Chapter 291 243: Li Kang: Ah Zhu, Sowing Discord is Useless... Fuck, They're Really Fighting?

In that instant, the Two-headed Scale Person froze.

He stared at Chu Bamboo, disbelief and a flicker of ecstatic joy appearing in his eyes. His lips moved, clearly wanting to say something, but no words came out.

"...Is it because of your Divine Technique?" Chu Bamboo turned his gaze back to the Fifth Apostle. "The person whose identity you stole can't even say who they are?"

'This explained something I couldn't understand before. I had considered two possibilities. The first was that Lao Hu was the Fifth Apostle's real name, since the previous switch was a simple usurpation of Huo Qiming's identity. But knowing a real name could lead to the Big Orange Cat showing up... Based on that, I came up with a second theory: the name belonged to the Bishop, and the Fifth Apostle had temporarily stolen it along with his identity. It seems the second theory is the correct one!'

A deathly silence fell.

Huo Qiming's gaze was sharp, darting between the Two-headed Scale Person and Fifth as a storm raged in his heart. He had, of course, understood the implication of Chu Bamboo's words, but his first reaction was to wonder if he had misheard.

'How could something like this happen... This is just... Chu Bamboo must be spouting non...'

'No! That reaction from the Two-headed Scale Person... and that reaction from the Fifth Apostle...'

The realization dawned on Huo Qiming, and he stared at Chu Bamboo's back in utter disbelief.

'Did you actually get it right? How could you know...? It couldn't be...'

Li Kang was truly sweating buckets now. Countless instances of Chu Bamboo's strange, prophetic foresight flashed through his mind... Captain Yang, standing beside him with a face full of admiration, probably thought this was all part of Chu Bamboo's strategy...

But he, on the other hand, was starting to have his own suspicions...

'Are you for real?!'

You could only say that the better you knew Chu Bamboo, the more you suspected he might actually be telling the plain truth.

'Great, just great. So our teammate is the enemy's final boss? What kind of twisted plot is this...'

'The only thing I can be thankful for is that this guy still seems to be on our side. For now. What if this is one of those situations where we fight to the bitter end, and only Chu Bamboo still has any strength left? We'd all be waiting, full of hope, for him to finish off the enemy... only for him to reveal that he's the real final boss...'

Li Kang shook his head, trying to dispel the chaotic thoughts. 'Damn, I've almost been brainwashed by those novels my daughter reads!'

Eleven, too, sank into thought, his gaze fixed on Fifth.

"...A glimpse of the Omniscience Domain." Fifth sighed suddenly, flexing his wrist. "I always thought that was just a joke. But now, I'm starting to believe it... You might really be the so-called Saint."

"?" Confusion flickered across Eleven's face.

"Eleven," Chu Bamboo said abruptly. He had keenly spotted an opening in Fifth's composure. On his way over, he had considered many possibilities and formulated various plans. The current situation was exactly one of the scenarios he had predicted...

"Is the Fifth Apostle's real identity *truly* the Fifth Apostle? Is it possible he actually usurped that identity?" Chu Bamboo asked, his question striking at the core of the matter. Yes, Fifth's Divine Technique was terrifyingly powerful. But once its nature was exposed... it would destroy all trust between people.

'In other words... even his own teammates are bound to have a sliver of doubt! If I don't press the issue now, it might just plant a seed of suspicion. But if I detonate that seed with precision...'

Chu Bamboo's voice was calm and measured. "Look at what he said earlier. He seems... completely indifferent to the All-Powerful and All-Knowing God. You can't sense even a hint of reverence for his God in his words."

Chu Bamboo tilted his head, his gaze calm as he looked at Eleven. "I may not be the Lord just yet, but... I am telling you, he is a blasphemer. How will you now conduct yourself?"

"And for that matter... do you really think he's sincere about completing the ritual?"

Chu Bamboo spread his arms, his tone growing impassioned. "So do you understand why I said what I said earlier? You've had it all wrong from the start! How do you know that this matter, for me, is about truly becoming the Lord, and not some conspiracy? I'm the one who grasps omniscience. Don't you think I would know what's best for me? Eleven!"

"..." Li Kang opened his mouth, then closed it. 'This attempt to sow discord is so clumsy, isn't it? Even an idiot wouldn't... Huh?!'

Li Kang watched in disbelief as Eleven waved a hand. Instantly, the monsters that had been working diligently paused, their faces turning savage as they lunged toward the Fifth Apostle.

'Fuck! You actually believed him... No, wait, even if you did, shouldn't you team up with the Fifth Apostle to get rid of us first? What the hell is this, starting a civil war?!'

Huo Qiming was speechless.

Shock flickered across Captain Yang's face as well. Then, he looked over at Chu Bamboo, his expression filled with admiration, as if to say, 'As expected of Mr. Zhu.'

Chu Bamboo wasn't surprised at all. 'Like I've said, I understand Eleven pretty well. He's a pure, crazed fanatic! You can't apply normal logic to his thought process...'

'In fact, I also have some understanding of Fifth... He's also one of the people I've met in the past! It's just... I don't know him that well!'

"Why make things so difficult?" Fifth sounded exasperated, crossing his arms over his chest. "Eleven, oh Eleven, for now, at least, I truly am trying... to bring about the Lord's return!"

He didn't defend himself.

In that instant, countless attacks pierced his body. Blood gushed out...

'?' Chu Bamboo's pupils constricted. 'Is he finished? But how is that possible...?'

And then...

Floating in the sky, Eleven's eyes shot wide open. He raised a trembling hand to his mouth and coughed violently, blood spilling uncontrollably from between his fingers.

Simultaneously, from the hem of Eleven's clothes, drops of crimson blood began to fall to the earth below.

The scene fell silent for the space of several breaths.

"...What Divine Technique is this?" Huo Qiming stared intently at the scene, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Death substitution? Or something else?"

Chu Bamboo was silent, a profound terror gripping him. 'From usurping an identity to completely transferring injuries to someone else... is there any logical connection between these two abilities?'

'What on earth is this Divine Technique? Or are there two of them? No, or maybe he has a Spiritual Artifact? But I didn't see him use any Artifact...'

'But if it really is just a single Divine Technique... then what exactly is it...?'

'A conceptual Divine Technique: Transfer? The transfer of identity? The transfer of injuries? Or perhaps a substitute... turning others into one's own substitute... or maybe...'

'One possibility after another flashed through my mind. I'm almost starting to hate that I watched so much anime, so many movies and TV shows in the Real World. I'm thinking of too many possibilities, and it's starting to confuse me...'

"Calm down!" Chu Bamboo spoke, noticing that his teammates' composure was wavering. His voice was steady, his gaze sharp as he continued slowly.

"I don't believe his Divine Technique is so invincible that he can transfer injuries to anyone at will! I'm more inclined to believe it requires some kind of ritual or medium. The reason he can transfer his injuries to Eleven now is because he's already completed the ritual with him in the past... In other words, right here and now, he can *only* transfer his injuries to Eleven..."