Lord of Prayer - Chapter 225 - 166: Lord Steward (3)

Chapter 225: Chapter 166: Lord Steward (3)

“Hmph.”

Zhou Chen snorted coldly, retracting the rampaging Soul-Burning Flame. He crossed his legs and looked down at her with a condescending gaze. “I’ll give you credit for having some spine. You didn’t expose your identity as an Eternal Flame Cultist.”

Clearly, Julie Eva’s earlier claim about being a member of the Paradise of Bliss was just a disguise. She wanted Zhou Chen to lower his guard so she could ambush him with the seemingly unrelated Chaos Fire.

“Y-yes…” Julie Eva’s head was splitting, her mind feeling like it had been scrambled into mush. She could only respond subserviently.

She was utterly shocked. ’Zhou Chen is actually a Steward of the Eternal Fire!’

That Holy Fire Ring was a symbol of power and status within the Eternal Fire!

Zhou Chen caressed the Holy Fire Ring on his hand. He had long since used a wish to permanently transform the Holy Fire Ring into a “King of Chaos’s Favored Simulator.” All he had to do was input some Essence to activate it, and it would instantly turn him into a Divine Favored of the King of Chaos.

He always carried this thing with him just in case—specifically, in case he ever ran into Abyssal Cultists. His identity as an Eternal Fire Steward would make it easier to trick people.

He never expected to use it in a situation like this.

“L-Lord, what do you need me to do?”

The chains binding Julie Eva had already loosened. She knelt on the floor, her forehead pressed against the cold ground, trembling.

“When did you join the Eternal Fire?” Zhou Chen asked indifferently. He was imitating Jiang Che’s chillingly emotionless tone, which was enough to make one’s blood run cold.

“Two years ago. N-no, but I’m just an ordinary cultist. The holy fire was given to me by another Steward for self-defense in a crisis,” Julie answered honestly.

“What’s that Steward’s name? What’s his codename?”

Julie hesitated. A Steward’s identity must not be revealed; that was an ironclad rule within every Abyss Church. But the man before her was also a Steward, and the evil aura emanating from him felt even more… authentic.

“You should be very familiar with him. That Steward is Lü Qiang. His codename is ’Viper’.”

’Lü Qiang?’

Zhou Chen was stunned. ’Lü Qiang is an Eternal Fire Steward?’

’I’ve stumbled right into a big fish!’

“I see,” he replied in a low voice. “You can probably tell that I’m not a local Steward from Hong City.”

“Y-yes.”

“I’m just passing through Hong City and resting here for a few days. I didn’t intend to make contact with the Eternal Fire, but I never thought you’d turn out to be a follower of our Lord… Where does your charm come from?” Zhou Chen demanded.

“It’s a magical potion that Lord Viper spent a long time creating. Drinking it enhances one’s charm. My actual Extraordinary Ability is to adjust my body weight at will, which is why my figure is so good…” Julie explained everything.

’An Alchemy Potion that enhances charm? It must be a Charm Potion…’ Outwardly, Zhou Chen said coldly, “Get up. Pull yourself together.”

Julie didn’t dare to delay for a second, scrambling to her feet to compose herself.

Zhou Chen flicked his finger, sending a pale flame into Julie’s body. He warned her faintly, “Don’t tell anyone you met me, not even ’Viper.’ My movements cannot be exposed. This flame will remain with you for a month before dissipating on its own. During that time, if you dare to breathe a single word about me, you will experience torment even more painful than what you just felt.”

“Yes…” Julie agreed, trembling. “Lord, is there anything else?”

Zhou Chen nodded. “Do you know members of any other Churches? I’ve heard Hong City’s underworld has been quite active lately. I want to see what they’re up to. Or, do you have any leads?”

“I only know one member of the Paradise of Bliss. H-he’s my regular f*ck buddy. I don’t know anyone else. As for what you mentioned, Lord, I haven’t heard anything about it…” Julie then voluntarily gave him the information on the Paradise of Bliss member.

After noting the information, Zhou Chen waved his hand dismissively. “You can go now. Make it look convincing.”

“Yes. Goodbye, Lord.”

Julie breathed a sigh of relief internally, instantly swapping her expression for a displeased one as she pushed the door open and left.

Zhou Chen shifted into a more comfortable position and began to scheme.

’I thought Julie was a Cultist from the Joyful Holy Sect, but it turns out she’s an Eternal Flame Cultist. Good thing I’ve been carrying the Holy Fire Ring… Lü Qiang is an Eternal Fire Steward. I’ll have to try and get in touch with him to squeeze out some intel…’

’It’s a shame I still don’t have any leads on the Crimson Sect, but now that I’ve made contact with an Eternal Fire Steward in Hong City, I can’t be too far from the Crimson Sect…’

「Outside the private room.」

Antonio was sitting in a booth drinking with Li Xiangyang. When he saw Julie walk out of the private room, he froze for a moment, his face a picture of astonishment.

“Why are you out already?”

Julie scowled. “He wasn’t interested in me.”

The luxurious private room was fitted with a soundproofing Matrix and a shielding Matrix, so no one outside knew what had just happened. Julie’s acting was superb, so Antonio saw her expression and didn’t suspect a thing. He averted his gaze. “What a pity. You didn’t make him angry, did you?”

“No. We just chatted for a bit. He wasn’t interested in me, so he told me to leave… Am I that uncharismatic?”

“Well, nothing to be done about it then. You can head back first,” Antonio said helplessly. He was also baffled. ’To turn down a world-class actress like her… is there something wrong with Zhou Chen’s head?’

Julie left in a huff.

A short while later, Zhou Chen walked out of the room and saw Antonio and Li Xiangyang in the booth, but Li Xiye was nowhere to be seen.

“She went back to the car,” said Li Xiangyang.

Zhou Chen nodded, said a brief goodbye, and left.

「Parking lot.」

Li Xiye was sitting in the passenger seat, furiously ruffling the husky’s head, though it was unclear what she was angry about.

“Awooo…” The husky panted with a silly grin, a low growl rumbling in its throat. You couldn’t tell at all that this was a dog capable of drifting a car.

Suddenly, the rear door opened. Li Xiye’s movements froze. She turned her head to see Zhou Chen getting in and was so stunned that she blurted out without thinking:

“That was fast?”

Zhou Chen raised an eyebrow. “Do you hear yourself right now?”

“N-no, no, that’s not… that’s not it…” Li Xiye’s face burned as she stammered, trying to explain.

“I just talked with her for a bit and asked about some intel.”

Zhou Chen said, poking the husky. “Hey, doggo, there aren’t many cars out this late at night. Think you can floor it? I’ve got something I need to take care of.”

“WOOF!” The husky let out a loud bark, shook its head to throw off Li Xiye’s hand, pulled out the seatbelt and buckled up, then started the car’s engine. The series of actions was as smooth as flowing water, utterly cool.

“WOOF!”

It barked again, full of anticipation and excitement for the wild ride to come.