From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 173: A Battle of Transcendence? A Struggle of Greed!

The crowd outside watched in crystal clarity as the glass on the hotel's sixth floor shattered in an explosion, sending a chubby figure plummeting down to smash heavily into the ground!

"Crash!" Just as everyone wondered what kind of deep-seated hatred could drive someone to inflict such ruthless violence, the chubby figure actually climbed right back to his feet!

Yes, right before their very eyes, he stood back up!

One had to remember, he had just fallen from the sixth floor straight into the flower bed below.

If a normal person had even a single breath left after such a drop, it would be considered a miracle. Yet, this man stood up as if absolutely nothing had happened!

The sheer absurdity of the scene sent the onlookers into an absolute uproar!

They had come here searching for Transcendence, but now that it had appeared right before them, they were stunned. Was it really this fast?

"The clothes he's wearing—that's an Iceland police uniform!" someone quickly yelled, exposing the man's identity. "I saw the badge on his shoulder. That's Ralst, the Chief of Police for Reykjavik City!"

Austin immediately connected the dots. "He was one of the people who entered the hotel last night! Boss, your guess was right!"

"I know!" Gao frowned deeply. "This bullshit is not a good sign! How long has it been since he got his hands on that item? He just fell from the sixth floor and isn't even affected!"He felt a terrifying sense of crisis creeping in. If everyone who grabbed an artifact became as powerful as this chief, their days ahead were going to be a living nightmare!

No sooner had the words fallen than the already shattered sixth-floor window was violently kicked completely out. A group of people leaped down one after another, plummeting and landing in rapid succession like dumplings dropping into boiling water.

Such an act, which would normally be hailed as an impossible stunt, played out effortlessly before the crowd.

"Seven people standing together... It's those seven students and their teacher!" Gao narrowed his eyes. "Sure enough, they are also beneficiaries of Transcendence!"

"Is it really a benefit?" Austin clicked his tongue as he observed the seven.

Each of the seven possessed what looked like Transcendent power. They either wielded weapons or raised their bare arms, pulsing with a dense energy that seemed to swirl within their bodies.

Yet, at the same time, their faces contorted into an unnatural, ferocious hideousness!

Bloodshot eyes, protruding blood vessels, and discolored faces... Every single physical change made them look increasingly terrifying.

They looked less human and more like outright monsters!

"This is the Price!" Gao declared. Having had plenty of contact with Angus, he had a much deeper understanding of so-called "Transcendence."

According to Father Angus—now a Special Cardinal—every boon came with a hidden price tag secretly attached. No one could succeed effortlessly, and no one could obtain immense power without sacrifice.

You couldn't just envy the thief's feast without seeing the thief getting beaten.

The members of The Church were all chosen ones, yet even they required ceaseless training, devout prayer, and incredibly restrained lives to wield their power.

Those who dealt with devils and demons paid an even steeper price, trading away their very souls—a massive and horrific cost.

So now, what exactly was the price being paid by these people who had merely held Transcendent items for barely half a day?

"Boss, we have a problem. The head of the CIA office here isn't answering my calls! I contacted their other agents, and they all say they have no idea where he went!"

Austin, unsurprisingly, delivered even worse news. "And they definitely came here last night. They also got their hands on that Transcendent item..."

"I knew it!" Gao slapped his thigh upon hearing this. "This isn't some Transcendent opportunity at all. This is a Transcendent disaster!"

"Their mental states are completely wrong. Every single student and teacher suddenly knows how to fight, and this useless figurehead of a Chief of Police in Reykjavik is currently taking on all seven of them at once! Meanwhile, that retired-in-place spymaster we stationed here took the item and pulled a vanishing act!"

He took a deep breath. "You guys stay here and monitor the situation. I'm going to call the Great Leader. If necessary, Keflavik Base must be authorized to deploy immediately!"

"Uh... I'm sorry, Boss. News just came in—the commander of that military base has also lost contact. And along with him, the US Ambassador to Iceland is missing too!" The information Austin provided made Gao's blood pressure skyrocket. "Holy shit! Out of seventeen items, our people grabbed three of them?!"

"Actually, it's four. A Major General of ours stationed at NATO also got his hands on one!"

Austin received these updates piecemeal, and each new detail made Gao's face darken further. "Those bullshit imperial parasites! They're absolutely no help, only knowing how to make a mess of things for us!" America's power was visible to the naked eye, allowing their people to run rampant in these places. As a result, they were often the biggest group of villains. Gao knew this well, but he simply hadn't expected them to move so damn fast!

After a moment of thought, Gao shifted his approach. "Since we're here, our colleagues should have arrived too. Send a clear message on the comms channel. Tell them everything we know!"

"Tell those sons of bitches that if they don't want this entire operation to be a complete failure, they better get their asses over here for a meeting right fucking now!"

"Boss, what's your worst-case scenario?" Austin's heart skipped a beat.

Gao revealed the cross gripped tightly in his hand. A pure white light flashed across his palm and reflected in his eyes. "The worst-case scenario is, of course, that this city goes down to the grave with us!"

"Those bullshit high officials, NATO, the higher-ups of various countries—they moved so fast. They truly have not even a single ounce of reverence or fear when it comes to Transcendence!"

The moment he finished speaking, deafening explosions roared from the ninth and twelfth floors of the hotel.

This hotel, famous for serving high-end clientele, was certainly packed with people—and equally packed with all sorts of lethal dangers!

……

"Crown, out of twenty-four people, only three ultimately chose to put it down..." Sitting in the hotel lobby, listening to the explosions echoing around him while enjoying a meal crafted by a top chef, Bai Yang listened to Alvin's report.

He had entered with his true body. He ate here, conversed with the waiters, yet not a single person—not even the staff serving him—felt that his presence was out of place.

They turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the chaos outside, peacefully dedicating themselves to serving Bai Yang so he could enjoy his meal in comfort.

This was a new evolution of Bai Yang's abilities. He could now physically exist within the world without anyone noticing him.

Or rather, even if everyone saw him and interacted with him, no one would be able to perceive him within the grand tapestry of the world's information network.

This authority bordered on that of a World Information Manipulator, and yet, it was merely Bai Yang's passive power.

The elevation of his Divine Status had brought about this intangible benefit. In a sense, it was a true acknowledgment of his identity by the Planetary Will and the world's consciousness!

Bai Yang pondered this, casually responding to Alvin's statement. "The fact that there are even three is already far beyond my expectations. Those three it is. Prepare to dispose of the rest!"

"How do you wish to handle them? A Divine Descent? Or perhaps unleash some mythical creatures?" Alvin presented several options.

Creatures originating from Norse History—such as the great serpent Jörmungandr, the giant wolf Fenrir, the venomous dragon Níðhöggr, and the fire giant Surtr—were all viable candidates.

It would showcase immense power, harvest a massive amount of Wish Power, and further solidify the Norse Pantheon background they had constructed. Why not go for it?

"No, no, no, think bigger, Alvin! They are just holding onto some trivial trinkets left behind by powerful figures of two races who weren't even Gods. Even if those items carry a bit of a curse, how could they possibly warrant the appearance of such top-tier mythical beings?"

"Don't lose sight of the big picture over small details. Different scales naturally require matching entities. And in Norse mythology, the desire of boundless greed perfectly aligns with one very specific lifeform!"

Bai Yang had expended less than a single point of God Power to create these little trinkets. Naturally, he wasn't going to let the terrifying monsters of the Gods clean up this mess. That would be completely overkill and could severely cheapen the imposing prestige of the Norse Pantheon.

"I understand, Crown!"

Alvin bowed his head respectfully. "Then, shall we leave the cleanup to the Descendant of Dragon Slayers?"

Bai Yang nodded in approval. "Not bad, you're learning how to extrapolate! Of course the cleanup has to be left to him. Otherwise, why would I have gone through all the trouble of designing a dragon-slaying equipment set specifically for him?"

"If a rifle is hung on the wall in the first act, it absolutely must be fired by the third!"