Published at 20th of January 2023 3:24 pm

Chapter 321: Cooperation

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To Andrew, Joseph’s impurity was because the latter was just a ‘beneficiary of the bookstore.’

Joseph did show his gratitude and reverence towards Boss Lin, but fundamentally, he was completely different from them. He was neither a follower of the bookstore, nor did he follow a religion that had originated from the bookstore.

It didn’t matter if it were the Wisdom-Seekers, the Corpse Devouring Sect, or even the Sun’s Faith. Truth was, all of them came from the same source.

Every faction had been established under the influence of the bookstore; all of them listened and followed Boss Lin’s will and words. As such, it could be said that they all had different interpretations of the same source material and were basically of the same existence but projected differently. The only ones dissimilar to them were Joseph and Secret Rite Tower.

Andrew could see it very clearly—within Secret Rite Tower’s Council of Elders were feelings of fear, alarm, and more so, thoughts of manipulation, greed, and ambition! No different from those ordinary mortals, their foolishness knew no bounds. They lacked any semblance nor qualifications to be devotees!

As for Joseph, the old knight was already on the precipice to come crashing down.

However, he had realized the Corpse Devouring Sect wasn’t created by Wilde alone but emerged from the will of Boss Lin. Every single misdeed carried out by Wilde was met with Boss Lin’s silent toleration. Which meant it didn’t matter how much Joseph struggled, he would ultimately end up being turned on his head!

In other words, as of today, in spite of the grace Boss Lin had granted him by dragging him out of the demon sword’s abyss, Joseph’s innate sense of justice still overpowered subservience to the bookstore.

Andrew was undoubtedly sure that Joseph would end up being an enemy of the bookstore.

For this was the true Joseph, the Indomitable Sacred Flame that detested all evil!

To a certain degree, it had also been Boss Lin who had changed Andrew’s own view, and Boss Lin, who was observing it all, would definitely be pleased to witness this scene.

This was all that went through Andrew’s mind as he pondered in silence. Beckoning for his subordinates to fall back, he turned toward Raziel on his right. “We can now resume the conversation we were having just now. Since it’s your ideology to make the Truth Union great again, I believe that our goals undoubtedly align with each other. I sincerely hope you do what you did a thousand years ago—become the leader of scholars—and reveal yourself to the world again.”

Andrew’s gaze was determined, and his tone was composed.

It appeared as if they were engaging in a conversation after an unanimous agreement, but in truth, Andrew was continuously ‘guessing’ the thoughts of Ymir.

And every time he raised a ‘guess’ or ‘conjecture,’ Raziel would agree that he himself had such thoughts in his mind.

By the process of repeated suggestion of outlandish guesses as a means to probe, Andrew was able to ascertain the previously inspired notion that he had.

Now, after 30 minutes of positive interaction, the two had already become agreeable comrades who completely understood one another. Raziel pushed up the bridge of his glasses and nodded his head in agreement.

“It’s indeed the case, the Truth Union was founded by me. But its former glory is nowhere to be seen today.”

He stood up and sauntered to the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows of the office and watched cold and aloof scholars hurrying to and fro along the opposite corridor, then gave a long sigh.

“I’ve been constantly observing the development of the Truth Union while I was in Machine Loop. Nowadays, scholars seem to only learn how to be arrogant and inflexible. Besides that, there isn’t an ounce of improvement or innovation, and nobody is able to walk a different path from the one I had paved before.”

He then proceeded to point at where the Aether Annihilation Cannon was. “Even the fundamental structure of this weapon was designed by me, yet no one ever thought of modifying it.”

Andrew stood up as well and looked toward Raziel. “So that’s why you were livid.”

Raziel was rather moved by those words and replied sullenly, “The Truth Union produced no other Supreme-ranks besides me. I’ve always believed that if I were to erase my entire existence and become a shadow of the path, the Truth Union would find ways to improve themselves. “Who would’ve expected that because of the smooth starting point, its future would only go downhill.

“After all these years, I have personally witnessed the Truth Union slowly decline into a so-called ‘sect of reason’ by strictly following rules and customs.

“When new ideas were to pop up, the first thoughts would be to eliminate the outliers. As long as there is a possibility of the idea overpowering theirs, it would be removed.

“To be frank, all of you disappoint me to no end.

“Doesn’t Wilde, who is feuding with Secret Rite Tower, have the so-called ‘Bookworm’ with him? “Wasn’t he kicked out of the Truth Union because he experimented in human transmutation? But to me, he possesses great talent in alchemy, and achieving Destructive-rank wouldn’t be hard for him.

“And he is a true diamond in the rough.”

He turned to Andrew with a mocking grin on his face. “Heheh, even this ‘Clay Idol’ Project was pioneered by me. I believed that as the Vice-Chairman, you should be most aware of this fact.

“If I didn’t tamper with your minds, there definitely wouldn’t be any possibility of this project being executed. This was also a reminder of sorts; if you all aren’t even willing to bear the costs of trial and error, how could any of you possibly make a difference?”

Raziel was evidently heavily influenced by Andrew’s words to spill his heart out. In one breath, he vented all his thoughts that had smothered him during his extended stay in the Machine Loop.

Andrew, however, was noncommittal to Raziel’s point of view.

For the Truth Union to continue developing, their unrelenting and incessant methods to get whatever they wanted wasn’t up for discussion.

Perhaps things would get worse, but if extra care was paid to Raziel’s re-emergence, perhaps the Truth Union’s cohesion and strength could be maximized?

Now, thanks to the ‘pearl milk tea’ provided by the book cafe, more than half of the upper management were ‘Wisdom-Seekers.’ However, the loyalty of scholars in the lower rungs was still insufficient.

Though the most important factor was the staunch group of Maria’s supporters who were still unwavering.

But if these textbook-level scholars were to witness the resurrection of Raziel, the entire fiasco would probably scare those supporters to the core.

Andrew gave a silent laugh.

He cleared his throat, put on a guilt-ridden face, and said, “Indeed, we have all been derelicts, but I’m actually also dissatisfied with the current state of affairs and have been thinking of a reformation.”

“But?” asked Raziel.

“But I’m only the Vice-Chairman. Only the Chairman has the right to veto. Regardless of how beneficial the case is, it cannot come into fruition so long as she refuses. Moreover, there are plenty of scholars who only pretend to obey orders.”

Raziel scoffed. “No one can be the chairman for an eternity. Even if she could do so, l can make sure it doesn’t happen.”

A grin appeared on Andrew’s face.

This was the line he had been waiting for!

———

“Hey, are you also here for the banquet?”

Lin Jie looked up at the looming and extravagant construct and lamented at how the rich could spare such expenses. Upon hearing the question, he turned and was met with a freckled young man with blue eyes and blond hair beckoning to him.

He seemed of a similar age to Lin Jie with an expressive face and donning a crisp new black tuxedo along with a striped waistcoat. His pants weren't very fitting, appearing rather wide and loose on him. His black leather shoes were well-polished, but it was obvious they didn’t do much to keep out the cold; he was slightly shivering in the cold wind. Calluses could be observed on the hand he used to wave at Lin Jie.

“Indeed.” Lin Jie took out his invite and flashed it.

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