Great Merit, Grand Experiment

Steve sprang to Du Chen's side, a hand already outstretched, then retracted it with a cheeky grin. "You can tell me after you've finished, alright? I'm off to help Miss Heidi regain her beauty!"

He strolled out, swaggering nonchalantly. Du Chen stared, dumbfounded. "You're not curious about any of this!?"

Steve turned back, chuckling. "How could I trouble my Eldest Brother with a task like flipping through books? Younger Brother, this is your job! Get to it! Your Eldest Brother will be waiting for your good news while charming the ladies!"

Du Chen threw his hands to his hips and cursed, infuriated, but resigned. He buried his head in the texts.

Counting back, Du Chen's life had long revolved around a few central matters: his missing maternal relatives, Jamis and old Bovin, Margaret, the powers of the Three Continents led by the Pontiff and Constantine, and, of course, the Fiendkind!

Now, with all the Fiendkind's secrets laid bare before his eyes, how could he not be ecstatic!? How could he not forget sleep and meals in his zeal!?

The City of Penance knew no distinction between day and night. When the servant called for dinner for the third time, Du Chen, his expression heavy, returned to Chek's bunker, making his way to the bedroom he shared with his Eldest Brother. The food was still Huhuhu Beast, for which Du Chen had no appetite. He instead ordered some dried fungi, chewing on their bitter taste as he quietly awaited Steve's return.

A moment later, *clang*, Steve pushed open the door. "My dear Younger Brother, what's the verdict!? Have you unearthed all those secrets yet!?"

Du Chen rubbed his nose. "There's so much... I don't even know where to begin..."

"Then start from the very beginning, the oldest tale!" Steve settled before Du Chen, his gaze sweeping coolly over the ventilation shaft, then with a wave of his hand, he erected a soundproof barrier.

"The oldest... The Violet-Bloods and Red-Bloods waged war over land, igniting the War of Fallen Gods, until Lans Island sank, and Bonis led five million Fiendkind elites to explore the Labyrinth of Life, falling into the Subterranean Abyss. You know all this! But three hundred years ago, in the Subterranean Abyss..."

Du Chen spread his hand, revealing the tree seed within. "Three hundred years ago, the Fiendkind discovered the Life Tree's roots in the Subterranean Abyss, thus beginning to harness its power! As you know, the Labyrinth of Life is the internal structure of the Life Tree. The Fiendkind spent three centuries identifying several critical lifeline passages: Mount Tianshan, the Auerbach Grand Canyon, and even Philip's Alchemy Laboratory on Battle God Isle. These are all 'Tunnel of Life' controlled by the Fiendkind, their vital lifelines for counter-attacking humanity!"

"So the Fiendkind's resurgence relies on the Life Tree? What then?" Steve didn't seem surprised by this revelation.

Du Chen continued, "More than thirty years ago, an Over-tier Aberrant Beast flew over the Battle God Sea... It was headed to a node of the Life Tree, a place called the 'Flaming Nest', to duel another Aberrant Beast!"

"Hold on, aren't you jumping too far ahead?" Steve grumbled. "We're talking about the Fiendkind, what does that Aberrant Beast have to do with anything!?"

Du Chen shook his head, continuing regardless. "That Aberrant Beast was drawn by a ship on the sea's surface. It unleashed divine lightning, striking the hull and stealing the figurehead – The Weeping Tear! It believed The Weeping Tear could help it defeat its opponent!" Steve's eyes flickered. "Then, that Aberrant Beast flew to Mount Tianshan with The Weeping Tear, entering the Labyrinth of Life, and our unfortunate Maternal Grandfather, to retrieve the Holy Relic, also went to Mount Tianshan and pursued it into the Labyrinth of Life!"

Steve clicked his tongue. "So that's why our Maternal Grandfather went missing! And next, our Maternal Grandfather and the accompanying Rogliff must have fallen into the Fiendkind's hands, right?"

Du Chen nodded. "After being captured, Rogliff defected to the Fiendkind, becoming one of their 'Outsiders'. As for our Maternal Grandfather, after being escorted back to the Subterranean Abyss for interrogation, he desperately unleashed Yessar God power, not only escaping but also seizing a Life Tree seed on his way out! He's been missing ever since! However, the Fiendkind suspect he went to Celestial Capital, and our mother is there too!"

Steve fell silent, his expression grave.

"Our Maternal Grandfather vanished, but Rogliff gave the Fiendkind immense assistance. He revealed to Bonis that Philip was an unparalleled genius in alchemy, and that The Weeping Tear had been taken by an Aberrant Beast to the Flaming Nest. These two pieces of information prompted two actions from Bonis..."

Du Chen held up a finger. "First, Bonis used a seed from the Undead aspect of the Life Tree to entice Philip into joining the Fiendkind... This led to the later Undead Battle God Project, and all the various events we've experienced together!"

He raised a second finger. "Second, Bonis went to the Flaming Nest, and taking advantage of the two Aberrant Beasts battling each other to mutual destruction, he seized The Weeping Tear and..."

Steve exploded, "The Weeping Tear is in the Fiendkind's hands!? Damn it!" He cursed loudly, a surge of Flaying Glynn's rage. "Wait, you said The Weeping Tear *and* what?"

Du Chen smiled warmly.

"Two eggs! Two immature eggs that might have taken centuries to hatch! So, those two Aberrant Beasts had hidden them within their bodies, ready for hatching at any moment. As a result, Bonis reaped an unexpected bounty!"

Steve's jaw dropped. Du Chen, with a smile like a doting father, explained, "One of those eggs was given to Philip by Bonis – specifically, the egg of the Flaming Nest's mistress. Bonis intended for Philip to hatch it prematurely, to serve as the core for a Composite Aberrant Beast! And indeed, that egg did hatch early, and Philip succeeded. However, the first person that child saw upon birth was me... their adoptive father, Francis!"

"Beibei!?"

Du Chen nodded, a smile still playing on his lips. "The other egg – the son of the Aberrant Beast that stole The Weeping Tear and caused our Maternal Grandfather's disappearance – was bestowed upon the Fiendkind's most talented young commander, Ted! But Ted couldn't hatch that egg. Moreover, not long after, because Helen betrayed the Fiendkind, she brought that egg into the human world..."

Steve interrupted, eager. "Then he gave that egg to you on Mount Tianshan, and Beibei ate it, then hatched it from his own body, becoming your son, Alex!?"

Du Chen spread his hands. "Precisely. Bonis made our Maternal Grandfather disappear, but it was tantamount to gifting me a pair of children!"

Steve found it both amusing and exasperating. "And what about the true parents of those two children?"

Du Chen shook his head. "That, I don't know. The Brockman family's Secret Scrolls only record events up to their banishment. They aren't privy to the Fiendkind's happenings from the last decade or so."

Steve suddenly let out a hearty, heroic laugh. "Let them come! Those two Over-tier Aberrant Beasts will find us sooner or later. If we can't talk sense into them then, we'll let the Blade do the talking!"

Du Chen idly twirled the tree seed in his hand, saying little. He then tossed it to Steve. "This thing truly is a Life Tree seed, but it's very special, and highly disobedient! When Philip used it for Undead experiments, it employed its own power to kill many Fiendkind commoners. Because of this, it was imprisoned by the Life Tree and Bonis. But during the Second Mount Tianshan Battle, it escaped and fell into my hands!"

"So this is the tree seed Bonis used to *seduce* Philip!?"

Du Chen rolled his eyes. "Can you *not* use the word 'seduce'!? It was 'entice'!"

Steve laughed, winking. "Any other juicy tidbits?"

"Other?"

"You know, Fiendkind secrets, scandals! Like how many lovers Bonis has, or how many illegitimate children!"

Du Chen pursed his lips. "Do you truly think such matters would be recorded in the Fiendkind's historical annals!?" He stretched, then stood, abruptly asking, "Eldest Brother, we've settled in the City of Penance. What do we do next?"

Steve flopped onto the rug, lazily stating, "First, we obviously figure out the lay of the land, then find a way back to the Three Continents!" He then sat up abruptly. "Francis, you're not cooking up some scheme to fleece someone, are you!?"

Du Chen rubbed his nose, speaking calmly. "I want to bring the entire Brockman family back to Durkus City!"

"Are you mad!? Setting aside whether we can even escape ourselves, even if we could get out and bring them along, would the Brockman family listen to us? Even if they agreed to cooperate, could your people accept Fiendkind as neighbors!? Francis, an entire clan's migration involves far too many complexities. You need to think this through!"

Du Chen smiled faintly. "It sounds mad, doesn't it? I think so too! But if I truly succeed, then every sacrifice will be absolutely worth it!"

"Indeed, if you could truly bring the Brockman family under your control, the benefits would be countless. You could even make Titled Battle God Ted bow before you..." Steve saw Du Chen's firm yet wild gaze, shook his head, and joked, "And who knows, Miss Helen might even willingly throw herself into your arms!"

A truly insane impulse surged within Du Chen. Setting aside all practical benefits, merely considering the Brockman family's history – they were innocent parties implicated, unjustly banished to this desolate, barren place. Surely, rescuing them would be a Great Merit! Most importantly...

*I refuse to believe I can't discern Master Grape's criteria for good and evil!* Just recently, he had tested the criteria with Huhuhu Beasts and Violet-Bloods, and the Precious Lotus Scripture had granted Merit for both sides. This hardened Du Chen's resolve. *This time, I'll conduct an experiment with humans and Fiendkind – a grand experiment! Haven't I always helped humans against the Fiendkind before? Now, I'll switch sides and help the Brockman family among the Fiendkind! I want to see if the Precious Lotus Scripture truly deems good and evil relative, and if a 'goody-two-shoes' who helps everyone indiscriminately can also achieve immortality!?*

*What's gotten into Francis?* Steve thought. *Why is he suddenly so obsessive!?*

He asked, "How do you plan to do it?"

An ice sword materialized in Du Chen's hand. "It starts with that Ninth-rank sacred artifact! Isn't there about to be a grand commotion? I need to first distinguish which residents of the City of Penance, like the Brockman family, were innocently implicated, and which are truly deserving of their fate!"

Steve stared blankly at his Younger Brother. So his ambition wasn't just the Brockman family; it was all the innocent residents of the City of Penance...