The Lotus Awakens...

Du Chen froze on the spot!

For as long as he could remember, the chanting of an old monk had echoed in Du Chen's mind, a sound he was intimately familiar with. Yet, it was always the same single phrase, "A single lotus, a single world...", like a broken record. Moreover, the old monk's voice spoke in the ancient tongue of his past life, which Du Chen had categorized as one of the Precious Scroll's unsolved mysteries, believing it to be a cryptic hint left by Master Grape.

But the voice just now—its meaning was crystal clear, its tone remarkably human, clearly engaging Du Chen in conversation! Most importantly, it was spoken in the common tongue of the Aethelgard Continent, and Du Chen distinctly felt that the voice wasn't originating from his own mind, but from behind him, from the direction where Shieb stood watch. Thus, his first thought was that Harry was answering his question!

Yet, reality proved otherwise: this was an entity, intimately familiar with the Precious Lotus Scripture, communicating with him about the calculus of good deeds and merit!

Harry, startled by Du Chen's cold snort, had no idea why his master was scolding him. He quickly bowed and replied, "My benevolent master, Harry believes what you say is nothing short of divine truth! Guiding others toward goodness, that is a deed of immense merit! We Shieb have a saying—it is a hundred times harder to be a good person than a bad one. Likewise, if you educate one scoundrel into a righteous individual, you are, by extension, punishing a hundred evildoers!"

Stealing a glance at Du Chen's perplexed expression, Harry quickly added, "Could it be that you intend to transform Cassian into a good person? That would be exceedingly difficult, wouldn't it... My point is, only through immense difficulty can your master's profound capabilities truly shine!" Harry's eyes glinted as he recalled Cassian's background, which Du Chen had casually mentioned. He chuckled, "My wise master, you must have realized that if Cassian, in his current state, were to become king someday, his nation would surely fragment, and his people would suffer terribly. Your guidance of him is a service to tens of millions of Namir citizens! Heavens, let Harry sing praises of your benevolence!"

"Enough! I'm not in the mood for your flattery!" Du Chen waved Harry off, then hesitated. "Did... did you hear someone speaking just now? In the common tongue of the Aethelgard Continent?"

Harry looked around blankly, shaking his head. "No, Master! Harry didn't say anything at all!"

Du Chen stepped forward, pulling the gag from Cassian's mouth, and demanded, "Did you hear anything!?"

Cassian completely ignored Du Chen, instead spewing curses: "I heard your bullshit! Release me now, or I'll—"

Du Chen gagged him again. Then, he gestured to Harry, "Watch him here. If he makes any Disturbance, don't hold back. Just don't kill him; crippling him is fine! Whatever happens, I'll take responsibility... Don't worry, this brat isn't even as tough as Andy!"

Beat up a Crown Prince!? Harry was shocked, but then he gritted his teeth—this was an opportunity to earn his master's trust! And... hehe, the first Shieb in the Three Continents to beat a Crown Prince! Ha, my Lord Harry is the only Shieb in the Three Continents daring enough to beat a Crown Prince! In Cassian's despairing gaze, he pulled out the golden Brick crafted for Andy and eyed Cassian menacingly.

Du Chen lacked any experience in transforming a thoroughly wicked, utterly despicable brat into a good person. However, in his previous life, when he first transitioned from a street ruffian to entering the Clandestine Circles, while not as utterly depraved as Cassian, he wasn't much better. Yet, as he matured, Du Chen, though not considering himself a 'good person,' was certainly no irredeemable scoundrel. This transformation was entirely thanks to the 'education' he received from his sect.

Therefore, with keen self-awareness, Du Chen set his goal for reforming Cassian as turning him into "a scoundrel who wasn't *too* much of a scoundrel." The method of transformation, naturally, would be based on his own experiences from his previous life—the way his third Senior Brother "disciplined" him, that's how he'd "discipline" this brat. Heh heh, a little psychological compensation...

Oh, no, this was a great deed of immense merit! Buddhist teachings emphasize universal salvation and enlightening all sentient beings. If he could truly transform such a scoundrel into a good person, and through him, change the welfare and livelihood of tens of millions of Namir citizens... Heh heh!

Arriving in an empty side hall, Du Chen pondered the voice he'd just heard, then asked aloud, "Who are you, esteemed one? And how did you know my butt would 'bloom'?"

Silence reigned all around!

Du Chen continued, "Only three individuals know about my connection to the lotus: myself, Master Grape, and that monkey. But neither Master Grape nor the monkey could possibly be here with me. Who exactly are you!?"

Still, no one replied!

Du Chen rubbed his nose and smiled, then spoke into the empty air, a rather strange sight. "Don't hide. My mind isn't playing tricks; you were clearly speaking to me just now, so you must still be here, right?" After waiting a moment, Du Chen pouted, "Still won't show yourself? If you don't come out, don't blame me for my impolite words; I'm about to start cursing! I really will curse!"

Du Chen calculated that this entity must be related to the lotus and likely wouldn't truly harm him. Therefore, he decided to provoke it, forcing it to reveal itself!

"Go on, curse! If you curse me, you're cursing yourself! Who's afraid of whom?! If you have the guts, curse!"

"You finally speak!" Du Chen was overjoyed, but after uttering that single sentence, the voice fell silent. Still, Du Chen had clearly heard it: it came from behind him!

He spun around sharply, but not even a shadow was there; the side hall was completely empty!

"Cursing me is cursing myself!? What do you mean by that, esteemed one...?" Du Chen genuinely didn't understand. Could there be another version of himself? Was he suffering from a split personality?!

Impossible!

Du Chen opened his mouth to taunt, "What, esteemed one? Are you unwilling to be seen, or simply ashamed to show your face?"

"Oh, so it's a shameless scoundrel!"

Despite Du Chen's taunts, sarcasm, threats, and inducements, the voice remained silent, until Du Chen finally said, "Alright, you seem to know me quite well, so you should be aware that I have many capable people around me. If you don't come out, I'll..."

"Go on, try to find me! Heh, let me tell you clearly: besides you, no one else can detect me!"

Du Chen's eyes lit up, and he urgently asked, "So, that means only I can see you here, only I can communicate with you!? Then... are you the Precious Lotus Scripture!?"

"So what if I am!?"

Du Chen was dumbfounded. "The Precious Lotus Scripture has a consciousness?! What's the meaning of Master Grape?!" In his haste, Du Chen blurted out the last sentence in his native tongue.

"What in the world was that? Francis, what gibberish did you just speak? Speak in the common tongue of the Aethelgard Continent, understand? I don't understand other foreign languages! Also, why do you keep bringing up Master Grape? Do you want to eat grapes? And a monkey... what's a monkey? Is it edible!?"

This barrage of questions left Du Chen utterly bewildered. It took him a good while to process them.

It called him Francis, not Du Chen, and was unaware of his past life's various experiences, not even recognizing his native tongue.

This implied that it had only appeared after his reincarnation, knowing nothing of Master Grape or anything from his past life. Furthermore, it didn't possess the ability to probe his thoughts!

For some reason, Du Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps his subconscious was thinking: his greatest secret remained unknown to anyone in the Battle God World—a selfish thought, but utterly human. Who truly wishes to share their deepest secret, even with themselves, right!?

Even if the entity he shared it with could be considered another self, even if it couldn't communicate with anyone else but him!

Du Chen suddenly realized he was still quite selfish!

Du Chen smiled. "Stop beating around the bush. Tell me, what exactly are you...? Are you my Primordial Spirit?"

"How should I know? I just... haphazardly emerged," it grumbled, full of resentment. "Oh, by the way, I suppose I'm the artifact spirit of your Lotus Sacred Artifact?"

An artifact spirit of a sacred artifact... Heh heh, Du Chen's smile became more relaxed. "Artifact spirit," indeed. Shouldn't it be an artifact spirit of an Immortal Treasure? Still, he himself was the cultivation cauldron for these treasures, a part of the treasures themselves. So, perhaps this artifact spirit could be called his second Primordial Spirit!?

How interesting. This artifact spirit spoke flawless common tongue of the Aethelgard Continent, constantly referring to "sacred artifacts" and "artifact spirits." Clearly, it was an "artifact spirit" born and raised in the Battle God World, a true native-speaker!

Du Chen mused for a moment, then asked, "Tell me, when did you first become aware of your own existence?"

The artifact spirit pondered for a long time. "Who knows? I just... haphazardly emerged. It feels like, it feels like it was when you took care of that Marshal Kuban and saved the Red Phoenix Battle Formation!"

"And what have you been doing since then?"

"I've done too much! I had to learn to speak, figure out how to communicate with you, and look after your whole mess of sacred artifacts... Oh, and be your punching bag when you're in a bad mood! Is it easy for me, huh!?"

Du Chen's heart settled with certainty; he fully understood. This artifact spirit had been formed by the Precious Lotus Scripture to assist him in controlling his sacred artifacts—after all, with an ever-increasing number of Lotus Sacred Artifacts, Du Chen would indeed be overwhelmed without someone to help. So, it was *it* that had shouted "Idiot, throw out the Seventh!" during the Palkin Sea battle? Du Chen voiced his question.

"Yes, I said that! I had just figured out how to use the Seventh properly at the time. Heh, it just so happened to save your life!" The artifact spirit chuckled cockily.

Du Chen nodded, secretly delighted. In the future, he would at least have an assistant dedicated to researching the applications of his Lotus Sacred Artifacts, which would save him a considerable amount of trouble!

But this artifact spirit really was... it even needed to research to understand the functions of the treasures!

Du Chen pondered for a moment, then asked, "I have many Lotus Sacred Artifacts; are you the only artifact spirit among them?"

This time, the artifact spirit didn't answer. It couldn't figure out that question either.

After a long pause, the artifact spirit suddenly said, "No, I can't do this anymore, I'm exhausted! Francis, don't call me unless it's urgent. Just talking to you for a few sentences requires me to rest for days. I'm taking three days of leave to recover my Primordial Spirit—don't worry, it won't affect your use of other sacred artifacts!"

"Leave? You're taking leave? What do I do if I need you!?"

The artifact spirit's voice vanished. Suddenly, Du Chen felt an itch on his backside, as if something was emerging from his skin. The tingling sensation then traveled to his abdomen, chest, and shoulders... finally crawling out from Du Chen's sleeve.

Limp and flaccid, 'Old Five'—which Du Chen had often kneaded like noodles, always docile and resigned to any abuse, possessing the potential of a deeply resentful concubine, and whose purpose had remained a mystery—actually climbed out on its own.

Without Du Chen needing to touch it, it coiled and kneaded itself into a ball, then "poof" it softened, flattening into a pancake. The pancake then flipped, rolling into a cylinder. The opening at one end wobbled and a voice called out, "Got a big, unresolvable problem? Just shout 'Fifth Brother' to save your life..."

Du Chen was speechless for a long moment...

After sitting in a daze for a few moments, a shout suddenly came from outside: "Your Excellency Earl Francis, my brother, are you there? Your good friend, Divine Grant Earl Brockman, has come to visit!"

Du Chen abruptly stood up, his eyes narrowing as he quickly strategized, then suddenly grinned, "It's you!"

He descended the stairs in a few strides, arriving in the back hall where Harry was intently guarding Cassian. Without a word, Du Chen stepped forward, knocked Cassian unconscious with a single palm strike, and concealed him within the Precious Lotus Scripture. He then retrieved various items from the Lotus and instructed, "Harry, quick, set these things up!"

Master and servant swiftly rearranged the back hall. Du Chen cast a glance, nodding in satisfaction. "Come, let's go out and 'receive guests'—pah, I mean *welcome* guests! Harry, do you understand what needs to be done?"

Harry followed Du Chen out of the back hall, nodding solemnly. "Master, Harry understands!" His eyes darted around, then he darted to the dog kennel behind the door, abruptly pulled out the deeply sleeping Andy, and, after waking him, hissed menacingly into his ear: "Listen up! Brockman is here. From now on, you're still Andy, but you're just a very ordinary Snow Wolf. You can't speak, and you're very stupid. Understand?"

Andy, bleary-eyed, mumbled, "Brockman... damn him, I'll kill him!"

Harry angrily slapped his head, fuming, "Listen! If you dare to disrupt Master's plan, not only will you go hungry from now on, but Butler Harry will also smash you to death with a Brick and turn you into roasted meat slices!"

Andy finally sobered up. "I, I understand, what was it I understood again..."

"Remember, you're an ordinary Snow Wolf... and you absolutely cannot speak human language!" Seeing Andy nod in understanding, Harry's expression instantly shifted. He scampered to Du Chen's left side, bowed, and respectfully gestured for Du Chen to proceed. "My wise Master, please!"

Du Chen nodded in satisfaction. This Harry truly saved him a lot of trouble!

"Come, let's go welcome an old friend. Sigh, I really can't bear to trick him again!"

On the other side, Brockman waited quietly, his thoughts mirroring Du Chen's: "Little Francis, I've come to see you. I truly can't bear to trick you again!"