62: All glory goes to the Holy Maiden Church!

Meng Yun was slightly startled.

In such a remote small town, a place where even the Arcane Association and Foundation branches didn't exist, how could anyone find him familiar?

Could it be that Otto or Statham had already launched a massive dragnet from the very beginning, preparing to nip him in the bud?

With his heart alert, Meng Yun showed no change in expression:

"Look, a flying saucer!"

"A flying saucer?!" The merchant was indeed hard-controlled for a second, looking up at the sky.

The theory of extraterrestrial visitors was gradually gaining popularity in the world of the Steam Age.

"Where is it…"

When the merchant lowered his head again, Meng Yun had already used his Lightness Technique, a gust of wind at his feet, and was gone in a flash.

"How strange, could he not be the Son of God that Holy Maiden Vivian tasked us to find in our dreams…"

Thinking of Holy Maiden Vivian, the merchant's eyes couldn't help but flash with a fanaticism that could be described as deranged and pathological.

Her angelic face, elven hair, and spring-like voice were definitely those of a Daughter of God sent down by the heavens out of pity for the suffering of all beings.

Every Wednesday, Holy Maiden Vivian's admonitions would echo in their dreams.

Rescuing the suffering and purifying hearts.

The Holy Maiden's most devout follower shook his head, concealing all the fanaticism in his eyes, and returned to his stall.

Meng Yun strategically retreated in an orderly manner, while his gaze remained alert, constantly surveying the surrounding crowd.

Immediately, an ominous feeling emerged in his heart.

He found that out of every hundred people, one or two had a strange gaze, following him closely.

As if they had recognized him long ago, as if they had been looking for him all along!

"It seems it's best not to enter the city until I've mastered disguise techniques."

Having made up his mind, Meng Yun left the city quickly without stopping.

The journey was smooth and uneventful, with no unexpected incidents.

Speaking of wilderness survival, Meng Yun was very familiar with it. In the simulation where he mastered the Sky Fiend Lone Star entry, he was truly in his element in the wilderness.

The wilderness.

Meng Yun inexplicably thought of his little fox, Linglong.

Her pure white, soft fur and squeaking sounds brought endless warmth and companionship to his journey, which should have been eternally lonely.

"I wonder if I can pick up a pet in this world…"

But regrettably, according to Meng Yun's knowledge, there seemed to be no existence of spiritual beasts or demonic beasts in this world.

If there were any pets worth mentioning, they were probably only some unique containment objects.

Through unknown secret methods, some containment objects could develop consciousness. Although they couldn't be as lively as living creatures, they could at least act like an idiotic AI.

Meng Yun did not master this secret method, but he had Life Alchemy.

As long as he degenerated into a Fallen Arcanist and mastered Hellfire, he would be able to mass-produce artificial intelligent creatures.

[You traveled discreetly westward, believing your journey to be secret and seamless under the concealment of the demon suppression stone. But in a small border town, you still encountered strange investigators, and as time passed, their numbers grew.]

[You no longer entered the city, only covering your head with a hood when necessary to purchase essential supplies.]

[Your Arcane level progressed rapidly. Half a month passed in a blink of an eye, and you successfully reached the Arcanist level, easily able to cast Fourth-level Arcane spells.]

[But you clearly sensed that the rate of strength improvement had begun to slow down. According to conventional upgrade methods, it might take at least ten years for you to have a chance to enter the God Art Master realm.]

[Perhaps early specialization as a Fallen Arcanist, and using the ability of the Demonic Contract entry to temper reason through physical pain, is the fastest way to increase strength.]

[Of course, the only problem is that this upgrade method will be very painful.]

...

The Far East.

This was a coastal town untouched by the smoke of war.

Originally a small fishing town famous for its fishing industry, it had recently acquired a new name—Saintess City.

Unlike the Anti-Resistance Army's holy city, this Saintess City served only the will of one person.

This person was their beloved and benevolent Holy Maiden, Holy Maiden Vivian.

A pure white church was rising from the ground, and a sacred statue of Holy Maiden Vivian was being carved in full swing.

Vivian wore a black and white Lolita dress and a proper nun's hat.

She walked slowly, a faint curve on her lips, her expression demure, showing equal love and benevolence to her "subjects."

Beside her was none other than Laila, the elven warrior who had defected from the Anti-Resistance Army.

Vivian's biological older sister.

Originally in this reincarnation, Laila only had insignificant memory fragments, but Vivian arrived unexpectedly and used her mental sensing abilities to pour countless temporal images into her.

Under the stimulation of this information flow, Laila successfully recovered her memories.

Laila informed her of the aftermath: Vivian's death, Meng Yun's death in battle, and the appearance of the demon seed. Thus, their information was synchronized.

Without hesitation, she left the Anti-Resistance Army organization, and here they were today.

"Shira, I can't believe that in just one month, you not only have your own followers, but even a church," Laila remarked.

"Sister, let me reiterate, my name is Vivian."

Vivian casually spread her hand, glancing at the glittering ring on her knuckle.

Her name was Vivian.

Vivian, who belonged only to her brother, Meng Yun.

In this life, realizing that Meng Yun must be silently accumulating strength, her power did not decline as it did last time due to emotional fluctuations.

Instead, relying on the momentum that sprouted from her heart, her level was rapidly soaring.

S-rank was not her limit.

As is well known, above Arcane Envoy, there are God Art Masters.

Above S-rank, there is also SSS-rank!

At the same time, she also discovered that by using a mind controller, combined with her innate mental sensing ability, she could easily manipulate people's hearts and cultivate apostles and followers.

This manipulation, unlike the Mysterious Foundation's high-pressure and bloody methods of rule, was a spiritual conversion that reached deep into the vulnerable parts of common people's hearts, addressing their needs directly.

Holy Maiden Vivian was the last beacon of light in the hearts of these suffering people.

She didn't need to do any substantial work for them; merely granting them peaceful sleep and listening to and comforting them in their dreams was enough to make them sing her praises.

And this Saintess City, she believed, would one day become their Jerusalem.

"Brother, where exactly… are you…"

Vivian thought this as she walked into the faint twilight.

It was another Wednesday; she needed to consolidate her followers in dreams while developing more forces to join her.

Even members of the Foundation or the Arcane Association.

Making enemies few and friends many.

The followers in the Far West seemed not yet consolidated enough, so Vivian decided to focus on the believers in the west tonight, such as the small town called Newt.

That night.

Having reached S-rank, Vivian's mental sensing ability was further amplified. Her consciousness spread out like a radar, covering an area tens of thousands of miles away.

She cautiously captured human thoughts, attempting to find that pure and beautiful thought belonging to her brother, Meng Yun, among the billions of dirty and mixed minds.

However, Meng Yun had shielded all detection, as if he had completely disappeared from this world.

Slightly disappointed, Vivian focused her attention on the small town of Newt.

As her mind settled, an unusual perception instantly converged into Vivian's mind.

"Holy Maiden Vivian, I found the Son of God you were looking for!"

This thought came from a merchant.

"I saw the Son of God, but he tricked me with a flying saucer~"

This thought came from a butcher.

"I just made eye contact with the Son, and then he disappeared!"

...

One by one, thoughts converged into Vivian's mind, and a map of her brother Meng Yun's trajectory was gradually pieced together by Vivian.

"Brother, Vivian has found you."