Chapter 762 — Suddenly Turning Back, That Person Was There... Holy Crap?

The moment the words left his mouth, the old mage himself felt it improper. He believed he should not have so presumptuously reminded a powerful "Outlander wanderer" to mind his safety, and he added: "I have overstepped, my lord. I should not have doubted you..."

"Pay it no mind," Gao Ji interrupted Daniel. "Let us set out, before those Luminary Elders grow suspicious of you."

Daniel said nothing more. He merely bowed to Gao Yang, and then the light and shadow around the two of them abruptly shuddered and shattered soundlessly.

Brilliant sunlight spilled over him, and in the blink of an eye Gao Yang was standing in that Phantom Pivot City, in a grand, imposing circular plaza ringed by a hundred ornamental columns, its edges strewn with golden fallen leaves.

Only a few people stood in the plaza, not far away, and Gao Yang quickly spotted the woman in a white gown, her smile gentle and serene, a lantern in her hand. She stood directly facing Gao Song's position, and that face was exactly the Selena Gale of his memory.

The lantern in her hand was clearly a "copy" created within the dream world—the original, after all, was now in Gao Yang's possession, and had already been dismantled into parts by Rebecca and her crew.

But in this world sustained by the power of the mind, copies and originals served much the same purpose.

Beside Selena Gale stood a rather tall, slender man with a refined air, dressed in a scholar's robe and wearing a monocle.

Judging by their bearing and where they stood, that had to be another Luminary of the Long Night.

Daniel stood facing the two of them, in the middle of discussing some matter with them.

Gao Yang glanced to his side and saw that Daniel, who had been standing beside him moments before, had vanished without a trace. Clearly, his "information" had already reintegrated with the "avatar" before Selena's eyes, and not a soul had noticed the process.

Apart from the three of the Obscure Trinity Order, three more figures stood nearby in standard-issue black robes, owl masks covering their faces. Those would be the Long Night's special operatives—the sort who answered directly to the Mystic Pole Order or the Pontiff, tasked exclusively with confidential affairs.

High-grade tools, not worth much attention.

Gao Yang checked his own condition, then strode forward with a swagger.

Every person on the plaza remained unmoved, as though they had all instinctively overlooked the intruder's arrival.

Gao Yang could not help but let a faint smile surface on his face.

Back when he had only just infiltrated the mind, he would never have dared act with such boldness as he did today. After all, at that time he had held only the privileges of a high-ranking adherent, and his understanding and control of this place had been limited indeed—so much so that at the sight of Selena Gehlfen's avatar, he had worried whether he might be identified. But today was not as it once had been.

The mind now had a perfected address-identification technology—designed by him.

It had a more efficient identity-signature expression technology—also designed by him.

And the newest "stealth" exploit, thousands upon thousands of camouflage springboards, the concealed data ports... still designed by him.

And so he walked openly to Daniel's side, listened to their conversation, and casually regarded the unfamiliar, mild-mannered male Luminary of the Long Night.

At once a light screen invisible to all others surfaced above the latter's head, displaying crisp letters:

Yuri, Luminary of the Long Night, male, high-tier peak.

Current location: Typhon—Sutini Province—Halentan River Valley.

This man was called "Yuri," was he...

Gao Yang swept his gaze over the Long Night Luminary named Yuri twice, feeling a touch of emotion.

A pity he was not bald, and there were no tubes jutting from the back of his head.

Of course, in the real world he might well be tubed—or he might well be bald.

Gao Yang mocked and teased in the privacy of his own mind, but soon he reined in his somewhat wandering thoughts with a sense of blandness. These memes from Earth, he could only voice to himself within his own head.

And while listening to Daniel and Elder You discuss the details of the operation, he turned his gaze upon the other Long Night priests as well. Words likewise surfaced above their heads, though some were detailed and some brief.

At last, his gaze drifted casually over Selena Gehlfen.

At first he paid her little mind, for he already knew this "Holy Maiden of Dreams." Though he did not know how she, like Beiyila, had lived to this day, he at least knew well the true identity of Selena Gehlfen.

But the instant the words rose above her head, Gao Yang's gaze abruptly froze.

Selena Gehlfen, Luminary of the Long Night (deceased), female, soul-form.

Current location: Ansu/Correction/Cecil Empire—Southern Marches.