The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1315 386: I Will Be the First to Die (3)

"The reason the Ancient God 'Merk' fell was precisely because He and His messenger Kael, after mastering Transcendent Strength, forgot where their power came from and betrayed and enslaved the mortals who truly endowed them with power."

"We must not make the same mistake as He did."

In the face of history, he made a choice different from both Kael and the Gray Man who killed Kael, candidly confronting and acknowledging the mistakes of the Pioneer.

The new doctrine was like a thunderbolt, splitting the Gray Man's old understanding of the "Divine" and "Void."

It was simple and unpretentious, yet contained a power that struck right at the heart.

Thus, in the sixth year after the death of the Ancient Gods, Jon's reputation quietly spread like vines. It expanded under the shadow of the Federation, encompassing all rotten flesh and soil, and developed silently and steadily.

The Gray Man began to organize secret gatherings.

Not under the guidance of the Prophet, but spontaneously formed an organization.

The location was sometimes at the intersection of steam pipes deep underground, and sometimes under bridge holes completely shielded by upper structures, where even acid rain could not fall.

In those dim corners, the Gray Man was no longer a body full of holes; they regained their names and lost dignity.

Meanwhile, Jon selflessly taught the Gray Man who trusted him how to harness "Spiritual Energy."

He guided them on how to feel that flame called "hope" deep within their hearts through meditation, and how to lead it out to warm every freezing Soul around them.

Even if they didn't have it, their devotion would become another Spiritual Power User's Strength, and that person would eventually use that Strength to help them.

Not just that.

At his call, people supported each other, healed each other, and helped other believers in need. In this vast yet loose collective, each person was both a seeker and a giver, both a believer and their own savior.

A mutual aid group named "Cosmic Spirit" was thus born under the shadows where neon couldn't reach.

Initially just a fragile flame, but it quickly turned into a spark illuminating the deepest parts of every alley.

Long ago, it was the most dangerous place in the Federation, with every corner not covered by a camera controlled by gangs.

But now, it had become the root of fear above the High Tower.

As the "Cosmic Spirit" grew, this power rising from obscurity finally alerted the Gray Man Federation, even though they initially sneered at it with disdain.

After all, no matter how powerful a Mage is, he needs to eat, and no matter how much they mutter those peculiar things, they couldn't stop the company's profit growth.

Until one day, someone noticed that the death rate in the slums actually decreased, even surpassing areas with well-established medical care in proportion.

What frightened them even more was that these people, who were supposed to rot in the gutters, were no longer harming each other, but united under a name called Colin.

This was undoubtedly dangerous.

The Federation's guards regarded these signs of "Spiritual Resurgence" as the resurgence of the "Merck Cult," identifying it as the number one enemy threatening the Federation.

Thus, a purge targeting Spiritualists quietly unfolded in the silent night.

Soldiers equipped with the latest model of exoskeleton prostheses plunged like a tide into the slums they usually never visited, riding the most advanced levitating cars.

The heavy alloy boots shattered the puddle-strewn ground, and the crimson tactical visors on the helmets cast ominous streaks of light in the dim alleys.

They were like cold machines, offering no warnings and asking no questions.

Doors were knocked open brutally by high-frequency ram hammers, and any family reported by neighbors or informants as having "abnormal behavior" would be relentlessly dragged out.

Occasional sporadic resistance was quickly drowned in the rapid gunfire.

To curb the spread of the "virus," the top echelon of the Federation also adopted unconventional methods—such as collaborating with the gangs they usually despised the most.

They exchanged intelligence held by the latter with immunity from prosecution, or even drove those thugs to do the work where it wasn't convenient for them to appear, turning a blind eye to the collateral damage.

Although guards and senators had done this before, such systemic collaboration was undoubtedly unprecedented.

Out of fear of the Void, they trampled on the rules they themselves had set before the Cosmic Spirit Sect crossed the line.

And even Kael, who they denounced as "remorseless," never colluded with Raiders.

A father, who just reignited hope for life after his son was healed, was targeted just because he couldn't produce medical records to prove his innocence. That night, he and his family were hooded and disappeared into the levitating car hovering outside the alley.

An elderly person who witnessed this merely questioned why they were arresting beyond the court's jurisdiction and was immediately deemed an "accomplice," knocked unconscious by high-voltage electricity, and taken away.

Those who had been helped by Jon became the first victims, even though many of them weren't followers of Colin.

Their very existence was evidence of a "mind over matter" crime, and for the materialist-worshipping Federation, this trend of thought was almost fatal.