"You sit here... It's my honor that you could come to listen!"
As Wei Qingqiu said, this lecturer of "Research on Mysterious Societies and Secret Cults" was extremely respectful, as if he were the lecturer and Chen Xiang was the assistant.
Chen Xiang smiled as he sat in the chair, feeling a bit emotional. Theoretical research truly was a thankless task; in this world, strength was still paramount.
At this moment, the students had all taken their seats, many casting curious glances at Chen Xiang, recognizing him.
"Hey, isn't that the warrior Chen from last Friday? Remember, he was the one who touched the black flame in the Mystic Arts class!"
"How could I forget this warrior? By the way, what's he doing here?"
"But it seems this warrior Chen has good luck; he didn't suffer any consequences, that was a black flame after all..."
Amid the chatter, the lecturer of the secret cult class cleared his throat twice, his expression serious:
"Silence!"
The noise gradually faded.
"In the last class, we introduced the Nine Great Deities. We mentioned that only the great can establish a sect, and today we will talk about the oldest, most terrifying, and most mysterious secret cult in the world!"
The students perked up, and Chen Xiang also listened intently.
The lecturer's face showed a clear sign of fear as he softly said:
"The name of this society, I believe many of you have heard of it, is..."
"The Old Council."
As these four words fell, the entire classroom fell silent; some students who had heard the name couldn't help but swallow hard. The lecturer nervously pulled out some exorcism silver powder and sprinkled it around, as if fearing his lecture would attract the attention of mysterious entities...
In Chen Xiang's astonished gaze, the lecturer sprinkled a hefty amount of silver powder, then wiped the sweat from his forehead and nervously continued:
"The Old Council, its founding era is unknown, its leaders are unknown, and it is jointly listed by the Great City and Nine Nations as the number one terrorist organization in the world!"
Chen Xiang's eyelids twitched—terrorist organization??
The lecturer took a breath and continued:
"The structure of The Old Council is not yet clear, but it is certain that its highest tier consists of 'Councilors.' It is said that there are nine Councilors, one of whom also serves as 'Chairman.' There are uncertain reports that each Councilor's true identity is a figure at the pinnacle of the world..."
At this point, a student couldn't help but ask:
"Teacher Zhu, what exactly is The Old Council?"
Teacher Zhu paused for a moment before answering:
"Before discussing The Old Council, we must mention our Great City. You should know the first step of the Extraordinary Secret Path, right?"
"We do!" the students replied in unison.
Teacher Zhu nodded, gradually getting into the flow, and the tension eased a bit:
"The first step of the Extraordinary Secret Path is to choose the path, selecting from the Nine Great Deities. If one is not accepted by any great deity, they become forsaken by the gods... Being forsaken does not mean the path is cut off!"
A proud look appeared on his face:
"The main reason our Great City can stand alongside the Nine Nations is that we have a tenth path beyond the Nine Great Deities, and all of this is thanks to the 'Titan of Death!'"
Chen Xiang listened attentively, his expression extremely solemn.
Titan of Death.
This was not the first time he had heard this term, and according to Li Dongyun, a Titan was a so-called 'Elder Ruler!'
Teacher Zhu continued:
"The divine body of the Titan of Death resides in our Great City, which is also the reason for Great City's greatness..."
"Outer Gods, also known as Great Ones, and although the Titan of Death is also a Great One, he is not an Outer God; to be precise, He is an Elder Ruler."
"Some students may wonder what Elder Rulers are. This brings us to a mysterious rumor."
"The rumor says that countless ages ago, the masters of the universe were not the current gods but the Great Titans. Later, the Great Titans' position was replaced by nine great deities from another universe. These deities from the outer universe are the Outer Gods, who are the rulers of this era, while the Titans naturally became the Elder Rulers..."
Teacher Zhu sneered:
"In short, according to The Old Council's description, the so-called 'Above the Old Days,' 'The Greatest' 'Creator Titan' once dominated the Three Pillars of God, the Nine Outer Gods, and the Nine Elder Rulers, ha..."
Teacher Zhu's voice suddenly rose:
"However!"
"However, this rumor is merely the rhetoric of The Old Council. The Old Council claims they worship the Nine Elder Rulers and that they want to overthrow the Outer Gods and restore the glory of the old days!"
The entire classroom fell silent; everyone listened quietly, including Chen Xiang.
Teacher Zhu smiled at this moment:
"But a thousand years ago, this argument that The Old Council claimed had already become a complete joke... Does anyone know why?"
Students looked at each other, and no one spoke, until Wei Qingqiu suddenly said:
"Because a thousand years ago, the Titan of Death issued a divine decree stating that The Old Council is erroneous, false, and evil. The Elder Rulers they worshiped personally refuted them."
Chen Xiang's eyes widened— the Titan of Death, the Elder Rulers that The Old Council mentioned, personally refuted their doctrines?
"Exactly!"
Lecturer Zhu praised loudly:
"Thus, how ridiculous The Old Council's aims are, directly refuted by the great Titan of Death! Studies indicate that the members of The Old Council are merely a group of ambitious people—terrifyingly powerful ambition!"
"They have woven lies about the Elder Rulers based on the existence of the Titan of Death. They claim there is another being above the Elder Rulers, the 'Greatest,' whom they call the Creator Titan, a pillar of reality. But the issue is..."
Zhu shrugged:
"The issue is that on the eve of the Divine Calendar, the bones of the gods fell to Earth, their remains slumbering in the ground, while the souls of the gods reside in the spiritual realm, such as our Great City's Titan of Death and the Abyss Lord 'Dancer' from Donghong Kingdom."
"And when the people of this world questioned The Old Council about the whereabouts of the other eight Elder Rulers and the so-called 'Greatest'..."
Zhu shook his head:
"The Old Council claimed that the bodies of the eight Elder Rulers and the Greatest were banished to the outer universe, to the subspace... Ridiculous! Lies!"
His passion grew, and after taking a deep breath, he waved his hand:
"Although The Old Council was established based on a lie, we cannot deny their power and terror. From the eastern Donghong Kingdom to the far northern Winter Kingdom, even in our Great City, their traces are hidden..."
"The Elder Councilors are said to possess the power to confront true gods, holding vast resources and dark influence, but that doesn't change the fact that they are merely an ambitious organization!"
Chen Xiang listened quietly, his mind racing as he tried to piece everything together.
The numbers didn't add up.
Even if The Old Council proclaimed it to be true, the dwarfs in his dreams still numbered only seven, not eight.
So, the dwarfs were not the Elder Rulers... right?
He sighed lightly, already having a rough answer in his mind.
Lecturer Zhu continued to elaborate on the terrifying deeds of The Old Council and introduced some other mysterious societies, but due to time constraints, he had to wrap it up without conducting a mysterious experiment.
After class,
Lecturer Zhu walked over to Chen Xiang, wearing a respectful smile:
"Assistant Chen, after listening to my lecture, do you have any guidance? I will definitely improve on any shortcomings..."
Chen Xiang, awakened from his contemplation, smiled and waved his hand:
"You did very well, Teacher Zhu. I was just curious about The Old Council, so I came to audit the class..."
After some polite small talk and farewells, as Chen Xiang was about to leave, he seemed to remember something and casually asked:
"By the way, Teacher Zhu."
Zhu paused, turning back respectfully:
"Please, go ahead."
"You don't need to be so formal... Speaking of which, does The Old Council have a specific name for that 'Greatest' they mentioned?"
"You've come to the right person!"
Lecturer Zhu said cheerfully:
"Others may not know, but I've specialized in The Old Council's studies. I was even invited by the Secret Investigation Bureau to consult on issues related to The Old Council!"
He proudly puffed out his chest:
"By the way, The Old Council indeed gave that so-called 'Greatest' a name."
Chen Xiang, seeing Wei Qingqiu waiting for him outside, casually asked:
"What is it called?"
Zhu replied obediently:
"It's called Emperor Titan."