Accidents always catch people off guard.
Fang Zheng could swear that he never thought he would discover a brand new crystal top-up method in this place, in this way—oh no, I mean, crystal top-up method.
Come to think of it, it's no wonder. After coming to this world, Fang Zheng had basically given up on top-ups. The reason was simple. When he designed game frameworks, he naturally left room for top-ups, but it was also directly deducted through a certain treasure. After all, mobile games are just mobile games; the more convenient the top-up function, the better. Have you ever seen a mobile game that deliberately makes the top-up function incredibly complicated? They all wish the player could just click once without even entering a password to deduct the money!
But Fang Zheng was reborn in this world, which is different from time travel. He didn't even bring his phone, so how could he do a top-up? So he basically didn't care about the top-up content. But what Fang Zheng didn't expect was that the flowers he intentionally planted didn't bloom, while the willows he unintentionally planted thrived. He randomly touched a Soul Core and accidentally activated his crystal top-up system.
If he had known about this great opportunity, why would he have taken the risk to infiltrate the Sanctuary!
At this moment, Fang Zheng felt a bit regretful. If he had known Soul Cores could be used for top-ups, then why would he fear the Sanctuary's pursuit? He could simply plunge into the wilderness, slay hundreds of demon beasts, collect their crystal cores for frenzied top-ups, and draw a bounty of soulstones. Then he wouldn't fear anyone and could confront the Sanctuary head-on, ultimately becoming the Demon Lord... uh, better not.
Sadly, this thought only circled Fang Zheng's mind before he dismissed it. The Sanctuary was too powerful, and confronting them head-on was not a good idea. Moreover, Fang Zheng had no personal grudge against the Sanctuary. Although the Sanctuary had killed his body's parents, so what? According to Williams's memory, the owner of this body had committed many heinous acts such as live sacrifices. From Fang Zheng's perspective, given the evil deeds those two committed, they were lucky to be killed with one strike; they should have been tied to the stake and properly burned.
Therefore, Fang Zheng felt no emotional turmoil over the Sanctuary's actions. He even found it somewhat humorous. To risk everything to avenge those deranged cultists? He wasn't interested in such a losing proposition.
Thinking it over, maintaining a good relationship with the Sanctuary seemed the safer bet now.
"Thank you."
With these thoughts turning in his mind, Fang Zheng's expression did not change. He merely smiled and thanked Mart, then put away the Spirit Crystals. Seeing Fang Zheng's demeanor, Mart also nodded inwardly. As a Grand Knight, he had a good eye for people. In his view, Fang Zheng's high level of achievement and understanding of swordsmanship at such a young age was not easy. In fact, when Mart approached Fang Zheng, he was prepared for the possibility that Fang Zheng might be difficult to deal with. After all, no one is perfect, and highly talented individuals often have personality flaws. Mart had seen many such examples before, so he specifically asked Knight Conan about Fang Zheng before approaching him.
But to Mart's surprise, this young man in front of him was not only highly skilled but also very calm and composed in his interactions. He was neither humble nor arrogant, which was rare. A person's great strength could be attributed to extraordinary talent, as even a countryside farmer could gain dragon-like strength through a stroke of luck. However, one's behavior and speech were not so simple and required considerable cultivation, etiquette, and upbringing. These were the most crucial indicators of one's social status. While Mart inwardly admired Fang Zheng, he was also puzzled. As a Grand Knight directly under the Bishopric, Mart was very familiar with the nobility of the Kingdom of the Holy Church. But he had never heard of such a remarkable young figure. If there were indeed such a talented and steadfast young noble, they would have long been the subject of gossip at banquets.
Moreover, his name... was quite peculiar.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, are you a citizen of the Kingdom of the Holy Church? I don't recall ever seeing you before..."
"I am from the Silver Duchy."
Fang Zheng was certainly prepared to be asked about his origin. Ever since he became aware of his "Law Resonance," Fang Zheng had been contemplating how to address his background. Interestingly, Fang Zheng ultimately unearthed a piece of information from Williams's memories—Williams's father had once lived in the Silver Duchy for a while. This man was infamous for his promiscuity and had numerous affairs in the Silver Duchy. Being a cultist, he was utterly fearless, even openly conducting large-scale parties.
Many of the participants were offspring of the Silver Duchy's nobility. As a result, once the scandal broke, it aroused the ire of many nobles. Williams's father, of course, fled, leaving behind the women who had been seduced. Many were imprisoned or exiled by their families, with some even "disappearing."
After returning, Williams's father often boasted about his exploits, not only bragging about seducing many noble women but also teaching his son that "as a cultist, corrupting morality and ethics is exhilarating."
This showed just how twisted these cultists' values were.
For Fang Zheng, however, this was an unexpected boon.
After being reborn into this world and taking on the identity and body that led to his doom, Fang Zheng constantly pondered how to distinguish himself from Williams.
Now, he finally had a good plan.
Fang Zheng had always had a vague idea of claiming an identity from the Silver Nation, but as time passed, the idea became more concrete. For Fang Zheng, there were two essential problems to solve in this world: first, why did he look so much like Williams? Fate seemed to be playing a joke on him; Williams's appearance resembled Fang Zheng's by about seventy to eighty percent, making the face familiar to Fang Zheng.
Maybe it was because they looked so similar that he ended up in Williams's troublesome body?
The second problem was Fang Zheng's body's blood relations. From Williams's memory, Fang Zheng knew that the magical civilization in this world was highly advanced, even capable of determining relationships through bloodline. If anyone grew suspicious of Fang Zheng's appearance, he would inevitably face scrutiny and have to explain his origin and relationship to the Williams Family.
Therefore, leveraging the past of Williams's father, Fang Zheng drafted a story.
According to this fabricated background, Fang Zheng was from the Silver Duchy, the son of a prominent lady exiled because of Williams's father. He knew nothing of his origins and had grown up dependent on his mother. Recently his mother passed away due to illness, prompting Fang Zheng to bring their remaining possessions to the Kingdom of the Holy Church.
This background story neatly addressed both major questions. Being Williams's half-brother explained their resemblance and blood relation.
Of course, some might still object to this identity, but Fang Zheng didn't care. His main concern was being labeled as a cultist. His goal was to sever all ties to Williams, even if they were half-brothers. As long as he wasn't a cultist or on the Sanctuary's wanted list, that was enough.
Other concerns were secondary.
Fang Zheng did not explain all this to Mart. According to his "story," Fang Zheng himself was unclear about his background. He merely exchanged a few brief words based on his fabricated background. Upon learning that Fang Zheng came from the Silver Duchy, Mart nodded thoughtfully and didn't press further, but instead began discussing the next steps with Fang Zheng.
Fang Zheng felt quite helpless about this. According to the original plan, he and Shi Dong were supposed to find Lady M, unite with the Templars, and leave. Now that they'd located the Templars, Shi Dong and Lady M were nowhere to be found. Without Lady M's Path of the Stars, they were trapped in the enclosed Shadow Canyon.
Before them lay two options: either find Shi Dong and Lady M to use the Path of the Stars for teleportation or escape on foot just as they had entered.
Unexpectedly, Mart proposed a third option.
"Continue forward?"
Hearing Mart's suggestion, Fang Zheng frowned.
"Isn't that very dangerous?"
"Indeed it is, Mr. Fang Zheng, but we can't just leave,"
Mart responded seriously, nodding as he explained.
"Though we were ambushed by the Lich in Shadow Canyon, we did not come away empty-handed. While we still can't confirm if this Lich is the one we're seeking, we have discovered one thing—it is here in Shadow Canyon for a purpose! It seems to be performing some dark and blasphemous ritual within the canyon!"
"What?"
Fang Zheng was startled.
"A dark ritual?"
"Yes, it ambushed us because it wanted to use our Templar Knights' blood and souls for the ceremony! We've already lost many comrades, so it may have collected enough. We must stop its nefarious plan before the ritual completes!"