Chapter 378: Above the White Mist, Seven Deadly Sins Meeting

Three days later.

Su Mu was eating breakfast in the manor. He had finished sorting through the Pope's memories, deleting all the useless clutter that had nothing to do with transcendent knowledge.

His loyal butler stood beside him, reporting on the changes that had swept through the Chiyan Empire over the last three days.

Through Su Mu's steady expansion in the Imperial Capital, his intelligence network now blanketed the entire city. Since the capital served as the information hub for the whole Chiyan Empire, not a single event—no matter how large or small—could escape his notice if he wished to know about it.

"Leader, these are the domestic developments following the dawn of the new era. Please take a look." The butler respectfully handed over a few pages of intelligence.

Su Mu flipped through the pages as he ate.

A long while later, he picked up a crisp white napkin and dabbed his mouth.

"Human nature is always so amusing," he said with a smile.

The intelligence gathered over the past three days could be summed up in a single sentence: the Royal Family was taking active measures, publicizing the Transcendent Path, opening the national treasury, and distributing Transcendent Potions, while the nobles were lining their own pockets through speculation and sending commoners to die on the front lines.

"The nobles grow more rotten by the day. Faced with an apocalyptic crisis, they care only for their own clans' interests. They exploit national disasters for profit, hoard the most resources while deploying the fewest troops, and even send their youth abroad to the strongest nation, the Longyuan Empire. Not bad. It perfectly matches my stereotype of a noble.

"This definitely isn't limited to the Chiyan Empire, either. The nobles of the other major empires are mostly up to the exact same schemes."

Su Mu silently pushed up his Tinted Glasses, deciding to teach the nobles a lesson. They didn't want to go to the front lines? They only wanted to sit in the rear and reap the benefits? Simple. He would just turn the rear into the front lines.

Sending their youth abroad? Transferring their wealth? The journey was a long one. It would be perfectly reasonable for a few accidents to happen along the way.

With that thought, a plan formed in his mind. The fate of the world concerned everyone. If some people wanted to hide in peace during these chaotic times, clutching their wealth and glory while sending others to die, it wouldn't be that easy.

"Since I'm heading to the front lines soon, it's inconvenient to handle this myself. It's the perfect job to hand over to the Seven Deadly Sins."

Thinking of the members of the Seven Deadly Sins, he could roughly guess their recent state of mind. Each of them had received his favors before joining the organization, and their natures weren't inherently bad. Now that they suddenly discovered their leader was a world-destroying archfiend, they probably harbored thoughts of rebellion.

...

...

Inside the Bronze Coffin Company.

Sitting in a daze at her desk, Nangong Mengli suddenly noticed the light around her violently twisting and distorting.

She jolted in alarm and drew the Mithril Dagger she carried. But in the mere second it took to pull the weapon, her surroundings transformed completely.

Pervasive white mist filled her vision—blurry, hazy, and stretching out without end.

"This is..." Nangong Mengli scanned her surroundings in shock, realizing she was standing atop a sea of clouds formed entirely of white mist.

The white mist flowed silently like water, completely bare.

Under her gaze, however, the white mist abruptly and soundlessly surged. Towering stone pillars tore out of the mist, followed by a vast dome that settled over them, engraved with countless profound, dark gold patterns.

This sudden structure was impossibly magnificent, grand, and majestic, like the legendary Summit Immortal Palace.

Directly beneath the dome, a massive dark gold table slowly materialized. Seven high-backed chairs were arranged around it. The backs of the chairs were a deep, subdued crimson, and inlaid directly into the center of each was a lifelike Silver-White Mask!

Pride, Wrath, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust! The Seven Deadly Sins!

"Is that you?" Seeing the Silver-White Masks, Nangong Mengli's tense body relaxed slightly. She looked toward the chair bearing the Pride Mask.

As she watched, countless illusory threads of light intertwined, finally weaving together into an elegant figure in a tailcoat.

"Please sit," Su Mu's voice echoed from beneath the Silver-White Mask.

Nangong Mengli shot Su Mu a deep look. Burdened with complex emotions, she walked over to the seat representing Envy and sat down.

The moment she sat down, she felt a sudden chill on her face. She raised a hand to touch it, only to discover an ice-cold mask resting there. Feeling the familiar smiling visage carved into the material, she knew... this was Envy.

She looked down at herself. Her original clothes had transformed into the standard tailcoat uniform unique to the Seven Deadly Sins, slimly tailored to make her figure look tall and upright.

"Where... is this place?" her cold voice rang out from behind the Silver-White Mask.

Su Mu smiled slightly. "This is the headquarters of the Seven Deadly Sins. Though given our current notoriety, you could also call it our lair."

Pfft.

Nangong Mengli let out an involuntary laugh. She realized Su Mu was just as humorous as he'd always been, acting as though nothing had ever changed.

But the moment she remembered what he had actually done, her smile slowly vanished.

Seemingly sensing her shift in mood, Su Mu offered a gentle smile. "I know you have many questions. Don't rush; I'll explain everything once everyone has arrived."

As his words fell, the light hovering over the high-backed chairs around the dark gold table began to warp and twist, slowly resolving into a variety of different figures.

They were all dressed in identical tailcoats, their faces hidden behind Silver-White Masks.

Sitting in the seat of Lust, Jun Wushang scanned his surroundings in utter shock. Seeing the familiar masks, he clearly grasped the situation, shifting his gaze to Pride at the head of the table.

Duanmu Qing, seated in the chair of Sloth, reacted much the same way.

As for Wrath and Greed, they were merely phantoms.

Seated in the position of Gluttony was Yan Wu, the man whose consciousness Su Mu had erased, reducing him to a puppet who wielded two permanent growth-type abilities: the Life and Death Arena and the Dark Annihilation Soul Devourer.

Having Yan Wu join the Seven Deadly Sins was a calculated move on Su Mu's part. First, Yan Wu was absolutely under his control. Second, Yan Wu possessed the most powerful growth-type Law currently known. As long as he continuously engaged in duels and slaughtered enemies, his physical constitution and mental strength would permanently scale up, granting him limitless potential.

"Everyone, please be patient. Once we are all gathered, you will receive your answers."

Su Mu snapped his fingers. Just beyond the dark gold table, light intertwined as a man wearing a tailcoat and the Number One Mask slowly materialized.

It was Lin Canyang, the chief probationary member of the Seven Deadly Sins. Because he was merely a probationer, he wasn't granted a seat and could only stand off to the side to attend the meeting.

His sudden appearance left Lin Canyang pale with shock. A ferocious, murderous aura subconsciously surged from his body, radiating the intense, terrifying pressure unique to a Gold powerhouse.

However, the moment he registered the seven figures in tailcoats, and all seven Silver-White Masks simultaneously turned to stare at him, the psychological pressure reached an absolute peak.

Startled, he hurriedly withdrew his murderous aura. In this day and age, who hadn't heard of the Seven Deadly Sins' infamous reputation? As a probationary member, Lin Canyang knew it better than anyone. Under the combined gaze of these seven, this mighty Gold powerhouse looked as sheepish as a grade-schooler facing his teacher.

Everyone knew that all the official members of the Seven Deadly Sins were Silvers, while the sole Gold powerhouse was only a probationer.

And right now, that Gold probationer was thoroughly intimidated by the Silvers.