo remained silent for a long time, while Qi Xinzhu's expression was a mixture of pain, fear, and disbelief. The content of the conversation had shattered Qi Xinzhu's worldview. Especially the purpose of the Dawn Church itself: spreading faith was polluting the land. And this pollution was to enable the Dawn Disc's escape? This was too much for Qi Xinzhu to accept. She now felt as if her conviction had collapsed; was the belief she had upheld for 21 years truly so evil? Did followers exist only to pollute the Doomsday Halo? Was the power of the Holy Radiance continuously corrupting the natural talents and abilities of the Wastelanders, making the people of the Wasteland Alliance weaker and weaker?

These conclusions were unbelievable and unacceptable to Qi Xinzhu. If these words had come from someone else, Qi Xinzhu might have retorted. But the person who had spoken them was the one closest to the Dawn Disc: Bai Qingshuang! Within the Church's system, her talent, strength, and methods undoubtedly made her the strongest the Church had seen in 200 years. Even Pope Fan Zhen was far from being Bai Qingshuang's match. How could Qi Xinzhu accept that someone like a Child of Dawn was now telling her the Holy Radiance was evil?

"I... I..."

Just as Qi Xinzhu's chest heaved dramatically, uncertain of what to say, Lu Luo considerately took her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and then transferred a stream of Qi He into her. The warm sensation quickly flowed through Qi Xinzhu's body, allowing her to calm down a bit.

"Stop overthinking; nothing is absolutely evil. The people you've healed are definitely grateful to you. Perhaps the Holy Radiance has some corrupting properties, but its power can indeed heal wounds. To ordinary people, corruption and such are distant matters. What they want is nothing more than to live safely and happily. You helped them, you healed them, so you are a good person. That should be easy to understand, right?"

Lu Luo's words enlightened Qi Xinzhu and caused Bai Qingshuang, who was opposite them, to slightly lift her head. Lu Luo was right; whether power was evil ultimately depended on the user's actions. Even the most malevolent type of energy, if used to save people or rescue civilians, could be called righteous. This was also why, although Bai Qingshuang cultivated Solar Flare, she had never neglected her Holy Radiance. The power of the Holy Radiance was very useful; it could heal, dispel, and protect. If not for the Holy Radiance, she couldn't have protected those people from the Second Ring. Therefore, using the Holy Radiance and retaining it were the right things to do.

"Thank you, Lu Luo!"

"What's there to thank me for? We're practically an old married couple!"

Lu Luo usually said things like this when he wanted to add a little 'excitement' to their evenings.

Qi Xinzhu, knowing full well what he implied, blushed, lowered her head, and said no more.

Lu Luo turned his gaze back to Bai Qingshuang, waiting for the Judgment Chief's next words.

"Lu Luo, after saying all this, I just wanted you to understand the dangers of the Dawn Disc. Often, it's not as righteous as you imagine."

Lu Luo nodded quickly. "I understand, I understand! The Church and I are irreconcilable enemies!"

Bai Qingshuang was speechless. "..."

"Actually, there's no need to be so indignant... But it's still important to remain vigilant. The unification of power is especially crucial because those who hold supreme power are the weather vanes of this world; they are the ones leading the Wasteland Alliance. Lu Luo, if the Dawn Church continues to exist, what will become of the Doomsday Halo's future?"

What the Doomsday Halo will look like in the future? He knew jack squat! As long as he had food to eat, his brothers wouldn't starve.

So you only give your brothers 200 bucks? You really are a great philanthropist of the Wasteland.

"I don't know; such things are too far removed from me."

"If the Church continues to be idle like this, with its power not concentrated enough and its will not unified enough, then in a few more decades, all of humanity in the Doomsday Halo will be annihilated by the Exotic Species."

Huh? Still a few decades? What's the rush? Forget decades, give me five years, and I reckon I could be hammering down that Nightmare Demon. What's there to be anxious about?

To be fair, that's true! Although you're still a scrub now, your prospects are vast.

That's what he thought, but he couldn't say it out loud. Lu Luo still earnestly put on the expression of a curious child.

"Why would they be annihilated by the Exotic Species?"

Lu Luo's curious expression pleased Bai Qingshuang.

"Do you think the Dawn Disc deceives only humans?"

Not just humans? This time, Lu Luo was truly curious.

"What does the Judgment Chief mean?"

"Lu Luo, you should know about the Sanctity Anomaly, right?"

Of course, Lu Luo knew about the Sanctity Anomaly. He didn't just know about it; he also knew that the Sanctity Anomaly itself contained the Doomsday Factor. The appearance of the Doomsday Factor in the Inner Ring was already very strange. And the fact that the Doomsday Factor was created by the Dawn Disc made it even more bizarre. Lu Luo had always been puzzled by this, wondering why the Dawn Disc would create the Doomsday Factor. After all, this was the core of Lord-level Exotic Species.

Now, it seemed, was the time for the answer to be revealed.

"I'm aware of the Sanctity Anomaly; it's been around for centuries. I've also clashed twice with Church members affected by it. Their state is very special: they possess Holy Radiance yet retain their Exotic Species form and some of their consciousness. They are powerful, and, well... just very strange."

Bai Qingshuang nodded. Lu Luo's understanding of the Sanctity Anomaly was quite extensive, which spared her the effort of explaining.

"The Sanctity Anomaly originated from the advent of the Holy Radiance. But if it's the advent of the Holy Radiance, how could it become an anomaly? In many people's minds, the Holy Radiance is supposed to be the antithesis of the Exotic Species. That is what most people think, but that's not the actual situation. Because the Dawn Disc's initial choices were never limited to humans. Exotic Species were also within its scope of consideration; it's just that the development of Exotic Species civilization and intelligence was too limited. So, it didn't abandon the Exotic Species immediately. Since there are no suitable Eighth Order humans, it will use Eighth Order Exotic Species, as humans today no longer meet its requirements. That's why it will soon start to entice the Exotic Species. Before finding suitable Exotic Species, it made many preparations, such as those Sanctity Anomalies you've seen. Lu Luo, before coming to the Inner Ring, you must have noticed the movements of the Exotic Species, right?"

Enticing Exotic Species? He knew nothing about that! Before he came to the Inner Ring, he was just a lowly Fourth Tier nobody… Hey, wait a minute.

If he had to say he'd noticed anything, Lu Luo remembered that the Nightmare Demon had once asked him to help her take a look at the Dawn Disc! Lu Luo hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. It wasn't that he was unwilling to check out the Dawn Disc; he was already planning to. So, whether the Nightmare Demon had mentioned it or not didn't really matter.

But thinking about it carefully now, when the Nightmare Demon asked him to check out the Dawn Disc, there must have been more to it! Had she also been enticed by the Dawn Disc?

Similar words had been spoken by Noah, another Eighth Order Exotic Species. In Noah's game space, it had once said that if it had the chance, it would definitely try to seize the Dawn Disc. If the Dawn Disc wasn't immensely attractive to them, Noah would have had no reason to say such a thing.

"Alright, so the Exotic Species have indeed been making some moves, but so what? These matters seem to have nothing to do with me! I'm so weak; surely the Judgment Chief doesn't think a scrub like me could play any significant role in such affairs?"

Lu Luo was very frank. Bai Qingshuang, looking at Lu Luo's roguish expression, actually showed a satisfied look.

"With your personality, you would reject it, wouldn't you? No, that's not right. If it hasn't even approached you by now, it can only mean one thing. Lu Luo, you've already rejected it, haven't you?"

Bai Qingshuang didn't elaborate, but Lu Luo understood her meaning.

"Ahem, if the Judgment Chief is referring to the Dawn Disc, then yes, that's the case. I'm a rather timid person, so it's better for me to stay far away from such major affairs."

"Lu Luo, you are special."

"Huh? How did you know I've been smart since I was a child?"

Bai Qingshuang ignored Lu Luo's shamelessly cheeky expression.

At that moment, the Judgment Chief extended her palm towards Lu Luo.

"You know what I'm talking about, because what you have, I have too!"

A pure purple-gold disc appeared before Lu Luo. This disc didn't emit a holy aura like the Dawn Disc, nor did it look as malevolent as the Doomsday Disc! Apart from being rather bright, the disc in front of him seemed quite ordinary overall.

"Uh, is this thing... fake?"

Bai Qingshuang's expression darkened.

"This is called the Truth Disc."

"Oh, so there are that many discs? I thought they were really rare, but it seems they're everywhere. Sigh, how uninteresting."

Bai Qingshuang was somewhat speechless. What was wrong with this Lu Luo?

Truth, Dawn, Doomsday. There were only three discs in total, and each represented a different meaning and purpose. They were clearly extremely rare Divine Artifacts, yet coming from Lu Luo, they sounded as common as a cheap plastic basin you'd get for trading in an old phone.

"Lu Luo, you've only had your disc for a short time, and you haven't had enough time to develop with it, so it's normal for you to not fully understand them. But I must tell you, the discs are the supreme Divine Artifacts of human Transcendent civilization. Each disc possesses a unique power, which you should have already sensed."

"Um, Judgment Chief, what exactly are you trying to tell me? You can say it directly; no need to beat around the bush. The Church is corrupt, and the Dawn Disc is evil. I can understand and accept all that. But I still hope you can be more straightforward. What is it you want to tell me? Or rather, what do you want me to do next?"

Bai Qingshuang was slightly taken aback. Talking with Lu Luo always gave her the feeling of being preempted.

"Indeed, a pure soul! I haven't spoken to someone like you in such a long time; I'm a bit unaccustomed to it."

Lu Luo frowned slightly. The mention of a "pure soul" had another layer of meaning. Only someone not from this world could possibly possess a pure soul!

"So, Judgment Chief, you also come from... that place?" Lu Luo's voice grew deeper. He was somewhat excited, yet also tense.

He was afraid, afraid that Bai Qingshuang was a transmigrator, which would mean he was no longer unique in this world. But he also hoped Bai Qingshuang was a transmigrator; if so, he could finally speak about things he had bottled up for too long. After transmigrating, Lu Luo had buried far too many secrets in his heart. There were some things he couldn't even tell his lover. Even though his relationship with Qi Xinzhu was very stable, Lu Luo still chose to remain silent about being a transmigrator. It was a form of protection—for himself, and also for Qi Xinzhu and the others. The identity of a transmigrator was just too special!

Upon hearing Lu Luo's words and sensing his tone, Bai Qingshuang's eyes immediately brightened.

"Just as I thought, Lu Luo! You are also from the Imperial. How is the Imperial faring now?"

Lu Luo: ???

What's going on? Not a transmigrator? The Imperial? What on earth is that?

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