“Are you Bureau Chief Li of the Security Bureau?”
“That is me, that is me.”
The Eldest Master took a step forward and grasped Ming Yang’s hand.
“That evil god is powerful. I was no match for it and even lost a leg. I’ve truly brought shame upon the Security Bureau.”
“You two have traveled a long way; surely you haven’t eaten yet?”
“I have prepared a modest meal in the manor. Please, you must do me the honor.”
Chi Zhu waved a hand dismissively.
“There is no need for food. Bureau Chief Li, tell us about the evil god. How did you determine it was a god, and how did you link it to the True Knowledge Society?”
The Eldest Master’s expression turned solemn. He waved his hand to signal his family to leave before speaking.
“We cannot speak of this here. We need a quieter place.”
The two men didn't suspect anything and followed Bureau Chief Li toward a secret room.
The term "god" was actually quite complex.
To some transcendents, anyone with divinity was called a god!
Whether they were a Demigod or not didn't matter; they were all considered gods.
To ordinary people, anyone who could fulfill their wishes or help them escape a crisis was a god!
Even if the person doing those things was just an ordinary human, in their eyes, that person was a living god.
But in the eyes of the authorities, a god had to satisfy three specific criteria.
First, they had to possess divinity.
This went without saying; everyone understood this point.
Second, they had to be able to respond to their believers.
This criterion filtered out mortal "gods" or mere Demigods.
Third, they had to possess authority.
In a sense, this last one was the most important.
For example, the authority of the God of Luck was luck; the authority of the God of Decay was decay.
Only those who satisfied all three requirements simultaneously were officially recognized as gods.
If someone only met the first requirement, they were referred to as a wild god.
Most of these were gods who had been stripped of their authority or had been phased out by time.
For instance, if the Sea God were stripped of its authority, it would become such a wild god after many years.
As for the Whale God, it didn't even qualify as a wild god; it had never possessed its own authority from the very beginning.
Those who met the first and second criteria simultaneously were most commonly evil gods or natural deities.
Among them, some possessed partial authority, while others yearned to plunder authority by expanding their following.
Using the Sea God as an example again, its authority was being gradually plundered by an evil god.
Once the evil god successfully plundered the Sea God’s authority, the evil god would become the new Sea God, and the original Sea God would become a wild god.
The Sea God itself was a natural deity.
However, it was only the natural deity of a specific portion of the ocean—much like a mountain god of a certain peak or a river god of a specific stream. Their authority only functioned within a very small range, yet they could all respond to their believers.
The reason that so-called Whale God had competed for believers with the Sea God back then was actually a method used by the authorities to plunder the Sea God’s authority.
But if a Sea God could control all the oceans in the world, then it would be a true Sea God—a True God possessing a unique authority.
To date, only two beings in Great Wei could truly be called gods.
The first was the mainstream faith of Great Wei: the founding emperor, the War God, Qin Anbang!
This was largely because being the founding emperor provided a massive boost in status.
War required a righteous cause.
When Qin Anbang was conquering the land with his brothers, he claimed to be the son of a True God and the reincarnation of the War God!
After the nation was established, he went on a campaign to slaughter wild gods, seeking to establish a singular faith within Great Wei and make the entire populace his believers.
However, he met with fierce resistance!
In the end, he had to abandon the idea and choose compromise.
The second was the Goddess of Harvest.
She was a deity who had existed long before the founding of Great Wei. Both Great Wei and several neighboring countries worshipped her.
One of the primary reasons Qin Anbang faced such backlash was his attempt to erase the faith of the Goddess of Harvest.
In that era, at least nine out of ten people believed in her.
Thus, even Qin Anbang had to compromise and was forced to recognize the Goddess of Harvest as a legitimate deity.
However, the Qin family was not simple. While eradicating evil gods and wild gods, they were also prolifically conferring godhood upon others!
For instance, they conferred titles like the Whale God, mountain gods, deer gods, and many other local deities.
Over a century of development, these local deities siphoned away a significant portion of the faith once held by the Goddess of Harvest.
In the current era, it was hard to find even one person in ten in Great Wei who still worshipped the Goddess of Harvest.
The War God, Qin Anbang, on the other hand, still enjoyed abundant offerings. After all, he was the founding monarch and had recently been given the title of Guardian God of Great Wei.
It seemed he was trying to carve out another piece of authority for himself.
Ordinary people might not understand such matters, but how could a Bureau Chief of the Security Bureau not know?
Given that he insisted the opponent was a god, the Baleful Stars naturally had to be on high alert.
The Eldest Master spoke with a serious face.
“I previously destroyed a stronghold of the True Knowledge Society and killed many of their people. At that time, a transcendent placed a curse on me.”
“He said their great deity would kill everyone related to me by blood.”
“Naturally, I wouldn't let myself be threatened. But just a short while ago, my son and daughter...”
At this point, the Eldest Master’s eyes filled with tears, and his voice choked up.
“They were both killed. I tried to use a sealed object to find the killer, but I was blacklisted by the object and even lost a leg because of it.”
He pointed to his stump with a bitter smile.
“It was the first time I had ever encountered such a situation, so I went to ask Uncle Guo. Uncle Guo said I was using the sealed object against a god!”
Hearing the name Uncle Guo, the expressions of the two men immediately became much more serious.
“Uncle Guo said it was a god?”
“Yes.”
“Then it must be true.”
Chi Zhu and Ming Yang exchanged a glance before one of them spoke.
“Being blacklisted by a sealed object... Headquarters seems to have reported a similar incident before.”
“Yes. Since it involves a deity, this matter must be reported to Headquarters.”
Hearing this, the Eldest Master pondered for a moment before asking, “Gentlemen, what about my family’s safety?”
Chi Zhu nodded. “Rest assured. After the 【Zhou Era】, deities no longer walk the world. If a god had truly descended, Huang City would have been wiped out long ago.”
The two of them never made any promises. Instead, they began to press the Eldest Master for details regarding the True Knowledge Society.
After the Eldest Master recounted the information, the two exchanged another look and simultaneously reached a conclusion.
He was lying!
Chi Zhu had no intention of playing along. He stared directly into the Eldest Master’s eyes.
“Why are you lying?”
The Eldest Master was a Demigod, after all; he was capable of controlling his expressions. He looked at Chi Zhu with a face full of astonishment, as if he didn't understand the question.
“Stop acting, Bureau Chief Li. I have the ability to see through lies.”
“You are lying.”
The Eldest Master let out a long sigh.
“Fine. I admit, after my children were killed, I lost my mind a bit. I hate him; I want him dead!”
“So, I exaggerated some of the facts.”
Chi Zhu and Ming Yang looked at each other. They could tell that this, too, was a lie!
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