Chapter 292: Connecting Two Worlds

Su Mu gave a brief account of his recent experience in the Nightmare World. He didn't hide much—there was no point. King Chi's avatar, Su Qing, had lived through it alongside him, and he had nothing shameful to hide anyway.

After listening, Sikong Zhen and the others looked shocked, as if they were listening to pure fantasy.

"The nightmare you went to actually had a hundred thousand people? And gods?"

"It's normal for gods to exist in the Nightmare World. How many people have worshipped gods since ancient times? It's perfectly natural for believers in reality to dream of them. What I find strange is that the Nightmare World actually has so many divine believers that they've even formed various sects," Sikong Zhen said in astonishment.

"And the Pope of the Primal Divine Cult is actually powerful enough to defeat the former King?" He was highly skeptical, leaning toward the idea that those zealots were just bragging; it was far more likely that the Pope had led countless believers to besiege the former King.

"By the way, Su Mu, why did those Primal Cultists call you a divine envoy? Did you really see the Primal Angel?"

Su Mu gave a brief explanation of the matter regarding the Primal Divine Statue. He omitted any mention of Divinity, claiming instead that he had passed the statue's test and received a divine blessing. In the Real World, no one understood gods better than he did anyway—whatever he said was the truth.

He didn't mind revealing a few of his trump cards because he had far too many. Armed with four types of Divinity and that special dreamscape, exposing a fraction of his power would allow him to extract more benefits from the Chiyan Empire.

Perhaps when the time came, he—the Head of the Seven Deadly Sins—would become the heaven-supporting white jade pillar, sea-bridging purple gold beam of the Chiyan Empire.

After the intelligence was shared, Sikong Zhen immediately made a promise. "Su Mu, I will truthfully report everything your squad has done for the Empire to Her Majesty King Chi. Rest assured, by bringing back intelligence on the former King this time, Her Majesty will definitely not mistreat you. Take this time to rest and recuperate. We'll discuss further arrangements after I make my report."

...

...

Chiyan Imperial Palace.

"To think the Nightmare World actually holds such secrets," Dongfang Yuan said in shock.

Sitting upon her throne, King Chi was uncharacteristically not eating potato chips. A grave expression filled her breathtakingly beautiful face. "The Nightmare World does hold many secrets, but the most important matter right now is the Supreme Heaven. According to the Primal Divine Cult, the Supreme Heaven should be lost in the Abyss."

Gongsun Quan pondered by her side. "The dangers of the Abyss remain unknown, but the best candidate to search for the Supreme Heaven is likely none other than Su Mu. He has been blessed by a god, and the Primal Cultists revere him as a divine envoy. This is an advantage no one else can match.

"Even if any nightmare apostles who join later are stronger, it's impossible for them to rally such a massive force in the Nightmare World like he did.

"Your Majesty, your avatar has had a great deal of contact with Su Mu. Do you believe this man can be trusted?"

King Chi blinked, carefully recalling all her interactions with Su Mu. That unhurried demeanor, unflinching in the face of danger... He always looked as though victory was already in his grasp, remaining composed even when confronting a god...

When everyone was severely injured, he was the one who stepped forward, shielding them all as he faced the Twisted Bishop and the divine statue alone...

As she thought about it, King Chi's attention began to drift. She suddenly felt that if there was any man in this world worthy of her, it was probably Su Mu.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty!"

King Chi let out a startled sound, a fleeting trace of panic in her eyes. "He... he is a very capable person. Although he is sometimes arrogant, capable people are all like that. He should be trustworthy."

Arrogant?

This sensitive word caused Gongsun Quan to frown slightly.

"Your Majesty, since that is the case, I propose we ennoble Su Mu as a noble and grant him the title of Viscount. Furthermore, the surviving nightmare apostles from this expedition should also be ennobled with the title of Baron," Dongfang Yuan suggested.

"Hold on," Gongsun Quan interrupted. "A Viscount is inappropriate. It is somewhat too low."

"I also think it's somewhat low," King Chi said, feeling a bit guilty.

Dongfang Yuan looked over. "Making an exception to promote a Silver 1 transcendent to Viscount already breaks imperial precedent."

Gongsun Quan shook his head. "Lord Dongfang, you are forgetting one thing. Su Mu is not an ordinary transcendent; he is a nightmare apostle. Nightmare apostles do not live long. Even if we give him the highest of peerages, it ultimately won't affect anything.

"Moreover, now is the exact time for buying a horse's bones for a thousand gold pieces. Once the news that the nightmare apostles were nearly wiped out spreads, will any future nightmare apostles dare to come? Without them, is Su Mu supposed to explore the Abyss alone?

"Therefore, if we are to ennoble him, we should aim high. Your Majesty, I propose granting Su Mu the rank of Count and announcing it nationwide. Let the nightmare apostles across the entire country see that the Empire is never stingy with its rewards for those who serve it!"

"Very well, grant him the title of Count," King Chi said with finality.

...

...

General Law Enforcement Bureau.

Su Mu was in his room, experimenting with his new abilities.

He focused his gaze on the water cup on his desk. The next moment, the air around the cup distorted invisibly.

Whoosh!

The water cup vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

Subsequently, his own figure also disappeared into thin air as he entered the dreamscape.

This time, he had entered the dream directly without falling asleep.

The dreamscape was now a void of absolute nothingness. Only the water cup hovered quietly, perfectly motionless.

He picked up the cup and muttered to himself, "The dreamscape is becoming more and more like a real world."

Ever since he devoured the Twisted Divinity, the dreamscape had grown increasingly real. Now, rather than calling it a dream, it was more accurate to describe it as a special space independent of the outside world.

He could store people or objects inside this space, and he could even enter it directly himself without needing to dream.

That wasn't even the biggest change. The biggest change was that the dreamscape could actually connect to the Nightmare World. Originally, no matter how much his dream expanded, it only extended within the Real World. But now, with just a thought, the dreamscape could pierce through the Real World and enter the Nightmare World.

In other words, he could enter the Nightmare World at any time. It could even be said that he controlled the passage between the two worlds.

In his perception, the Real World and the Nightmare World were like the upper and lower floors of an apartment building. The two sides were a single entity, separated only by an intermediate wall.

And he could knock a hole in that wall whenever he pleased.

Aside from the changes to the dreamscape, he had also mastered the abilities brought by the Twisted Divinity—Twisted Thoughts and Twisted Space!

Twisted Thoughts and his Illusion Technique were simply a match made in heaven. By combining the two, he could even create an effect similar to a mental stamp, thoroughly and permanently altering a person's thoughts.

It was no longer like hypnosis, which might revert if not reinforced after a period of time.

For example, he could turn an enemy into a servant, or turn a man into a woman. This referred only to the psychological level, of course; physiological changes were impossible.

He could make a man believe from the bottom of his heart that he was a woman.

As for Twisted Space, that was even easier to understand. It allowed for teleportation just like the Twisted Bishop, or warping the space around an enemy to crush them entirely.