1780

「 Playing dirty? 」the giant tree coldly scoffed.

“That’s right, I’ve decided not to join the Corruption faction, after all, the world’s civilization is still waiting for me to drive it forward, I need to become a man who serves the people and carry the era on my shoulders, so how could I be related to Corruption in any way?” Gu Qing Shan puffed out his chest and declared.

Lines of bloody red text quickly appeared:

[Your words resonate with the will of the world, your dirty play has been recognized by the world, by the Samsara, and naturally, by the Supreme Sequence]

[Furthermore, the Tree of Holy Wishes is only a Basic Holy Artifact from the Corruption Sequence, its power is insufficient to go against the will of the world]

[—–Playing Dirty has been successfully performed]

Gu Qing Shan sighed in relief.

After all, he was a human, while the pixie race’s Quipcraft had a very strict prerequisite for invocation——

The invoker must be a pixie.

The only reason he managed to do so this time was that the entire world was standing on his side.

This occasion also served as a warning to Gu Qing Shan.

——certain abilities are specific to certain races, so it wouldn’t always be as easy as simply copying and using them.

Hearing his words the Tree of Holy Wishes slowly fell silent.

After a while, it spoke again: 「 The Corruption Sequence has remembered you, from today onwards, you shall become the common enemy of Corruption. One day, a corrupted being will eventually kill you and subject you to eternal suffering, never to be graced by salvation 」

「 Where there are living beings, there exists Corruption 」

「 ——You cannot stop the grand tide of history! 」

After declaring that, the Tree of Holy Wishes slowly faded into the void of space.

It had left.

This time, Gu Qing Shan fell into silence.

Where there are living beings… there exists Corruption…

I’ve eliminated all corrupted beings in this world, but there are still countless normal people here.

After I leave, if those people want to walk the path of corruption, what would happen?

Perhaps the Corruption Sequence had left some sort of preparation?

Gu Qing Shan hovered in the sky and slowly became lost in his thoughts.

“This world… is still a low-level Magic-type civilization…”

He mused.

——–the most advanced spell in this entire world is Frost Storm.

Frost Storm’s area of effect is approximately 500 meter-squared, which can only be considered an intermediate spell within a developing Magic-type civilization.

If a normal person decided to pledge themselves to the Corruption Sequence, there’s a possibility that they would obtain a spell or technique that surpasses this spell.

It’s still quite tempting.

At the very end, that tree said——-

…

「 You cannot stop the grand tide of history 」

…

History.

Grand tide.

Gu Qing Shan pondered for a while before he suddenly thought of something.

His expression slowly became serious.

“No wonder the Samsara wanted me to deal with this world’s troubles”

“If things really are the way I think they are… then the Corruption Sequence… is much more frightening than other enemies”

The flames on the ground gradually ceased as the scorched earth slowly solidified once again under the frigid wind.

The magical powers supporting that [Fireball] earlier had disappeared.

Gu Qing Shan suddenly turned in a certain direction.

Only to see a group of people dressed in wizard robes cautiously flying towards him.

“You are—- the Divine Wizard, Gourde?” an elderly wizard asked.

“I am” Gu Qing Shan admitted, then asked: “You are?”

“We are the court wizards from various big kingdoms. Originally, we were supposed to act as ambassadors to participate in the ceremony; but we didn’t expect the Church to reject entry for all of us, so we were preparing to head back. To our surprise, not too long after we left, such a huge explosion occurred on the grounds of the Sanctuary—— so we gathered together and hurriedly returned to observe what exactly happened here”

Gu Qing Shan was surprised.

——-so they were the Combatants representing the various forces of this land.

Most likely, they were the only Combatants within the ambassador groups capable of flight who could quickly arrive to examine the situation.

“Wizard Gourde, what happened here?” a middle-aged wizard asked.

“As you can see, every last trace of the Divine Church has been destroyed” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Everyone looked around their surroundings.

A thoroughly ravaged land.

Fire magic had completely erased all the structures that once stood here.

Aside from the Divine Wizard Gourde, everyone was dead.

The leader wizard sighed: “Such immensely powerful magic, just what kind of character could have unleashed such force?”

Gu Qing Shan explained: “It was a terrifying evil being, he called himself the Devil King of Huang Quan who climbed out of hell to destroy all that is divine”

The Devil King of Huang Quan?

——-we’ve never heard of such an evil being before.

All the wizards were stunned.

Gu Qing Shan rubbed his hands regretfully: “I fought and managed to kill him—— but before dying, he was unable to accept this result and gathered all of his power to unleash a [Fireball], which destroyed the entire Sanctuary”

The wizards took another look at the scorched earth.

“A… [Fireball]? Wizard Gourde, are you sure you aren’t joking?” the leader wizard was unconvinced.

“Indeed, perhaps you all haven’t had a chance to directly sense that kind of power—–”

Gu Qing Shan raised his hand and chanted: “Law of Ice, manifest!”

A frigid full moon suddenly appeared far above his head.

“My god…!” one of the wizards exclaimed.

All the wizards hurriedly put up their magic shields, but none of the shields managed to even ward against the icy cold from above.

White frost rapidly climbed up their robes, hair, staves, and even their eyebrows.

“Quickly dispel your magic! Gourde, your excellency!”

The leader wizard shouted in a panic.

Gu Qing Shan waved his hand dismissively.

Instantly, the glowing full moon scattered into snow that slowly fell to the ground.

The snow fluttered and accumulated in one area, forming a layer easily over 10 meters thick.

Feeling like they had been spared, the wizards all chanted an incantation to remove the frost from their bodies.

“Such… incredible magical attainments…”

Someone blankly muttered.

“Wizard Gourde, with such terrific strength, no wonder you were able to kill the Devil King of Huang Quan” the leader wizard said with admiration in his voice.

Gu Qing Shan replied: “Unfortunately, the entire Sanctuary has been destroyed by that monster…”

He suddenly clenched his fist and teeth with firm determination: “I must rebuild the Sanctuary, and rebuild the Divine Church”

The wizards were all speechless.

—–this person is only a young man at 15 years old, and yet he already possesses unrivalled magical prowess.

What extent would he be able to reach once he fully matures?

But it couldn’t be helped.

His strength today is already far beyond anyone’s capability to resist.

That frost technique just now was already more than enough to eliminate a country’s capital city.

And quite clearly, he manifested it with nothing but a casual wave of his hand——

What would happen when he seriously performs his techniques?

In that case… the only choice is…

“Great Divine Wizard, may we be of assistance?” the leader wizard asked.

“That’s right, our Eagle Empire is willing to fully support your excellency in rebuilding the Sanctuary” another wizard immediately followed up.

“The White Mountain Kingdom as well”

“We of the Nine Stars Republic are also willing to help you, Great Divine Wizard”

“Our Moonset Empire as well…”

The wizards stated their stances one by one.

Gu Qing Shan nodded with satisfaction and said: “Very well. Once I’ve rebuilt the Sanctuary, I will teach everything I know to the countries and individuals who have aided me”

Hearing that, all the wizards’ eyes lit up.

…

One day later.

Gu Qing Shan arrived at the White Mountain Kingdom.

After displaying his strength, he received the full support of the royal family without a pause.

“I don’t need money or anything of the sort, neither do I need people, but I want to take a look at the royal family’s records of heritage”

The White Mountain king felt a bit surprised.

“If the Divine Wizard is willing to take a look, then… bring me the heritage scroll of our White Mountain royal family” he gave the orders.

The so-called heritage scroll was actually the royalty family tree, as well as the records of the country’s history, achievements, and so on and so forth.

They represented the royal family’s glory, so it was something that the royal family was more than willing to make public.

Very quickly, the scroll was brought.

Gu Qing Shan opened the scroll and began to take a careful look at it from the most recent era.

During many eras, only mundane events occur around the royal family.

Gu Qing Shan carefully reviewed the vast history contained within the scroll, continuously heading further back in time until he finally saw something out of the ordinary at the beginning of the scroll.

“Your majesty, it is said that the White Mountain royal family once received help from some wizards at the time of this country’s establishment, was that true?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“Indeed, according to historical records, they were a group of mysterious wizards. After my ancestors established this country, they only left a certain thing as a memento before vanishing” the king answered.

“What was it?” Gu Qing Shan asked with intrigue.

“Ah, it was a blade that grew out of a tree. Legend has it that whoever manages to pull the blade out would become the Saint King of White Mountain kingdom, leading the White Mountain clan to glory”

The king then shrugged: “Many have tried, but no one has ever succeeded”

“Oh? Can I take a look?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“Of course”

Everyone entered the royal garden to observe the tree of legend.

A blade was thrust into the trunk of the tree, seemingly unmoved by time or weather.

“This is the first time I’ve ever witnessed a legendary artifact like this” Gu Qing Shan said.

The White Mountain king chuckled and said: “Your strength is unquestionable, but you don’t seem to know much about these minor mortal matters. In reality, such legends and miracles exist in almost every kingdom in this land”

“Really? There’s one in every kingdom?”

“Indeed”

Gu Qing Shan’s expression became serious.

“Can I give it a try?”

“Please go ahead, but there’s no need to feel dejected if you can’t pull it out, plenty of exceptional individuals in history did not manage either”

“I understand”

Gu Qing Shan stepped forward and stopped in front of the blade.

If what I think is true—–

He reached his hand forward and grabbed the hilt of the blade.

It was immediately pulled out without resistance.

A solemn and dignified voice resounded throughout the void of space:

「 You possess talent and power, an exceptional being, worthy of my—– 」

The projection of a giant tree silently manifested.

Its voice suddenly stopped.

「 ——Why you again!? 」the giant tree exclaimed.

Gu Qing Shan looked at the Tree of Holy Wishes and remained silent.

——there are definitely plenty of traces of Corruption left in this world.

A weapon.

A book.

A piece of jewellery.

Perhaps even an incantation.

Or maybe a secret ritual.

As soon as a living being with exceptional innate talent triggers these things, they might be able to summon the Corruption Sequence right away.

There are hidden seeds everywhere.

How should I deal with this?

「 Playing dirty? 」the giant tree coldly scoffed.

“That’s right, I’ve decided not to join the Corruption faction, after all, the world’s civilization is still waiting for me to drive it forward, I need to become a man who serves the people and carry the era on my shoulders, so how could I be related to Corruption in any way?” Gu Qing Shan puffed out his chest and declared.

Lines of bloody red text quickly appeared:

[Your words resonate with the will of the world, your dirty play has been recognized by the world, by the Samsara, and naturally, by the Supreme Sequence]

[Furthermore, the Tree of Holy Wishes is only a Basic Holy Artifact from the Corruption Sequence, its power is insufficient to go against the will of the world]

[—–Playing Dirty has been successfully performed]

Gu Qing Shan sighed in relief.

After all, he was a human, while the pixie race’s Quipcraft had a very strict prerequisite for invocation——

The invoker must be a pixie.

The only reason he managed to do so this time was that the entire world was standing on his side.

This occasion also served as a warning to Gu Qing Shan.

——certain abilities are specific to certain races, so it wouldn’t always be as easy as simply copying and using them.

Hearing his words the Tree of Holy Wishes slowly fell silent.

After a while, it spoke again: 「 The Corruption Sequence has remembered you, from today onwards, you shall become the common enemy of Corruption. One day, a corrupted being will eventually kill you and subject you to eternal suffering, never to be graced by salvation 」

「 Where there are living beings, there exists Corruption 」

「 ——You cannot stop the grand tide of history! 」

After declaring that, the Tree of Holy Wishes slowly faded into the void of space.

It had left.

This time, Gu Qing Shan fell into silence.

Where there are living beings… there exists Corruption…

I’ve eliminated all corrupted beings in this world, but there are still countless normal people here.

After I leave, if those people want to walk the path of corruption, what would happen?

Perhaps the Corruption Sequence had left some sort of preparation?

Gu Qing Shan hovered in the sky and slowly became lost in his thoughts.

“This world… is still a low-level Magic-type civilization…”

He mused.

——–the most advanced spell in this entire world is Frost Storm.

Frost Storm’s area of effect is approximately 500 meter-squared, which can only be considered an intermediate spell within a developing Magic-type civilization.

If a normal person decided to pledge themselves to the Corruption Sequence, there’s a possibility that they would obtain a spell or technique that surpasses this spell.

It’s still quite tempting.

At the very end, that tree said——-

…

「 You cannot stop the grand tide of history 」

…

History.

Grand tide.

Gu Qing Shan pondered for a while before he suddenly thought of something.

His expression slowly became serious.

“No wonder the Samsara wanted me to deal with this world’s troubles”

“If things really are the way I think they are… then the Corruption Sequence… is much more frightening than other enemies”

The flames on the ground gradually ceased as the scorched earth slowly solidified once again under the frigid wind.

The magical powers supporting that [Fireball] earlier had disappeared.

Gu Qing Shan suddenly turned in a certain direction.

Only to see a group of people dressed in wizard robes cautiously flying towards him.

“You are—- the Divine Wizard, Gourde?” an elderly wizard asked.

“I am” Gu Qing Shan admitted, then asked: “You are?”

“We are the court wizards from various big kingdoms. Originally, we were supposed to act as ambassadors to participate in the ceremony; but we didn’t expect the Church to reject entry for all of us, so we were preparing to head back. To our surprise, not too long after we left, such a huge explosion occurred on the grounds of the Sanctuary—— so we gathered together and hurriedly returned to observe what exactly happened here”

Gu Qing Shan was surprised.

——-so they were the Combatants representing the various forces of this land.

Most likely, they were the only Combatants within the ambassador groups capable of flight who could quickly arrive to examine the situation.

“Wizard Gourde, what happened here?” a middle-aged wizard asked.

“As you can see, every last trace of the Divine Church has been destroyed” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Everyone looked around their surroundings.

A thoroughly ravaged land.

Fire magic had completely erased all the structures that once stood here.

Aside from the Divine Wizard Gourde, everyone was dead.

The leader wizard sighed: “Such immensely powerful magic, just what kind of character could have unleashed such force?”

Gu Qing Shan explained: “It was a terrifying evil being, he called himself the Devil King of Huang Quan who climbed out of hell to destroy all that is divine”

The Devil King of Huang Quan?

——-we’ve never heard of such an evil being before.

All the wizards were stunned.

Gu Qing Shan rubbed his hands regretfully: “I fought and managed to kill him—— but before dying, he was unable to accept this result and gathered all of his power to unleash a [Fireball], which destroyed the entire Sanctuary”

The wizards took another look at the scorched earth.

“A… [Fireball]? Wizard Gourde, are you sure you aren’t joking?” the leader wizard was unconvinced.

“Indeed, perhaps you all haven’t had a chance to directly sense that kind of power—–”

Gu Qing Shan raised his hand and chanted: “Law of Ice, manifest!”

A frigid full moon suddenly appeared far above his head.

“My god…!” one of the wizards exclaimed.

All the wizards hurriedly put up their magic shields, but none of the shields managed to even ward against the icy cold from above.

White frost rapidly climbed up their robes, hair, staves, and even their eyebrows.

“Quickly dispel your magic! Gourde, your excellency!”

The leader wizard shouted in a panic.

Gu Qing Shan waved his hand dismissively.

Instantly, the glowing full moon scattered into snow that slowly fell to the ground.

The snow fluttered and accumulated in one area, forming a layer easily over 10 meters thick.

Feeling like they had been spared, the wizards all chanted an incantation to remove the frost from their bodies.

“Such… incredible magical attainments…”

Someone blankly muttered.

“Wizard Gourde, with such terrific strength, no wonder you were able to kill the Devil King of Huang Quan” the leader wizard said with admiration in his voice.

Gu Qing Shan replied: “Unfortunately, the entire Sanctuary has been destroyed by that monster…”

He suddenly clenched his fist and teeth with firm determination: “I must rebuild the Sanctuary, and rebuild the Divine Church”

The wizards were all speechless.

—–this person is only a young man at 15 years old, and yet he already possesses unrivalled magical prowess.

What extent would he be able to reach once he fully matures?

But it couldn’t be helped.

His strength today is already far beyond anyone’s capability to resist.

That frost technique just now was already more than enough to eliminate a country’s capital city.

And quite clearly, he manifested it with nothing but a casual wave of his hand——

What would happen when he seriously performs his techniques?

In that case… the only choice is…

“Great Divine Wizard, may we be of assistance?” the leader wizard asked.

“That’s right, our Eagle Empire is willing to fully support your excellency in rebuilding the Sanctuary” another wizard immediately followed up.

“The White Mountain Kingdom as well”

“We of the Nine Stars Republic are also willing to help you, Great Divine Wizard”

“Our Moonset Empire as well…”

The wizards stated their stances one by one.

Gu Qing Shan nodded with satisfaction and said: “Very well. Once I’ve rebuilt the Sanctuary, I will teach everything I know to the countries and individuals who have aided me”

Hearing that, all the wizards’ eyes lit up.

…

One day later.

Gu Qing Shan arrived at the White Mountain Kingdom.

After displaying his strength, he received the full support of the royal family without a pause.

“I don’t need money or anything of the sort, neither do I need people, but I want to take a look at the royal family’s records of heritage”

The White Mountain king felt a bit surprised.

“If the Divine Wizard is willing to take a look, then… bring me the heritage scroll of our White Mountain royal family” he gave the orders.

The so-called heritage scroll was actually the royalty family tree, as well as the records of the country’s history, achievements, and so on and so forth.

They represented the royal family’s glory, so it was something that the royal family was more than willing to make public.

Very quickly, the scroll was brought.

Gu Qing Shan opened the scroll and began to take a careful look at it from the most recent era.

During many eras, only mundane events occur around the royal family.

Gu Qing Shan carefully reviewed the vast history contained within the scroll, continuously heading further back in time until he finally saw something out of the ordinary at the beginning of the scroll.

“Your majesty, it is said that the White Mountain royal family once received help from some wizards at the time of this country’s establishment, was that true?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“Indeed, according to historical records, they were a group of mysterious wizards. After my ancestors established this country, they only left a certain thing as a memento before vanishing” the king answered.

“What was it?” Gu Qing Shan asked with intrigue.

“Ah, it was a blade that grew out of a tree. Legend has it that whoever manages to pull the blade out would become the Saint King of White Mountain kingdom, leading the White Mountain clan to glory”

The king then shrugged: “Many have tried, but no one has ever succeeded”

“Oh? Can I take a look?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“Of course”

Everyone entered the royal garden to observe the tree of legend.

A blade was thrust into the trunk of the tree, seemingly unmoved by time or weather.

“This is the first time I’ve ever witnessed a legendary artifact like this” Gu Qing Shan said.

The White Mountain king chuckled and said: “Your strength is unquestionable, but you don’t seem to know much about these minor mortal matters. In reality, such legends and miracles exist in almost every kingdom in this land”

“Really? There’s one in every kingdom?”

“Indeed”

Gu Qing Shan’s expression became serious.

“Can I give it a try?”

“Please go ahead, but there’s no need to feel dejected if you can’t pull it out, plenty of exceptional individuals in history did not manage either”

“I understand”

Gu Qing Shan stepped forward and stopped in front of the blade.

If what I think is true—–

He reached his hand forward and grabbed the hilt of the blade.

It was immediately pulled out without resistance.

A solemn and dignified voice resounded throughout the void of space:

「 You possess talent and power, an exceptional being, worthy of my—– 」

The projection of a giant tree silently manifested.

Its voice suddenly stopped.

「 ——Why you again!? 」the giant tree exclaimed.

Gu Qing Shan looked at the Tree of Holy Wishes and remained silent.

——there are definitely plenty of traces of Corruption left in this world.

A weapon.

A book.

A piece of jewellery.

Perhaps even an incantation.

Or maybe a secret ritual.

As soon as a living being with exceptional innate talent triggers these things, they might be able to summon the Corruption Sequence right away.

There are hidden seeds everywhere.

How should I deal with this?