Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 1571: Chapter 1566: Workshop (Part 3)

Blind Eye Association?

If I recall correctly, this design somewhat resembles the insignia on that brother’s gold shield, representing the TP.

As someone who even briefly equipped it, Fu Qian is still confident about this.

The heritage of the Association?

The problem is that compared to those Underground Ruins, this building’s age differs quite a bit.

A handiwork of the Association’s heirs?

This possibility is much greater.

From the previous exploration team, it can be seen that the Sage Old Master, who inherited part of the Association’s legacy, should have established a secret organization through Ice and the others to restore past glory.

And those few seem to be quite wealthy, so it’s not too strange for the orthodox heritage of the Blind Eye Association to leave traces in some places.

Now, the question is, could this be a recruiting event for the Blind Eye Association?

Feeling the key in his hand, Fu Qian continued to walk towards the depths of the building, refining the various patterns hidden in a special way.

...

He already checked the time on the way here, and it can be basically confirmed to be after that exploration.

And finally, when the Holy Grail was successfully contained in the Bell Tower Hall within the Underground Ruins, the Sage Old Master should have had his hands cut off by the Pure White Angel, and although not dead, the situation was indeed dire.

Besides, Ice and the other two were still waiting outside and did not come in.

The ultimate fate of the team is hard to say.

The key he received, and even the workshop mentioned in the note, whether their will is inside is not easy to determine in the current situation.

But it is obvious that there is a substantial possibility of the will of the organization behind them.

Just saying, is it true that middle schoolers save the world?

In the darkness, Fu Qian looked with a momentary arrogant gaze.

Last time, we already opened the ”true eye” with our own hands, and then had a fated encounter with the Holy Grail, and now, surprisingly, with a different identity, received what seems to be the Association’s summon.

Karmic cycles are indeed wonderful beyond words.

Although the number is not too high, it feels like this task may offer the chance to encounter more ancient secrets.

For a moment, Fu Qian did not regret taking a two or three-hour bus ride here to respond to Fate’s Call.

And his next actions undoubtedly demonstrated this firm resolve.

The windows were small and almost all sealed, resulting in scant lighting amidst the pitch-black, offering limited illumination.

Yet this seemingly ordinary middle schooler walked up along the building without a hint of retreat.

...

Turns out it’s not just for decorative purposes.

In the darkness, when Fu Qian stopped again, he was in a turret.

Below clusters of three small windows, neon lights shining from afar were reflected onto another wall by a Standing Mirror, creating an especially eerie contrast.

Yet in the area dimly lit by the colored light, Fu Qian easily identified another pattern trace.

Belonging to a design on Lady Ice’s Amazon Warrior-style breastplate.

This is not even the first time seeing it; all the way here, including the glove he wore at that time, most of the patterns on the various ”Golden Sacred Garments” had been found.

However, among these chaotic discoveries, the pattern belonging to Lady Ice was the first to exhibit relatively obvious regularity.

They weren’t placed randomly but were here serving some sort of guidance.

For instance, right before him.

Stepping forward, Fu Qian’s hand traced the pattern gently as before, assessing its directional changes.

A few breaths later, he sidestepped a few steps and opened a brown cupboard embedded in the wall.

Inside, it was naturally empty, but Fu Qian was hardly disappointed, for he soon felt along the less noticeable hidden pattern compared to the door to the corner.

With some force in his hand the next moment, a secret compartment visually difficult to detect opened, revealing a keyhole, appearing to be a perfect match for the key he held.

...

Turns out mere exhaustive search won’t work.

Apart from all visible locks, there are also invisible ones.

This design intrigued Fu Qian for a moment.

This rather sizable building seemed to have quite a few places at first glance where the key might fit.

Trial and error without guidance is evidently a rather tedious affair.

But it’s just that if one has enough patience, from start to finish, trying every conceivable place the key can fit, it looks like one might eventually find the ”workshop” entrance.

In such cases, it doesn’t seem much of a talent test.

Not to mention many room doors were simply open.

Reality finally proved that such a dogged solution might not yield results—the real lock was hidden.

Handling it that way, probably only ends in ordered perseverance, realizing it was a prank, ordinary self becomes ever more plain, and miracles no longer believed in.

Only by extracting the special elements from the myriad chaotic lines, and following the guidance, can those hidden things be found.

But now another question arises, what is the purpose of such an arrangement?

Trials, screening—problems these world-saving students often face, do sound rather familiar.

Even the arrangement can be considered exquisite; those who came passionately yet did not pass the test would naturally view it as a prank, with less worry about secrecy issues.

But the key point is, what exactly is this arrangement testing?

Since what is awaited is the power of the Hunting Deity, why does entering the ”workshop” seem to need some sort of Transcendent aptitude?

At first glance, the whole process of his operation does seem to have transcendent factors.

For recognizing certain patterns related to Blind Eye Association knowledge, finding clues, and eventually seeking all the way to the result.

Yet the premise of this transcendent meaning is his past experience in the Underground Ruins.

When placing into the current ordinary middle school student identity, this test seems merely about discovering certain special patterns from the complex and indistinguishable chaos.

Hard to imagine how this correlates directly with hunting Divine Beings.

Various reflections flashed in Fu Qian’s mind without delaying his actions.

The light click of the mechanism was particularly noticeable amidst the quiet, allowing professional Fu Qian to determine he had found the correct keyhole by sound alone.

Click!

Regrettably, alongside the soft turn, the resulting open lock didn’t reveal a Dark Gate leading to some mysterious place.

Instead, it revealed a secret compartment scarcely larger than the initial small box, with a similar interior scene.

The next moment, Fu Qian’s fingers reached inside, drawing out a heavy gold coin, and another paper note wrapped around it.