Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3266: Chapter 3267: Everything House

The same Changhuo Clan, yet starkly different forms emerge, one as a matchstick, the other as a living human form.

Angel couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of the world.

After this small episode, they were almost at the center of Cloud Soil, shrouded in mist, where the enormous exhibition stage could already be seen in the distance.

From afar, the shape of the platform resembled a giant triangular peak, entirely crafted from crystal shell, vaguely visible amid the fog.

Nearby, various racial temporary zones began to appear.

The so-called temporary zones were akin to temporary outposts of various races, but even smaller.

In these temporary zones were not only personnel about to ascend the exhibition stage but also street vendors with their stalls and client interaction areas for visitors to engage in communication.

However, the main function of the temporary zones was seating.

It wasn’t just anyone who could approach the exhibition stage; to view the exhibition up close, one must have a seat in a temporary zone.

Therefore, the area surrounding the exhibition stage was mostly filled with elites from various races, as random visitors wouldn’t come to this level to join the excitement because they might not obtain a seat.

As for how seats in the temporary zones were sorted, according to the Crystal Eye Clan’s official statement, they were randomly arranged. But the real situation is... Weaker races were positioned mostly on the outer perimeter. The nearer the temporary zone was to the exhibition stage, the stronger the race.

Races like the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom, no matter if just a few Mirror Dragons came, their occupied temporary zone was still nearest the exhibition stage and largest in area.

Angel and the others, although officially, were supposed to have a temporary zone. After all, the exhibition catalog featured a ”Dream Mirror” page representing them, and any race with a display page necessarily had a temporary zone.

But the sorting of temporary zones had been arranged several days ago; they were forcibly inserted into the list by Pika Sage, making it impossible to arrange a temporary zone for them on short notice.

So, if they wanted to view the exhibition stage closely, they could only ”crash” in other races’ temporary zones.

For them, this wasn’t actually difficult.

With Glaipnir’s connections, they could ”crash” into any temporary zone they wanted, even those of the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom.

However, since Gutalace was with them, there was no need to ”crash” into other races’ temporary zones.

”The Divine Eye Tribe’s temporary zone is further inside, closer to the exhibition stage. I’ll take you there,” Gutalace volunteered.

The group didn’t decline, nodding as they followed Gutalace forward.

Along the way, not only was Angel observing the situation of other temporary zones, but he was also secretly sensing Sipolov’s location.

To Angel’s surprise, the direction Gutalace led them happened to coincide with Sipolov’s coordinates.

Perhaps having noticed Angel’s confusion, Gutalace explained, ”The Yingji Clan’s temporary zone isn’t far from the Divine Eye Tribe’s, with only Cross All Things House in between, so from a broader perspective, they align.”

Angel nodded; even without Gutalace explaining, he had guessed the reason. After all, with no Dragon Scale activated, Sipolov couldn’t sense him and wouldn’t actively search for him, so Sipolov must still be at the Yingji Clan’s temporary zone. Since the direction they were heading matched Sipolov’s location, it seemed the two temporary zones were indeed close.

The facts proved it was indeed the case.

As Angel focused on the position of the Yingji Clan’s temporary zone, Laplace suddenly murmured softly beside him, ”...Cross All Things House?”

Laplace’s muttering wasn’t within the Mind Ribbon, but Angel happened to be walking beside her and heard her self-talk.

”What’s wrong? Is there something off about this Cross All Things House?”

Angel curiously looked at Laplace.

Laplace shook her head, ”Nothing, just suddenly thought of a dog.”

A dog? Angel’s expression paused, completely unprepared for Laplace to offer such a peculiar answer.

Not only was Angel puzzled, but Gutalace walking at the front was also curious, looking back. Based on her knowledge, there indeed was a remarkable dog in Cross All Things House; could this dog have some connection with Laplace?

Gutalace was curious and wanted to ask, but considering Laplace’s identity, she remained silent, only signaling Glaipnir with her eyes, trying to get an answer from Glaipnir.

However, although Glaipnir received the ”signal” from Gutalace, she completely ignored it.

No matter how good her relationship with Gutalace was, she never actively brought up topics related to Laplace; discussing the main body as a Temporal Body was also a form of insolence.

Though Gutalace didn’t get an answer from Glaipnir, Angel became her mouthpiece, taking the initiative to ask Laplace about the ”dog”.

”Dog?” Angel looked at Laplace in surprise, ”Is it the kind of dog I’m thinking of?”

Laplace glanced at the cat ears on Angel’s head, casually saying, ”If you’re thinking of the dog from the cat-and-dog pair, then yes.”

Angel silently nodded. He was indeed thinking of domestic pet dogs; it was just a question, but why stare at his cat ears...

Angel complained internally but outwardly acted indifferent, continuing to ask, ”What connection does Cross All Things House have with a dog? Are there only dogs there? Dog Clan?”

Laplace shook her head, ”I don’t know much about Cross All Things House, just aware there’s a dog inside.”

Not knowing much about Cross All Things House yet knowing about a dog within it? This confused Angel greatly, ”Is this dog special?”

Laplace: ”Perhaps it is; after enduring the wear of the Sea Eye, it can retain the most important memories in its soul. Though it’s just a dog, it’s beyond anything I’ve seen.”

Enduring the Sea Eye? Retaining memories? Angel immediately reacted, ”Are you saying that the dog emerged from the Sea Eye of the Sea of Void Mirror? Like the Star Servant, originating from the Pan-Dimensional Plane?”

Laplace nodded, ”Yes, three hundred years ago, it was washed out of the Sea Eye, and I fished it out of the Sea of Void Mirror.”

As soon as Laplace finished speaking, Gutalace’s eyes widened beside them, ”The Dog Deacon actually went through the Sea Eye of the Sea of Void Mirror? Was its talent activated at that time?”

Dog Deacon? Talent? Activated? Angel looked at Gutalace, eyes filled with confusion. What strange combinations are these?

”Dog Deacon?” Laplace softly repeated the name, ”I remember it used to be called... Meatball. Dog Deacon, is that its current name?”

Gutalace shook her head, ”No, no. Dog Deacon is just its position, or rather, title in Cross All Things House. Its real name seems to have never been revealed...”

Perhaps sensing that Angel and Laplace were not well-versed with the Cross All Things House, Gutalace took it upon herself to explain.

”The Cross All Things House has risen suddenly over the last few hundred years, and the individuals... life forms within it seem to have mysterious origins, unlike native Mirror Domain creatures. However, their prowess is impressive, especially in intelligence gathering, even surpassing the Mirror Sea Scholars.”

Cross All Things House is neither a race nor a conventional organization; it’s more akin to a unique shop gathering various special talents.

As its name suggests, the primary function of this ”shop” is to handle all matters.

They can manage trivial affairs and grand schemes alike.

Simply shouting slogans doesn’t convey the reality behind it, which is why the Cross All Things House has often been underestimated.

Initially, Gutalace didn’t pay much heed to the slogans of the Cross All Things House until she experienced an incident firsthand.

The incident itself was quite small.

To put it simply, she learned that her descendent enjoys play and laziness, thus commissioned the Cross All Things House to write an ”Individual Cultivation Summary of an Eye of the Whirlpool” for her.

Gutalace happened to read the ”ghostwritten” cultivation summary, which wasn’t particularly excellent but rather aligned with the current state of the Divine Eye Tribe youngster’s cultivation, even conveying a sense of youthful innocence.

Had she not known it was ghostwritten, this summary would not have raised any suspicion.

Of course, Gutalace didn’t mind the ghostwriting aspect; it was merely an anecdote for her daily conversations. She was more surprised by the Cross All Things House’s conscientious approach to task execution.

This small matter didn’t hold much of Gutalace’s attention until shortly after, when a significant event related to the Cross All Things House erupted.

An avenger expelled by the Luren Kingdom invested all they had to commission the Cross All Things House, hoping to erase the brutal Luren royalty completely.

The Ghost Steward of the House took on this commission and within just three days overturned the Luren royal regime.

While the Luren Kingdom was not strong in the Daylight Mirror Domain, similar to Charles Palace, as a peripheral entity, there were many powerful figures within the Luren Kingdom. Moreover, the royal family and the wealthy class were colluding, having connections with Everstanding King City.

In such circumstances, accomplishing the overthrow was notably challenging.

Yet, the House completed the commission flawlessly.

Most surprising to Gutalace was that the timeline of completing this commission coincided with the completion of the ghostwritten cultivation summary.

One task was trivial, another one was the overthrow of a royal power.

The juxtaposition of these commissions left Gutalace with a strong sense of contrast.

The meticulous completion of both significant and insignificant tasks intrigued Gutalace about the true nature of the Cross All Things House.

Gutalace began gathering information on the Cross All Things House consciously and unconsciously, and with more information before her, her attitude towards the House gradually changed.

Initially indifferent, she became increasingly respectful.

”So far, as long as the Cross All Things House accepts a commission, they fulfill it without fail. They have handled many big events, interacting with leaders of various races, and even establishing cooperation for commissions with the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom.”

At this gathering, the Cross All Things House’s presence as a ”shop” beside the Divine Eye Tribe’s temporary zone, extremely near the display booth, exemplified their substantial influence.

After offering a general overview of the Cross All Things House, Gutalace shared some insights into the House’s internal members.

The Cross All Things House seems to have its own member ranking system, although Gutalace herself doesn’t know the specifics.

All she knows is that above ordinary members are stewards.

The House currently has six stewards, but three of them have never shown themselves, not even their names, only their plaques on the House’s task wall representing their existence.

The three stewards known are: Human Steward, Ghost Steward, and Dog Steward.

”To my knowledge, all three stewards possess extremely special talents. However, the only known talent belongs to the Dog Steward... it can see through hearts.”

”This heart-seeing talent seems to target all Mirror Domain creatures. Any non-mystic-related concealment is ineffective, even a Mirror Dragon cannot avoid being seen through.”

”And this Dog Steward, being a non-Mirror Domain creature, yet possessing a talent targeting Mirror Domain creatures, previously puzzled me. But now I seem to understand.”

”If the dog you both mentioned is indeed the Dog Steward of the Cross All Things House, then its talent likely stems from the Mirror Domain Will’s gift as it traversed the Sea Eye.”

Gutalace is so sure because such cases are not isolated.

Since the Ancient Tooth Fairy could ”fish” within the Sea of Void Mirror, many Empty-hearted People were hauled ashore. Among them, a few who crossed through the Sea Eye, despite their memories and abilities being washed away, gained varying degrees of Mirror Domain talent.

And these Empty-hearted People, many of whom are not Mirror Domain creatures, could acquire Mirror Domain talent.

This unusual phenomenon is referred to as ”Mirror Domain Will’s gift.”

Their talents weren’t self-acquired but were exchanged from the Mirror Domain Will by sacrificing everything, explaining why external creatures can gain Mirror Domain talent.

The Dog Steward, as an external creature, possesses such near-rule-like talent. Gutalace couldn’t fathom it earlier, but learning that the Dog Steward had traversed the Sea Eye, she understood.

She even began speculating that the unique abilities of the other stewards of the House might also be Mirror Domain talents.

If that were the case, wouldn’t the House be a gathering place for the Empty-hearted People from the Sea Eye?

Gutalace’s thoughts scattered further; she felt nearly on the cusp of unraveling the House’s secret, when Angel’s voice pulled her back from her reverie.

”Why is the prefix of the House called ’Cross’? What does this Cross signify?”

Gutalace shrugged: ”I don’t know, perhaps Cross is a specific term or the House’s owner behind the scenes?”

Angel nodded, didn’t pay much mind, and turned to Laplace.

In Angel’s view, merely fetching a dog shouldn’t warrant persistent memory, perhaps there’s more story behind this dog?

Upon Angel’s inquiry, Laplace paused briefly, then gently nodded: ”In some sense, Meatball... counts as my Temporal Body.”