Fan Zhuo’s mind raced at lightning speed.
He knew that conventional explanations would no longer suffice.
This Warden was clearly not like old John, who could be fooled with a few lines of theological theory.
Her wisdom and insight far surpassed his expectations.
Moreover, she seemed more interested in the fact that he could “see through her” than in those “colored waste materials” swirling in his mind.
Fan Zhuo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
The other party was probably still reading his mind, so he had to respond quickly…
“Warden, perhaps… it’s not that the [Holy Light] miracle is ineffective on me.”
He carefully chose his words, striving to make his voice sound full of… ignorant bewilderment.
“But rather, my constitution is different from ordinary people.”
“Constitution?” Hecate’s golden eyes gleamed with even more interest.
“Yes.” Fan Zhuo nodded, beginning his impromptu fabrication.
“I was born with a dull sensitivity to everything except the ‘Divine’. Especially… towards women. My soul simply cannot harbor any worldly thoughts toward them.
He paused, a perfect mix of devotion and confusion appearing on his face.
“That’s exactly why I was able to stand out in the Holy City’s harsh selection, chosen by Mentor Nolan the Wise as a reserve ‘Pure Vessel.’ Because in my world, there is no such impurity as ‘desire,’ so I don’t need the [Holy Light] miracle for ‘purification.’”
Hecate listened quietly, not interrupting.
These words cleverly disguised his transmigrator’s “soul cognition bug” as a kind of “innate holy body,” not only logically consistent, but also placing him on an incomparably devout, pure, and flawless moral pedestal.
But Fan Zhuo had overlooked one thing.
“An interesting theory.” After a long pause, Hecate finally spoke, her voice devoid of emotion.
“Innately desireless, so there’s no need for purification.”
Hecate took another step forward, moving even closer to him, her cool and unique scent growing stronger.
“If you truly have no thoughts about women, then why is your mind… full of stockings and shapely legs?”
“Warden! That… that’s a misunderstanding!”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Yes!”
Only now did Fan Zhuo realize what he had missed. In his desperation, he hastily pushed the blame onto his convenient mentor. “That… that was all my mentor’s teaching!”
“Nolan the Wise once instructed me that in the Holy City, excessive purity only breeds jealousy. He required me to learn to disguise myself, to cloak myself in worldly desires so I would appear ‘normal’—to avoid persecution from other Saint candidates!”
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, even bringing a hint of aggrieved indignation to his face.
“All those filthy images in my mind are just… simulation training for ‘learning how to disguise’!”
Looking at Fan Zhuo’s flushed, “wronged” yet handsome face, Hecate fell silent.
“Don’t be nervous.” Hecate’s voice was soft, yet carried an unquestionable authority. “I believe you.”
“Then let me see… the way your holy power becomes ‘complex’ as a result of this disguise.”
A vast, pure, and yet slightly cold energy surged from her palm into Fan Zhuo’s body.
This energy was completely different from the holy power in Fan Zhuo’s own body—domineering, filled with the majesty of judgment and order, as if it intended to deconstruct and reconstruct everything within him.
The instant Warden Hecate’s holy power poured in, the “lake of holy power” inside Fan Zhuo was thrown into turbulent upheaval!
At the center of the lake, the cherry blossom tree formed by Night Sakura Demonic Power swayed violently, radiating an eerie pink light in an attempt to resist this invasive energy.
And at the bottom of the lake, the gentle life energy from the Mother Tree and the faint water element energy from Alfea were also activated, weaving together into a great net, trying to envelop and assimilate this overbearing force.
“Hm?”
For the first time, surprise appeared in Hecate’s eyes.
She could clearly sense that within Fan Zhuo’s small “lake,” there were actually so many different energies mixed together.
There was the holy, the demonic, the vitality, the elemental… These forces, which should have clashed and annihilated each other, were at this moment maintaining a fragile balance in an extremely bizarre way.
And the pure holy power she injected was like a giant stone thrown into the lake, provoking a “rebellion” from all the other forces.
What amazed her even more was that, under the impact and intertwining of these forces, a tiny portion of her injected holy power was actually… transformed.
Its qualities of order and majesty were stripped away, becoming gentle and pure, then absorbed… by the lake.
Though the process was extremely faint, Hecate was certain that it happened.
Fan Zhuo, meanwhile, was even more perplexed.
Lucien was a true human, so when Lucien’s holy power pressured him, the holy power inside him clashed with Lucien’s, even reacting more intensely than the average man.
But why… Hecate was also clearly human, so why did the holy power she used on him behave like that of a monster girl, able to be absorbed and transformed?
This made no sense… neither magically nor scientifically!
Just then, Hecate withdrew her hand as well.
“So that’s how it is…”
“Your body is like a Furnace… a Furnace that can transform any kind of energy into your own power?”
With a single sentence, she revealed the essence of Fan Zhuo’s cheat.
Fan Zhuo’s heart instantly sank to the bottom.
“Warden, I…”
“No need to explain.” Hecate interrupted him. “Your existence is of great research value to me.”
As expected! He was still going to be taken away for research!
Fan Zhuo immediately felt his future darken.
Just thinking of this, he felt his pure vessel was about to be defiled.
However, Hecate’s next words completely took him by surprise.
“You may return for now. There is still one month…”
“…Huh?” Fan Zhuo didn’t know what she was up to.
“One month’s time… Judge Lucien has already informed me of your agreement. One month from now, Judge Lucien will inspect your ‘cultivation progress.’”
“From today on, you are still allowed access to Zone C and Zone B, but not Zone A… If you require any experimental materials—or rather, the cooperation of any ‘non-human existences’—you can apply directly to John or contact Mika.”
“I have only one request.”
Hecate’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“I require you to report to me in detail the sensations each time your ‘Furnace’ operates. Once every seven days, in my office, alone.”
Fan Zhuo stood there in a daze.
What… what did this mean?
After learning of his “special constitution,” not only did she not investigate him, she even granted him access, encouraging him to “get close” to the monster girls?
This warden’s thoughts were hard to read…
“What, you’re unwilling?” Seeing his lack of response, Hecate’s voice turned a bit colder.
“No, no, no! I’m willing! I am absolutely willing to contribute everything to Warden’s research!” Fan Zhuo straightened up at once, his face the very picture of “devotion.”
“Very good.” Hecate nodded in satisfaction. She turned, walked back behind the enormous white jade desk, sat down again, and resumed her lofty bearing.
“You may go.”
“Yes.” Fan Zhuo bowed deeply.
Just as he turned, ready to flee this nerve-wracking temple at the fastest speed possible, Hecate’s voice sounded again.
“One more thing.”
Fan Zhuo’s footsteps froze.
“The official document from the Papal Hall has arrived. The Royal Academy of Magic will be sending people to Asphodel in a few days to conduct a week-long ‘Non-Human Existences Ecological Study’ project.”
Hecate’s tone was calm, as if stating something trivial.
“Their main area of activity will be Zone B. John will handle their reception. As for you… do not let them interfere with your ‘research.’”
The meaning in those words made Fan Zhuo frown.
Do not let them interfere… with my research?
He slowly turned around. Warden Hecate’s expression did not change, but Fan Zhuo caught a hint of something unusual.
She seemed… to hold a faint sense of aversion to the academy’s visit.
And this “do not interfere” didn’t sound like a warning—rather, it was… tacit permission?
Or perhaps… encouragement?
Encouraging him to give those academy types a little trouble?
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