***Edited by Kronost***

An early morning fog engulfed Beland.

The heavy rain that lasted for several days finally stopped. The dampness mixed with the smell of soil wafted through the air.

Shen Yi, who laid on the bed, opened his eyes to the relatively familiar ceiling and sat up from the bed.

Everything that happened yesterday: the cult, summoning, fire, was like a fantastic dream.

But he knew best in his heart that what happened these days was real.

“It’s a new day and a new beginning. I hope there is no new call.” Shen Yi sighed, not knowing when the next summoning would be.

Nolan was a foggy country, especially the capital Beland, which is called the ‘Fog Capital’ by people around the world for its alternate bouts of fog and rain.

Standing at the door, Shen Yi shook his head. Today’s fog is too heavy, the business won’t be good today.

“But whether business is good or bad, it is no longer an important issue.”

He brought a black-covered book with golden stripes around the corners. It looked a little old on the outside and was even older on the inside.

Shen Yi spent money to entrust a student at Beland Imperial College to help him borrow the book from the library.

“The Origin of the Gods Beyond the World”

Knowledge was often more important than strength.

Having no guests in the morning, Shen Yi sat down in his familiar position and began to read the book.

First of all, he had to look up the records about the ‘Lord of Ashes.’

It didn’t take a lot of effort. After a short while, he found a name on the section list: Lord of Ashes.

“Page 233.”

The content of ‘Lord of Ashes’ was at the back of the book. After turning some pages he found it.

“Lord of Ashes, God of the World! The sun has split, and the Lord of the Ashes is its wound.”

“He has a body like a python, flame-like skin, wings formed by black flames, emitting endless flames to burn everything into ashes.”

“His presence causes all kinds of natural disasters, and his nature will be to give food as a reward to his believers, especially a ‘Cup’.”

“The sun has been divided, and the Lord of Ashes does not forget the taste of light. When the glow dimmed, and the woodland turned dusty, the Lord of Ashes may be able to rest, but stop at the moment when he can devour himself.”

“His representative time is midnight, and the number is zero. He is a God who often sleeps in the extraterrestrial world and has little interest in the mortal world compared to some of the more positive outside gods.”

If ordinary people saw the above words, they would just think that the author was writing gibberish. But Shen Yi believed what is said here is true. However, the introduction to the Lord of Ashes was limited, and some things were hard to understand.

He began to explore the knowledge of other extraterrestrial gods.

Regarding the “Mist of White Shore”, “Colorless City”, “Spirit of Ancient”, “Dream of Void”, “Ruler of Chaos”.

Shen Yi looked at the book for a while and felt that the contents of the book were not very useful, and the introductions to the gods were mostly vague.

He sighed and closed the book he had borrowed with difficulty. He took out another object from the back room.

A mask almost pure white, with a black tear pattern just below the right eye.

This was sacrificed to him by a cultist and was supposed to be an extraordinary magical effect, but Shen Yi tried many times and found that it was no different from an ordinary mask.

“Maybe I haven’t thought of the right posture yet?” Shen Yi shook his head. He had no idea for now.

Whether the knowledge of mystics or the development of sacrificial supernatural effects, Shen Yi had not achieved good results.

“It’s the only thing that’s progressed.”

Shen Yi stretched out his hand and made a gesture of exerting force outward, and the white flame flew out automatically.

After a lot of practice, the white flame had become easier to control than it was at first.

Shen Yi closed his eyes and began to control the force. The white flame instantly turned into a human form, a flame warrior with armor and a sword in his hand.

Shen Yi’s will changed again, and the flame warrior instantly exploded into a feather of fire in the sky. It then turned into a huge white fist in mid-air.

He shook his head, his face full of unwillingness: “What a pity, it’s not lethal at all.”

Shen Yi had been practicing the manipulation of flame in the cafe. He experimented with it with the small white rabbit and was convinced that the white flame really could not cause damage, and there was no temperature and solidity.

This extraordinary force was more like magic than a flame.

After his last summon, this white flame became bigger, the initial half size of the villa now extended to the whole villa.

But Shen Yi generally does not make it to such an exaggerated level. Just to not attract attention.

“From what I can gather, each summoning will allow me to progress in the relevant ability. But unfortunately, the flame has been devoid of lethal force so far.”

The white flame in the air deformed wantonly. Shen Yi looked up at it and had a feeling that he did not hate iron as steel // hatred in his heart that iron was not steel.

(*** to hate iron for not becoming steel -> to feel resentful towards sb for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement)

Nevertheless, it is more of an illusion than a flame. Was it destined to be a bluff?

That’s not the case with normal people crossing. So why was his combat power still about half a goose after his own crossing.

Shen Yi shook his head and took the White Flame back into his hand.

He got up to open the door of the café, took off the “closed” sign, and decided to open the cafe.

He hadn’t opened for a few days.

Unfortunately, his extraordinary power couldn’t make him money. He has to find a way to earn money to eat.

Standing outside the door, Shen Yi cleaned the water stains.

“Unfortunately, there is no way to ask the cult members for money. In my impression, anyone who can run a cult organization is not poor.”

If he asks for money from the cult, he will immediately “break the rules”, perhaps fast forward to being tortured.

Shen Yi knew this well, and he had to rely on himself to maintain his character.

After cleaning the water he returned to the back of the café.

Not far away.

A middle-aged man who just closed his umbrella was walking towards the cafe.

Wearing a black suit, he was upright, and his eyes were not squinched. His aristocratic pace was steady and vigorous.

He stopped at the entrance of the cafe.

‘It is the breath of the Lord of ashes.’

A look of surprise flashed across his face as he looked at the young man in the store.

‘A member of the Chaos Embers Order? No, his aura is stronger and denser than those of the believers, and it doesn’t even seem to be left by humans.’

The middle-aged man became interested. He stepped into the coffee shop and sat in a more secluded position.

He smiled softly, and his tone was calm.

“Mr. over there, please bring me a cup of black coffee.”