Hearing that she had to duel the Cloud Knight, Sushang's face was filled with worry. Even though the man was a bit reckless, he was a responsible senior Cloud Knight… if her appearance caused his undercover mission to fail, she would feel terrible!
Faced with their hesitation, Green Hibiscus refused to budge. "There is no other way. I don't make the rules. If you refuse to complete the trial, then we can only ask you two to keep our secrets for eternity…"
"Wait, hold on… don't be like that! we came here seeking immortality, not death. Making us duel all of a sudden is really putting us in a spot!" the Cloud Knight argued frantically.
"I am not forcing you to duel. You can choose not to. But in that case, we cannot allow either of you to leave."
"Fine… fine… let me just prepare myself mentally, alright? I've never done anything like this before…"
"Time is precious. Don't take too long."
Seeing this, Sushang took several deep breaths. "What do we do? What do we do?! With the Trailblazer's strength, we should be able to fight our way out with this bro, right? We aren't far from the Exalting Sanctum, it should be fine…"
However, the Cloud Knight was clearly thinking more clearly than Sushang.
"How about this… I have an idea that can get you into the Disciples and let me get away safely. You duel me, and I'll lose on purpose, pretending you've taken me out. Then you offer to dispose of the body and carry me out of here… that way, we both achieve our goals. Uh… I've seen what you can do… just make sure you don't actually kill me by mistake…"
> [ I know what I'm doing. ]
> [ I can't guarantee anything… ]
Sushang hesitated for a moment before choosing the second option. After all, blades have no eyes! And with the cultists watching, she couldn't be certain she could control the impact perfectly!
"Don't say that… take it easy on me… forget it, I got myself into this mess. Life and death are up to fate. Just try your best not to kill me!"
[ Entering Battle ]
Sushang muttered to herself, "Cloud Knight bro, you're the hero who copied those books for me. I'll leave you with a bit of health!"
It was Dan Heng's turn in the party. Even though his Ultimate was ready, Sushang didn't want to use it. She decided to use a Skill first.
"I have no intention of provoking conflict…"
A single [Torrential Downpour] was unleashed. Sushang froze! She really hadn't expected the Cloud Knight to be so fragile! On top of that, he had a Wind Weakness. With the Weakness Break effect, it was a perfect kill!
The Cloud Knight's health bar was instantly emptied, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Ahhh! Cloud Knight bro, did I really kill you by mistake?!"
[ Battle Ended ]
Green Hibiscus walked over and praised, "Excellent skill. That soldier was full of life just a moment ago, and you laid him out just like that. It's good that you won. That fellow showed up in a Cloud Knight uniform saying he wanted to join; he was quite mindless. If he had won, I would have worried if he was truly trustworthy. Purple Mum, Blue Peach, find a place to dispose of this soldier."
> [ I'll handle it. ]
"You? Do you know how to handle it?"
> [ I like to collect these. ]
Sushang thought of Luocha, who appeared earlier in the story carrying a coffin. Maybe he was the type of person who had such "hobbies."
Green Hibiscus was surprised. "Uh… collect? Well, to each their own. No matter. We've been preaching in the Exalting Sanctum for days and have likely drawn the attention of the hounds…
it's safer if you handle it. Regardless… congratulations on becoming a Disciple. Your code name shall be… [Gray Peony]! Gray Peony, to avoid drawing eyes, we shall depart separately and meet elsewhere later. Farewell."
With a face full of grief, Sushang carried the Cloud Knight's "corpse" to a safe location. Suddenly, the soldier sprang back to life!
"Phew… whew…" He gasped for air. "My 'playing dead' skills aren't bad, right? Those people are complete lunatics. Be careful when you deal with them later… I'm heading back to the Seat of Divine Foresight to report. Please, stay safe."
Sushang let out a long breath and patted her chest. "Thank goodness! My colleague is okay…"
Meanwhile, back at the scripture-copying base.
A group of Disciples, including the head of the Exalting Sanctum branch, were holding a secret meeting!
Green Hibiscus spoke respectfully to the man in front of him. "Lord Purple Rose, missionary work has been incredibly difficult lately! It's not just the Luofu locals anymoreeven the outworlders have started playing that Honkai: Star Rail game! It took everything we had just to recruit these few people!"
Green Hibiscus pointed behind him. Standing there were two confused outworlders and one Cloud Knight.
Purple Rose sighed. "The heat is on lately, and we've heard nothing from the Leader. Tell the brothers and sisters to keep a low profile for a while. Once those Cloud Knight hounds lose our scent, they'll give up."
"I suppose that is all we can do," Green Hibiscus agreed. He then turned around and addressed the three recruits. "These are extraordinary times, so the organization has decided to waive your further trials. Since you all wish to ascend to the celestial path, take these."
Green Hibiscus gave each of them a pill. The two outworlders swallowed them greedily, as if they were treasures. Only the Cloud Knight looked at the pill in his hand, hesitating.
"Hey! What are you doing? Why are you hesitating? Are you an undercover agent?"
Green Hibiscus gave his subordinates a look. Two men with blades began to close in on the soldier.
"No, no! I'm just… preparing myself mentally!" the Cloud Knight's voice trembled. He had a premonition that taking this medicine would lead to disaster! But he had no choice! If he didn't take it, he would die right now!
Watching the soldier swallow the pill, Green Hibiscus nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. From this day forth, you are all brothers and sisters of the [Disciples of Sanctus Medicus]. If anyone dares to betray the organization…"
Before he could finish his sentence, the door was kicked open.
A dozen squads of Cloud Knights descended like divine soldiers from the heavens, instantly surrounding everyone in the room! Green Hibiscus and Purple Rose turned pale with shock! They never expected the Cloud Knights to move so fast!
The two outworlders who had taken the pills suddenly collapsed, letting out agonizing roars. Plant-like roots and stems began to sprout from their flesh.
Seeing this, the Cloud Knight "blech"-ed and spat the pill out. He threw his hands over his head, signaling he would not resist.
Behind the front line, two Cloud Knights in plain clothes stood by. One held a Jade Abacus, recording the entire arrest process. The other also held a Jade Abacus, but he was busy watching the Honkai: Star Rail live stream.
At that moment, the squad leader walked up to the undercover soldier and gave him a formal military salute. "Thank you for your hard work. This pill will serve as vital evidence… uh, are you alright?"
The Cloud Knight took off his helmet, revealing a young, inexperienced face covered in sweat. Seeing so many of his comrades handling the scene with such order, tears streamed down his face.
"Waaaaah! You guys got here just in time! I was almost struck by Mara! Waaaaah!"
The leader patted his back sympathetically. "If you want to thank someone, thank Lady Fu Xuan and the developer of Star Rail. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to strike and set up the perimeter so quickly…"
The Cloud Knight choked out, "When I get back, I'm topping up ten 648 RMB bundles in Star Rail!"
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