Cuifeng City.
The Radiant Church missionaries found that despite their hard work, the effectiveness of their sermons was quite poor.
They quickly changed their strategy.
"Free eggs for everyone who attends the sermon!"
The promotional effect improved instantly.
The Radiant Church's presence gradually became a household name, triggering a wave of religious fervor.
The common folk became devout believers in boiled eggs.
The church was well aware that these people were only there for the free eggs.
But they had plenty of strength and methods to subtly guide and transform the people's faith.
Cuifeng City Investigation Bureau, top-floor director's office.
The night was deep, and the curtains blocked out the city lights, leaving only a halo of light from the desk lamp.
The director leaned back in his large leather chair, his face livid.
The intelligence summary he received today had left him incensed.
That bunch of charlatans from the Radiant Church had actually used such scummy tactics as giving out eggs to recruit followers, causing a massive stir throughout the city!
When he first chose to cooperate with the church, he never intended to let them actually develop and grow powerful.
He only wanted to advance to Rank 5.
The Radiant Church claimed to possess a partial method for reaching Rank 5.
He had indeed improved his strength through these means, which was why he had been willing to secretly provide funds to support their research into a complete Rank 5 advancement method.
But now, the Radiant Church was crossing his line.
Those greedy hyenas actually dared to proselytize so blatantly and harvest faith?
This exceeded the scope of his tacit permission and, more importantly, risked drawing unwanted attention to him!
"A pack of insatiable ingrates."
"I really want to give them a good kick in the ass with my boots!"
The director gritted his teeth, the air around him growing slightly hot as a wave of fury began to spread.
Just as the fire of rage was churning in his chest...
The shadow in the corner of the office suddenly lit up.
It wasn't a lamp, but a pure, soft "light" itself that seemed to come from a higher dimension.
The shadows were dispelled, and three figures wrapped in a soft halo quietly emerged.
Their attire was low-key and unremarkable, but a sense of devout indifference lingered in the depths of their eyes.
The director's brow furrowed, his anger turning into confusion.
"Church people? What are you doing here uninvited in the middle of the night?"
The leader, a middle-aged man with an ordinary face, did not answer. He simply raised his right hand and spread his fingers.
"Silent Light."
There was no sound, but a visible ring of white light expanded from him, quickly enveloping the entire office.
All sounds—including the director's impending roar and the footsteps in the hallway outside—were completely silenced.
The office fell into a dead hush.
The director felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his anger. In this silent environment, his ability to draw upon rage was severely disrupted.
He let out a low growl, but no sound came out.
Still, he forcibly activated his power. His eyes turned crimson, and flames of rage burned around his body as he raised his hand to release a shock of fury.
But the second church member, a young woman with sharp eyes, was faster.
She extended a finger, and an extremely thin beam of light erupted from her fingertip.
"Piercing Light of Truth."
Ignoring all obstacles, the beam of light penetrated the flames of rage surrounding the director and stabbed directly into his body.
Pfft!
The director's flames instantly became unstable, looking as if they were about to be extinguished.
He let out a muffled groan, feeling a sharp pain radiate through his body as his breathing became ragged.
The third church member, a hunched-back old man, tremblingly raised both hands, palms facing each other.
A warm, viscous light spread out, enveloping the area where the director stood.
This light caused no harm, but it had an extremely strong slowing effect.
The director felt as if he had stepped into a swamp; every movement became slow and heavy.
He realized immediately that this was a targeted assassination!
The Silent Light suppressed his rage and his ability to call for help, the Piercing Light of Truth dismantled his defenses, and finally, the viscous light made his movements sluggish, making it impossible for him to save himself.
The opponents understood his abilities perfectly!
The director's eyes bulged, his heart filled with a mixture of shock and fury.
To reach Rank 5, he had indeed disclosed part of his ability's information to the church.
But he couldn't understand why the church would want to assassinate him.
Under the suppression of three targeted abilities, the director was like a beast trapped in amber, unable to exert his strength.
The middle-aged man remained expressionless as he condensed a spear made entirely of pure light in his hand.
"Spear of Retribution."
With a swing of his arm, the light spear shot out, piercing the director's shoulder blade and pinning him ruthlessly to the bookshelf behind him.
The bookshelf shook violently, and books tumbled down with a clatter.
The young woman followed up immediately, her fingertips tapping repeatedly as several beams of Piercing Light of Truth skewered the director.
The old man maintained the viscous light, ensuring the director couldn't make a final, desperate counterattack.
Blood overflowed from the director's mouth, and the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, filled with despair and indignation.
Why on earth had the church suddenly turned on him like this!
The middle-aged man walked up to him, his gaze indifferent, and condensed another light spear, aiming it at his heart.
Right then...
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock sounded at the office door.
The voice of a subordinate came from outside: "Director, are you alright? We thought we heard something falling..."
The silence inside the door remained.
The three church members paused slightly.
The middle-aged man gave the young woman a look.
The woman immediately took a mask from her robe.
The mask's features were a complete blank.
She gently placed the mask over the face of the dying director.
The mask acted like a living thing; its edges quickly softened and extended, adhering tightly to the contours of the director's face.
Immediately, the color and texture of the mask began to change rapidly.
Within seconds, the mask became exactly like the director's face, down to the smallest detail!
Beneath the mask, the director's own life force was fading rapidly, while the mask radiated a sense of vitality.
The young woman removed the mask and placed it directly over her own face.
The middle-aged man withdrew the Silent Light's isolation from the direction of the door.
The subordinate outside knocked again: "Director?"
A clearly impatient voice rang out from inside the room, full of vigor:
"Get lost! I'm in a bad mood. Is it your business if I drop something?"
"Keep talking, and you'll be guarding the reservoir tomorrow!"
The subordinate immediately apologized cautiously, turned around, and left quickly.
Silence returned to the office. The real director had stopped breathing, pinned to the bookshelf with dilated pupils.
The middle-aged man pulled out the light spear, letting the corpse slump to the floor.
The fake director sitting behind the desk adjusted her posture and expression.
Soon, the violent temperament belonging to the director was vividly reproduced.
The old man waved his hand, dispersing the viscous light.
The middle-aged man quickly cleaned up the scene.
The overturned guest chairs, the scorched marks on the corner of the desk, the footprints on the carpet, and a few drops of blood.
Some traces of the struggle remained—the bookshelf was tilted and damaged, with books and documents scattered everywhere.
But it wasn't a big problem; it would just look like the director had lost his temper again and damaged the office furniture.
After all, this director's bad temper was well known.
Occasionally, he would transform into a desktop-clearing master and cause an office earthquake.
The church had long ago figured out the director's personality.
"Before anyone notices anything unusual, prepare for the divine descent ceremony as quickly as possible in the director's name."
The middle-aged man whispered the command.
The fake director nodded.
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