Hey, is this all you're relying on? Wasn't it supposed to be so inaccessible to mortals? How did I get in so easily? Did you buy a fake artifact?

Wu Yu's吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to roast or criticize) spirit was burning fiercely, but he knew that he couldn't reveal that he was also completely unaware of the current situation, so all his words could only be reduced to a whisper.

"Hmph." Wu Yu raised his head slightly, looking at the bearded man with a disdainful and mocking gaze. He was now a perfect example of looking down on people.

The bearded man was indeed stunned by Wu Yu. He knew very well that the artifact in his hand was definitely genuine. Otherwise, that old geezer Dean would have come knocking on his door long ago, and he wouldn't be able to rest here so calmly.

Despite the bearded man's impressive display of power with his artifact, he doesn't really understand such high-end things. Until today, he had never had access to such treasures. He only acquired the Eternal Heaven this morning, and its functions were explained to him by the leader himself. As for the underlying principles, he knew nothing about them.

But he understood the power of the artifact. The leader had said that once the energy shield was opened, no mortals outside could enter, so there could be no exceptions.

The definition of mortals here refers to everyone below the level of gods. Even those at the eighth-tier epic level are still within the scope of mortals.

The only way for mortals to enter is to deplete the energy within the Eternal Kingdom.

The artifact possesses absolute power; the rules it generates cannot be changed. However, it still needs energy to maintain its working state.

But the semi-transparent energy shield is still standing there intact, which means that the Eternal Kingdom is still in operation.

There are only two possibilities in this situation.

The first possibility is that the seemingly harmless man in front of you is a deity walking among humans.

However, the bearded man ruled out this possibility outright. Since the beginning of recorded history, gods have never appeared before the world. It is only because gods occasionally bestow divine grace through other means that people can confirm the existence of gods.

As a mid-to-upper-level member of the Outer Gods Alliance, Big Beard was quite aware of the shady dealings within some religions. Humans couldn't even hear the sacred words of the gods, and the scriptures of various religions were all fabricated by religious figures based on their own imaginations.

So, although everyone is doing things under the banner of God, the Outer God Alliance has always been at odds with those religions.

As for the remaining possibility, the bearded man could accept it; otherwise, it would be completely inexplicable why he was still alive and standing there.

Only authority can counter authority; simply put, if everyone uses cheat codes, it's the same as if no one uses cheat codes.

The man before them must be carrying a divine artifact, and it must be an exceptionally powerful one, for only in this way could he disregard the rules derived from the authority of the God of Light.

The bearded man was a polite person. After subduing Phillis, he sat opposite her, keeping the greatest possible distance. But now he couldn't sit still any longer. He silently stood up and stood next to Phillis, trying to use the hostage to intimidate Wu Yu.

Wu Yu was also bothered by the bearded man's little tricks. He stood aside and watched the whole time, since he couldn't stop the other party with his own strength. If he wanted to use the power of the system to release the skill, it wouldn't matter where the other party stood.

With a simple wave of the hand, spacetime is sealed off. No matter how fast you are, you cannot escape the fate of being suppressed by a counterattack.

“Brother, now that I’m here, it means we’ve established the prerequisite for communication. Do you want to talk?” Wu Yu said politely.

"What do you want to talk about?" the bearded man asked warily, because the leader had already explained all the possible scenarios, which was why Wu Yu's unexpected appearance surprised him so much.

"It's simple. Tell me exactly what you want in order to let Princess Phillis go." Wu Yu smiled, revealing what he considered to be his most friendly smile.

“There’s no way I’ll let her go.” The bearded man refused without even thinking, but then, as if afraid Wu Yu would get angry, he quickly added, “But don’t worry, I will absolutely not hurt her.”

"Then why did you tie her up? Were you looking for death?" Wu Yu laughed, feeling that the other party seemed to be underestimating his intelligence.

"No, actually we're just a gang of bandits. This time, we're kidnapping students from this academy to demand ransom. The reason we kidnapped the princess is just to intimidate the emperor and prevent him from fighting us to the death. Once we receive the ransom, we'll release her naturally. After all, no one wants to completely offend a country." The bearded man tried to reduce Wu Yu's hostility.

"What you said makes a lot of sense, but why should I believe what you say?" Wu Yu rubbed his nose, looking completely unconvinced.

"Then what do you want to do?" the bearded man asked in return.

"Release Philliss, and I'll guarantee your safe departure from the academy." Wu Yu began his usual tactic of getting something for nothing, but he felt no guilt about it, because he preferred to call it a tactic rather than a despicable deception.

“Alright.” The bearded man nodded and then said, “However, I cannot entrust my life to you based solely on your word. I have a soul contract here. If you are willing to sign your name on it, that person will agree to your request.”

"I promise you." But Wu Yu didn't say the last part: "If those big shots don't agree, there's nothing I can do."

The bearded man took out a parchment scroll from his storage ring and carefully walked towards Wu Yu's location.

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