In that instant, only a single thought crossed Fang Yuan's mind.
—She can die now.
As the dagger shot from her attacker's hand aimed straight for her eye, she didn't retreat. Instead, her arm swung the shovel upward in a sharp block.
Clang—
A piercing, ear-splitting metallic crash exploded.
The dagger's blade struck the hard face of the shovel, scattering a shower of tiny sparks before ricocheting away.
Yet it didn't fall to the floor; instead, it eerily maintained its balance in midair.
Standing in the shadows of the living room, Meng Ying flicked her finger. The dagger flipped midair and lunged again, taking a treacherous trajectory that bypassed the front of the shovel and went straight for the side of Fang Yuan's neck.
“Jiang Qiehuo! Where's your phantasmic incense?! Put it on any random object! Get her to touch it, quick!”
Fang Yuan pivoted sideways, bringing the heavy head of the shovel down in a fluid chop.
Another clang— rang out.
The shovel knocked the dagger away, but after spinning half a turn in front of her, it hovered right back up.
Jiang Qiehuo replied, “I already used it! I told you back when you crawled under the bed that I put it on the exterior doorknob and the sofa!”
Jiang Qiehuo: “Can you be reliable for once and just kill her properly?! She has a 【Blessing】 that can break my illusions, so watch out!”
Meng Ying let out a cold sneer. Tracing several arcs in the air with her fingertips, she directed a relentless barrage from the dagger, striking from treacherous angles—above her head, under her ribs, around her ankles.
“Relax, Jiang Qiehuo. The God of War position will definitely be mine. Even if this Yuan girl can resurrect, it doesn't matter. I'll just keep killing her until she stays dead!”
Though she sounded confident, her eyes remained locked on Fang Yuan, who parried every strike with uncanny precision using her shovel.
She really is a skilled martial artist.
Yet she seems a bit held back.
Meng Ying's gaze landed on the ashes on the floor, and she found her answer.
Fang Yuan was dodging—deliberately avoiding the grayish-white area where the urn's contents had spilled out.
Meng Ying smiled. Hooking her index finger, she deliberately trapped Fang Yuan within that ash-covered zone.
Because of this, Fang Yuan had to twist her body at perilous angles several times just to avoid stepping on the ashes. The distraction earned her several bloody gashes on her arms.
“Jiang Qiehuo, I don't think we'll be needing your phantasmic incense after all. I've already figured out how to deal with her.”
Meng Ying crossed her arms, leaning casually against the wall in a completely relaxed posture.
She flicked her fingers through the air, the corners of her mouth curving up as she watched Fang Yuan struggle and suffer yet another cut.
Fang Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Her eyes swept over the ashes on the floor, then darted to the figure lurking in the distant shadows.
The next time the dagger whistled toward her throat, she didn't block it. Instead, she slammed the shovel hard into the floor.
Dashing to the side, she narrowly evaded the blade, letting her momentum carry her backward to clear the boundaries of the ash patch entirely.
Just as the dagger re-angled itself to thrust straight at her neck once more, she had already moved.
Using the leverage of her footwork, she kicked the middle of the wooden shovel handle with brutal force while dropping into a sharp squat. The dagger skimmed right past her scalp.
Launched into the air, the shovel tumbled forward with a furious howl, tearing through the hazy moonlight straight for the head in the shadows!
The smile froze on Meng Ying's face.
She tried to move, tried to recall her dagger to defend herself, but the shovel flew too fast, its trajectory too direct, its force too violent.
Thwack—
A muffled, squelching thud rang out, like a melon bursting open.
The heavy, hard metal edge of the shovel crashed down, cleaving straight into the side of Meng Ying's head.
The massive impact gave her no time to react, nor did she even feel pain. Her entire body was knocked backward, slamming hard against the floor. After a brief twitch of her limbs, she fell completely still.
The hovering dagger clattered to the floor the next second with a soft metallic sound.
Fang Yuan was already squatting down. Without giving a glance to the fresh, warm corpse, she lowered her head and carefully set the urn upright.
She silently gathered the ashes, painstakingly returning every grain into the urn.
Meng Ying was definitely dead from that strike.
Fang Yuan never doubted herself on that front.
Before being adopted by Grandma Fang Zhaoye, she had beaten all the stray dogs and vagrants in the area into submission with her bare fists.
They had even somehow given her the absurd nickname of "Dog King."
It wasn't until the moment Grandma Fang Zhaoye adopted her—when her weathered hand gently stroked her head—that the title was personally erased.
“I came back too late. Next time I dig up a grave, I'll move faster and waste less time admiring what I carve on tombstones.”
She muttered under her breath, her movements impossibly gentle.
“I didn't give the rest of the Inspectorate a hard time. I just gave Li Baiyuan a bath—a bath of fire.”
“I also saw that her tombstone had too few words, which seemed a bit pitiable, so I carved a few more lines. Words of care, so don't worry.”
“Oh, and as for the person who accidentally dropped you on the floor, she was just sleepy. I helped her go to sleep, that's all. No conflict at all.”
“The wounds on my arms... I just fell down by accident. Minor scratches. Luckily I'm wearing short sleeves, so I didn't dirty the clothes you gave me.”
She gently placed the final handful of ashes into the urn, bending over to inspect the floor meticulously.
“There's one more thing I forgot to tell you.”
“Grandma, I've been chosen as a God Candidate, too.”
Just like you fifty years ago, I became a God Candidate.
When you spoke to me about this, I saw the disdain for the gods in your eyes.
It was also from you that I learned the potential conditions for how gods select people.
God Candidates are not forced to participate in the 【God Selection】.
If a Candidate doesn't show up on the day the 【God Selection】 begins, the god will revoke their 【Blessing】, turning them back into an ordinary human.
You didn't go back then.
You said that humans are far more resilient and noble than gods, and that some people have kneeled at the feet of gods for so long that they no longer know how to stand up.
But I'm sorry, Grandma. I'm going to participate in the 【God Selection】.
Humans do not need gods, and gods should not exist here.
Only by becoming a god can one slay a god.
But rest assured, Grandma. I will wrap my true purpose in lies, never letting any human or god discover my actual thoughts.
Just like my 【Blessing】.
The tip of her tongue licked her dry lips, faintly revealing half of a golden mark.
It was a triangular sigil composed of a snake coiled around three masks—one crying, one laughing, and one solemn.
Along with the divine voice echoing in her mind.
“When seeing through someone else's shallow lies, do you ever feel the urge to tell a lie that is almost the absolute truth?”
【Lies Made Real】: Protection from the God of Deception! Question: Do you believe a lie can become a weapon? Answer: Of course it can. Why wouldn't it?
When a lie you tell is believed by half or more of the people present, it becomes truth. If you are the only one present, deceiving yourself is also a valid method! When the probability of a lie becoming true reaches 100%, that lie becomes reality! Deception will forever protect children who tell lies—so please, lie to your heart's content!
Rate on N.U.
