Chapter 270: Establishing a Church

Lu Yan had experienced many different versions of the world, and not long after entering the Mysterious version, he sensed something unique about it.

In this version, Lu Yan couldn’t sense the presence of the Heavenly Dao at all!

This was different from the Cyber version, where his strength was still weak and he mistook the AI God as the embodiment of the Cyber Heavenly Dao.

Now, Lu Yan had already formed his Grand Dao Golden Core and wielded the supreme divine ability of Reversal and Creation. He had even brought with him a fleeting moment of the Second Heavenly Dao authority upon descending into the Mysterious version.

Yet, even under such circumstances, he still couldn’t sense the Heavenly Dao here. This made Lu Yan instinctively recall one of the more peculiar versions he had experienced—

The Demon version that had been corrupted by the Eternal Heaven Venerable!

In that version, the Grand Dao had been defiled, the myriad laws of heaven and earth were laid bare, and people pursued demonic truths in hopes of merging with the Grand Dao.

But the Mysterious version was the complete opposite extreme.

The Heavenly Dao was hidden, the myriad laws unmanifested, and even supernatural powers were veiled behind layers of fog.

Combined with the background texts describing the fall of the Old Ones and the slumber of the True Gods, there were far too many unknown secrets buried here.

Whenever Lu Yan tried to use Reversal and Creation to trace the source of it all, he would feel an inexplicable sense of dread—so intense that he’d abandon the thought immediately.

He pressed his brow as it throbbed faintly and muttered to himself,
“Chaos is good. The thicker the fog, the better.”

“Only when things are messy enough can I slip past the eyes of the churches and the beings who are this world’s sole existence… and seize the momentum of the Myriad Heavens Divine Court.”

With that in mind, Lu Yan looked toward the werewolf in the reception hall.

Even though a Sequence Seven transcendent was no True Immortal, in terms of raw strength, they were already comparable to someone in the Foundation Establishment Stage. It didn’t take long before the soul-searched Saien regained consciousness.

Looking around, Saien stared at Lu Yan in horror.

He remembered someone saying a fat sheep had come knocking, and he had been preparing to use his werewolf presence to intimidate and extort a large sum.

What he hadn’t expected… was that this so-called fat sheep turned out to be a man-eating tiger.

All it took was a single glance from Lu Yan, and Saien had blacked out. When he awoke, he found himself already transformed into his werewolf form without even knowing when it had happened.

That realization sent a shiver down Saien’s spine.

Even though he was merely a low-ranking gang leader, a Sequence Seven transcendent was considered a powerful figure in the underground world.

Living in the capital of the Victoria Kingdom, Saien had seen his share of big shots: white-gloved nobles, MI6 officers, even bishops of the Church of Steam.

Yet none of them could make him pass out with just a look.

“Could he be a Sequence Five powerhouse?”

As for anything higher… Saien didn’t even dare to imagine.

While his thoughts were a jumbled mess, the seated Lu Yan finally spoke.

“Originally, I was going to erase you with a wave of my hand.”

“But now, I can give you a chance.”

“You get three sentences. Prove your value—or die.”

Lu Yan’s tone was flat, like he was stating the most basic fact.

Hope instantly lit up in Saien’s eyes. His mind began racing. As a lowly gang leader, what value could he possibly offer to such a powerful figure?

“I—I can collect wealth for you! The Black Coat Gang now controls one-fifth of the industrial district. Every month, just from negotiating security fees with small factories and collecting protection money from workers, we bring in over 1,200 gold pounds.”

“That’s after I’ve deliberately limited our territory to avoid attracting the attention of major capitalists and nobles.”

“If you spare my life, I’ll immediately launch offensives against the other gangs, expand our territory, and I swear I can bring in at least 2,000 gold pounds per month!”

Of course, reality didn’t work quite like that. In truth, most of that 1,200 gold pounds was needed for daily gang operations. Saien himself only pocketed four to five hundred pounds.

But to save his neck, Saien didn’t care anymore.

With his strength, he could always make more money later. If he lost his life now, it was all over.

Lu Yan gave him a sideways glance, eyes completely indifferent.

Saien’s body trembled. He suddenly realized—someone with such terrifying power could never be short on worldly wealth.

Trying to lure a Sequence Five-level figure with mere gold was pure idiocy.

Indeed, gold and silver held no value to Lu Yan. With Reversal and Creation, he could produce it from nothing. Wealth meant nothing to him.

“I also have rare transcendent knowledge! I know of three transcendent paths, and I’ve got two bottles of Sequence Nine potions and a sealed artifact stored in my vault!”

Saien hastily emptied out his inventory. These were treasures he and his men had collected with great difficulty while building the Black Coat Gang.

But Lu Yan had already seen all of Saien’s transcendent memories and knew his true inventory.

The three transcendent paths Saien mentioned were the Monster path, the Soldier path, and the Hunter path.

Though the Mysterious version had many transcendent paths, not all could lead to the end.

Some paths were created by mere Saints or Demi-Gods who forced progression through their own strength. Once they died, the entire path would collapse.

Those who stepped onto such incomplete paths might never even reach Sequence Five—the true dividing line between the weak and the strong.

Only the paths of the Seven True Gods, and a few secret and evil god paths, offered the chance to reach Saint or Demi-God realms.

Anything higher… was basically a myth.

And Saien’s three paths were nothing more than broken remnants—worthless to Lu Yan.

As for those low-grade potions and sealed artifacts, they were equally useless.

Lu Yan’s eyes grew colder, and Saien began shaking uncontrollably.

In front of a Sequence Five powerhouse, his wealth and knowledge were worthless. Despair began creeping into his eyes.

“That idiot Booker… he actually brought a godlike being back with him.”

“If I survive this, I swear I’ll make that fool pay!”

Just as those thoughts surfaced, Saien remembered Booker’s words—

He had met Lu Yan while extorting a young factory worker. Lu Yan had handed over a gold pound to pay the protection fee.

“Factories… workers… gold…”

A sudden flash of inspiration hit Saien.

“Milord! Our Black Coat Gang has high prestige among the workers, and massive influence across the entire industrial zone!”

“If you plan to make use of the workers for any purpose, we would be your most loyal and effective allies!”

As he said this, Saien could feel the oppressive chill in Lu Yan’s eyes begin to wane.

Lu Yan looked at the werewolf before him with some surprise.

Giving Saien a chance had only been a casual remark, but this fellow had actually managed to grasp a bit of Lu Yan’s intentions.

That piqued Lu Yan’s interest slightly.

Still, his expression remained indifferent as he asked coldly,
“You claim to be revered among workers, but what I saw earlier paints a different picture.”

Saien secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stammered,

“You must mean the protection fees, right?”

“Actually, we’re not the only ones collecting those. All the gangs in the industrial zone do. Compared to them, our fees are already among the lowest.”

“And we do provide security in return—keeping rival gangs out, helping workers collect owed wages… we actually do quite a lot.”

“You have to understand, most of these workers were once serfs. The factories are often backed by nobles. The bosses trick them into signing unfair contracts and use noble pressure to intimidate them into silence.”

“There was even a case a few years back where a factory owner sued a worker’s family for damages after he died on the job!”

“These so-called gentlemen factory owners are far more vicious than any gang.”

Lu Yan’s eyes glimmered slightly.

He had focused on Saien’s transcendent memories during soul search and had overlooked these mundane details.

But judging from the current scene, Saien didn’t seem bold enough to lie to him.

Though Lu Yan neither confirmed nor denied his words, his attitude clearly softened.

Seeing this, Saien quickly pressed on:

“You saw us collecting fees and trying to make an example out of a poor kid, so your impression wasn’t great.”

“But that’s just the way this world is. Which worker in the industrial zone doesn’t have some kind of illness?”

“If everyone used that excuse to avoid paying, we’d go out of business. These are necessary measures.”

Lu Yan’s gaze dropped, and Saien collapsed under an invisible weight.

The stone tiles beneath him shattered. His limbs and head were driven deep into the ground.

The pressure was so immense it seemed to fuse his flesh with the floor.

His face twisted in agony, werewolf blood surged wildly, and veins popped across his skin. But nothing could resist that crushing force.

“Don’t play your little tricks with me,” Lu Yan said blandly.

Only then did he withdraw his gaze, and the pressure vanished.

Saien gasped for breath, his face showing the relief of surviving a brush with death.

Lu Yan hadn’t killed him—which meant his gamble had paid off. The key issue truly was the factory workers.

He felt lucky beyond belief.

After all, he too had once been a poor laborer, and only stumbled onto the Monster path by accident, eventually becoming a Sequence Seven werewolf.

That background had made him less ruthless when dealing with workers. Though some of his men complained, he still chose to leave them a sliver of dignity.

Little did he expect that this flicker of conscience would save his life today.

“That building behind this one… What’s with all the child corpses?” Lu Yan asked suddenly.

From the moment he entered the Black Coat Gang’s compound, his divine sense had already spotted the bodies of more than a dozen children, some as young as three or four, no older than six or seven.

Lu Yan never claimed to be a good man—most of his actions followed the logic of profit—but such a scene stirred something inside him. It was part of what made him choose to soul search Saien.

Upon hearing the question, Saien immediately explained,

“Milord, you might be new to Orank and unfamiliar with local conditions.”

“Those dead children were chimney sweeps.”

“Because the chimneys are too narrow for adults, only small-bodied children can clean them. Many start as young as two.”

“But the job is extremely dangerous. One slip and they fall to their death. Even without accidents, constant coal dust inhalation shortens their lifespan—most don’t live past six.”

“Some have family to claim the body. But many are trafficked children, and no one comes. That’s where we step in—we gather the bodies and give them proper burials.”

“So long as they’re not sent to the Church cemetery, it doesn’t cost much.”

Lu Yan finally showed some surprise.

He looked at Saien again—this vicious-looking werewolf—and couldn’t help feeling a little emotional.

A werewolf capable of suppressing his bloodthirsty instincts to keep his humanity…

Meanwhile, so many humans in this chaotic era acted worse than beasts.

Lu Yan no longer harbored any killing intent. He spoke softly:

“Get up.”

Saien let out a long breath and slowly rose. The werewolf exterior peeled away, revealing a tall, muscular man.

At nearly two meters tall, his square face didn’t appear fierce—he actually looked a bit like a knight from an old storybook.

Having survived, he bowed and said,
“Thank you, Milord!”

“Thank yourself instead.”

If Saien hadn’t retained some humanity, Lu Yan would’ve killed him without hesitation.

Saien’s expression turned solemn. He asked humbly:

“What are your orders, Milord? The Black Coat Gang will give our all to see them done!”

“It’s nothing particularly grand.”

Lu Yan waved his hand nonchalantly.

Saien felt slightly relieved—until Lu Yan continued:

“I’m planning to establish a church. Would you be interested in joining?”

(End of Chapter)