Chapter 69: Damned Advancement

The logistics department in the frontline camp was bustling with activity. The mess hall had already set up a large pot in the tent, and the aroma of stewed meat wafted in the chilly wind, with smoke billowing into the night sky.

The priests in the medical department were constantly carrying stretchers back and forth, but they weren't as busy as imagined. They even had time to chat, "Something's not right. Didn't the frontline already begin fighting? Why are there so few injured today? It's good, but it's not normal."

A priest who had just returned from the battlefield panted, "Hey, did you hear the music echoing from the battlefield? Someone has found a way to remove the aberrants' armor, making the battle much easier. I don't know who's so brilliant, but everyone is cheering! The researchers in the aberrant containment facility are all stunned and are trying to figure out who came up with the method."

"The right-wing 1st battalion is retreating to replenish, the 2nd battalion is following immediately!"

"The left wing is facing a large number of aberrants, urgent reinforcement is needed!"

"Order rescinded, Lieutenant Colonel Lisa has arrived on the battlefield!"

Secretary Xia walked through the crowd, leaning on a crutch, towards the military headquarters building.

He occasionally used a walkie-talkie to direct the battle situation, seemingly quite satisfied with the current state of the battle.

"Secretary Xia, is it really okay for us to be slacking off like this?" Mike, seeing the battle situation stabilizing, felt relieved, and everyone was even discussing who the mysterious genius might be.

Although they couldn't conclude, they all agreed on one thing - it couldn't be Lisa.

But it didn't matter, as in the workplace, they were all used to employees doing the work while the leaders took the credit.

"It's fine. Theoretically, as an officer, you should be on the frontline commanding and supervising. But I've already transferred you to the reserve force sequence, so you have more time to recuperate. Moreover, you've been appointed to investigate the Necro Cult, so you can legally avoid the battlefield."

Secretary Xia led him to the entrance of the military headquarters building, scanning his iris to open the door, "After all, this is a special period, and our military also needs someone to oversee the investigation progress of the Necro Cult incident. You are the only choice, and we also trust you."

His words conveyed an underlying message - you are now one of us.

"Okay, I understand," Mike thought to himself that he had now become an outsider of the Duke family.

He just hoped he wouldn't end up being slandered one day.

"Open the secret door, activate the forbidden library passage."

After leading the youth into the military headquarters building, Xia did not take the elevator but instead pressed a hidden compartment in a corner, revealing a hidden underground corridor.

Numerous laser beams crisscrossed the corridor, emanating a terrifying heat.

Secretary Xia swiped a black card on a machine at the side of the corridor, and the lasers immediately dissipated.

"Let's go."

He instructed, and Mike followed him. At the end of the corridor was a metal gate that required a specialized key to open. Beyond it was an elevator guarded by mechanical sentries, who seemed to be in a dormant state.

Riding the elevator down, they had to verify their identities on each floor. After exiting the elevator, they had to pass through twelve laser grids before reaching the door of the forbidden library.

The entire process left Mike almost overwhelmed.

"It's just a habit, you'll get used to it," Xia said, taking out a key to unlock the metal door of the forbidden library.

As the door retracted into the walls, the true nature of the forbidden library was revealed. Rather than a warehouse, it was more like a museum.

As soon as they entered, Mike saw a long corridor lined with portraits, each one labeled with the birth and death dates, as well as the military rank of the individual depicted.

"Every powerful evolution user in the Federation has come from the military. These portraits are of the most outstanding ones. Whether they are Popes, Vice-Popes, Saints, Heirs, or Sacred Sovereigns, they all had to start from within the military."

Xia explained, "These are the most powerful evolution users that have appeared in the Federation over the past century, or during the reign of a Sacred Sovereign. We only record the glory of a century or a Sacred Sovereign's era, a testament to human brilliance."

Mike looked at the portraits until they reached the end of the corridor, where three imposing statues stood.

Each figure wore a steel mask and a majestic suit of armor, holding a sword in their hands.

"This is the era of the Third Generation Sacred Sovereign, the three most powerful ones. They once chased the path to coronation together, but only one of them ended up laughing in the end," Xia sighed.

Mike, however, noticed a clue.

Because out of the three statues, two of them were facing the one in the middle.

The one in the middle without a name, must be the Third Generation Sacred Sovereign, Constantine.

As for the remaining two statues, they were labeled with names and positions.

"The Ninth Custodian of the Akashic Records, Gong Yu."

Mike murmured, "The Ninth Grand Theologian of the Akashic Records, Medanzo."

"Shh, do not address them by name directly."

Xia spoke softly, "These two positions can only be held by the Crown Prince. The Custodian is essentially the guardian of the Sacrificial Hall, responsible for protecting human territories. As for the Grand Theologian, you've also encountered one, that's Williams. But Williams was not the Crown Prince, he only temporarily held the position of Grand Theologian because the position was vacant."

"Whether it's the Custodian or the Grand Theologian, their role is to balance the power of the Sacred Sovereign. Because only they possess relatively comparable violence. The Pope and the Vice Pope, while nominally ranking higher, actually exist to constrain the power of these two."

He said softly, "Do you understand?"

Mike asked curiously, "Vacant?"

Xia explained, "After the mysterious death of the Third Generation Sacred Sovereign, the Supreme Federation, and the Akashic Records experienced great turmoil. Many people died silently and were buried in unnamed graves. Soon after, the former Custodian also passed away. The former Grand Theologian then went alone... into the Holy Mountain and never returned. From that moment on, the Holy Mountain was completely off-limits."

His voice was low, as if he was revealing a terrible secret, emphasizing, "Do not investigate this matter, those who seek this secret will meet with misfortune!"

"Mysterious death?"

Mike was stunned, it sounded like a conspiracy theory.

The Third Generation Sacred Sovereign rose to power from the Holy Mountain but then died mysteriously.

The power dynamics within Ember were shaken.

The former Custodian died of illness, and the former Grand Theologian disappeared into the Holy Mountain.

"Don't you know how the Sacred Sovereign died?"

Mike became interested in this.

According to Olivia's account, that Sacred Sovereign was known as the Rebellious King.

He must have done something to cause his mysterious death.

It could be the aberrant technique.

Or it could be something else.

And the emerging Necro Cult seems to be researching the legacy he left behind.

"How would I know!"

Xia glared, his curiosity rising again, "But I do have some clues. The Third Generation Sacred Sovereign must have done something that could shake the very foundation of the Ember system. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been treated as a taboo, with all traces of him erased. And the Smith family were the loyal dogs of that king. You know, the sanctified families that are allowed to reside in Celestia City, the only exception is the Smith family. They are not allowed to enter Celestia City. Isn't this to prevent them, to keep them away from the center of the church's power? Moreover, the heir of the Smith family is sent to Celestia City as a hostage when they are young."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "You figure it out."

Mike suddenly understood, "No wonder the Smith family is so anxious."

"Yes, if something happens in Avalon City, it's not only the Smith family's dereliction of duty, but Celestia City will also suspect them of secretly scheming something."

Xia sneered, "Like the underground ruins discovered today, they must be quite anxious about that."

After saying that, he gestured, "Come with me."

The forbidden library was vast, with countless archived documents.

Xia led him for more than half an hour before they reached a row of long-forgotten bookshelves, each shelf labeled with a number from one to six.

"These numbers represent the explorations of the Holy Mountain,"

the old man said, "Since the disappearance of the Grand Theologian, we've conducted six official explorations and surveys of the Holy Mountain. The one eight years ago was the last. We lost the acknowledged Federation's Number One Genius, Long Lin, and her brother Williams also underwent a drastic personality change because of that."

He then searched the massive bookshelf and found a sealed safe.

He then used his iris to activate the scanner, "Unlock!"

"Unexpectedly, the safe responded,

'Insufficient permissions, access denied!'

Xia paused, 'Request to use the Chief Executor's authority!'

The safe's detection instruments suddenly dimmed.

Xia grabbed the safe's handle with his bare hands and yanked it with force!

With a click, the safe's door opened.

Mike was dumbfounded.

So the so-called Chief Executor's authority was just brute force cracking!

Seeing the secretary's strength, his rank was not low either.

'It's fine once you get used to it. Sometimes you just need to be simple. Requesting the Chief Executor's authority is just to avoid triggering alarms and self-destruction mechanisms when brute forcing. After all, these days, unless you set up an Alchemy Matrix, what safe can stop an Evolved One?'

Secretary Xia took out a file and handed it to him, 'Here, this is yours. It should contain Long Lin's memory crystal and the materials she left behind from her cultivation.'

Mike opened the file and the first thing he saw was a photograph.

A white-haired woman sat in the wilderness, smiling sweetly. Her pure and charming smile was so beautiful under the glow of the sunset, her light blue dress swaying in the wind.

She looked just like a refined young lady from a noble family.

There was no hint of a powerful aura.

The personal file detailed her family background, growth history, the merits she had accumulated in the military, and her battle records on the battlefield - an impeccable resume that left one in awe.

'Damn?'

Mike was stunned.

'Surprised, right? Don't let Long Lin's unassuming appearance fool you, her temper is about the same as yours, and she loves challenging the strong. When Semin the Chief Executor tried to suppress his realm, he only lasted 127 seconds against her. Mo the Vice Chief Executor fared even worse, being defeated in 42 seconds. Charles the Bureau Chief gave it his all but was killed by her in 3 seconds, and Williams could last 120 seconds against her.'

Xia commented, 'Back then, Long Lin even wanted to hone herself using the power of the Grand Priest, and after getting permission, she faced off against six high priests who had been empowered, finishing them in a total of 97 seconds. At that time, she was at the third Victory Realm, chasing aberrants in the Afterlife Realm.'

Mike fell silent.

Both of them were lightning attributes, so why was the gap so huge?

There was also a memory crystal in the metal box.

The moment Mike reached out to touch it, his index finger recoiled as if shocked by electricity.

Boom!

It was as if thunderous rolls were exploding in his mind.

He saw a white-haired girl standing on the spire of a bell tower, facing the terrifying electric strikes from the sky, the entire night shaking with the rumbling of the thunderstorm!

'Damn, is she trying to get herself killed?'

He muttered, 'Getting struck by lightning?'