I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 912: Chapter 206: Forced Connection

Although Wind Media had long expected the intelligence to differ from reality, the enormity of the discrepancy was still somewhat surprising, causing Tang Luo to be caught off guard.

Seeing Tang Luo’s silence, Dong Zhi became so frightened that he dared not speak and even made his breathing as light as possible, thinking that now that he had finally returned to Hyderabad, if he accidentally angered the masked man and provoked him to kill, it would be terrible.

Dong Zhi, who had grown up in the slums of Hell, had always understood one thing: right or wrong never mattered—fists were the solution to problems, and without a doubt, the masked man’s fists were astonishingly strong, just like the legendary abode of gods.

As Dong Zhi was anxiously fretting, the raspy voice rang out again, without the expected fury, only calm and composure.

“Will the Krahō Temple open tomorrow?”

“Yes, yes!” Dong Zhi hurriedly explained, “Tomorrow is the grand day when Master Kolutha’s divine effigy is to be installed in the temple and the Holy Maiden is to be selected. Even the lowest of people can prostrate before the steps of the Krahō Temple to pray, let alone a person of your status.”

“Divine effigy? Holy Maiden?” Tang Luo’s raspy voice was laced with ridicule, “So soon after Kolutha has achieved divine spirit, he is to be worshipped in the temple with such veneration?”

Dong Zhi’s face turned bright red, as if something of utmost importance to him had been insulted. His right hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his knife at his waist, trembling with anger, he said quiveringly, “I know you are very powerful, but you should not insult a new deity endorsed by the Guardian God. Do you truly think that Master Kolutha was subdued by you because he could not defeat you?”

“Otherwise?”

“Mortals will never understand the greatness of a true god; that’s why they utter such arrogant words! Due to the opening of Krahō Temple, many tribes from the grasslands have come to Hyderabad to pay homage, hoping to receive the Guardian God’s blessing. But the Guardian God dislikes the greed in people’s hearts and has sent down a great snowstorm that stretches for thousands of miles, blocking the pilgrimage path, allowing only those monks and non-humans under his protection to come to Hyderabad. Master Kolutha, having just become a new deity, has boundless compassion in his heart. He could not bear to see the devoted followers die on the grasslands, so he prayed to the heavens with his divine power and godly position, calling down divine thunder!”

Dong Zhi’s eyes blazed with fanaticism, as though the miracles performed by Master Kolutha had provided him with infinite courage. No longer trembling, and with fear dissipating, he looked up at the tall, thin man wearing the Gou Chen Mask with resolute determination, “When you entered Hyderabad, you must have seen that charred yet warm path stretching a thousand miles on the grasslands. That is what Master Kolutha has cast with his endless divine power. Therefore, even if he has now exhausted his divine power and is no longer a deity, he will still have his effigy enshrined in the temple and be worshipped without limit by the faithful. You, on the other hand, merely took advantage of a vulnerable moment! If you had reached Hyderabad a few days earlier, a single thunderbolt from Master Kolutha would have been enough to decide your fate!”

Under the watchful eyes of the solemn and sacred Krahō Temple, Tang Luo fell silent for a long time; and because only his eyes were exposed outside of the Gou Chen Mask, Dong Zhi naturally could not see the mocking smile behind the mask.

In the atmosphere of silence, Dong Zhi, who had just been holding his head high, suddenly felt a surge of panic, and his straight spine gradually curved, his firm gaze flickering, for he had suddenly realized just how powerful the person standing in front of him was.

With the magnanimity of Tang Luo, of course, he would not take offense at a kid. His silence was due to admiration for Kolutha’s contrived abilities, combined with the sight of the young fellow’s determined expression of protectiveness, which made him feel particularly conflicted.

It was like watching someone firmly believe in a certain foolishness, yet feeling too heartbroken to burst their bubble. Therefore, struggling to suppress a laugh, Tang Luo asked, “The path outside Hyderabad that stretches for a thousand miles, you’re saying that Kolutha created it?”

“Of course!” Dong Zhi was scared stiff again, but he still insisted, “These days, the tales have spread throughout the city, and many devout believers who have witnessed the miracle with their own eyes have already arrived in Hyderabad. They all have seen the image of the Protector God appear among the thunderclouds. Tomorrow at the grand ceremony, they will testify to the truth under the witness of the gods, and I can translate for you. Then you will know how great Master Ke Luda truly is!”

Hiding behind the mask, Tang Luo laughed again, emitting a grating sound like clashing metal: “Hahaha, I really must listen carefully tomorrow to find out just how great this Master Ke Luda is! Let’s enter the city.”

It’s impossible to reason with a believer. Even if Tang Luo really conjured thunder with a Yuan Magnetic Storm, in Dong Zhi’s eyes it would be nothing more than imitation, because he had prejudiced himself into believing that this Path to Heaven was a masterpiece of Ke Luda, along with some foolish believers who could twist anything into a blessing from the gods. It would be strange indeed if one could argue them out of their folly with mere words.

Although he had not spent much time with them, Tang Luo had already discovered that the commoners of Hyderabad, despite their difficult lives, all possessed a strong faith. These were not the kind of people who would give up only when faced with insurmountable evidence; on the contrary, they were the sort who would consider even the great Yellow River to be an illusion and be willing to venture into it as brave explorers.

Tang Luo did not have the time to explore these issues with a naive adolescent. Stupidity is as stupidity does. All he needed was a translator, not an apprentice.

Dong Zhi didn’t understand why Tang Luo was not angry and thought that the “truth” he had spoken had astonished him, which made him respect Master Ke Luda even more.

The two stepped into the city, and before long, Dong Zhi grabbed Tang Luo’s Star Robe and stopped.

“What’s the matter?”

“We can’t go any further this way,” Dong Zhi said timidly, pointing to a rugged path a street away. “If we take this side road and go around the outer district, we can bypass the Noble’s Quarter and get back to my house.”

Tang Luo glanced at the dirty, rugged path Dong Zhi was pointing at, then looked at the smooth main road in front of them, and pointed towards the mountain wall to the north: “Isn’t your home right over there on that mountain wall? Why go around from the west?”

“That area is for the nobility and Non-Tian residents; low-borns are forbidden from entering. If discovered, they would demote me to a slave, and then I wouldn’t be able to serve as your translator,” Dong Zhi explained with his head lowered. “Taking the side road will be quick too.”

“Hm,” Tang Luo said with a light chuckle. “In Hyderabad, there’s no existence worth my avoidance. Since you are my translator and guide, there’s no longer any law to restrict you. Let’s go this way.”

Dong Zhi didn’t know how his legs started moving, only feeling a force pushing at his back, causing him step by step to approach the forbidden zone for the low-born of Hyderabad.

The splendid buildings and the elegantly dressed people coming and going were starkly mismatched with his own shabby and filthy low-born status, making him feel utterly ashamed of himself.