"Archbishop!"
The two Silver Beast Tamers, still shaken, looked at him with surprise and joy.
They hadn't expected a savior to arrive at such a critical moment, and one of the organization's top enforcers at that.
The black-robed figure merely glanced at them and said nothing further.
His gaze fell upon Chen Shu, and he taunted, "I didn't expect that no one would actually be protecting you. Isn't China afraid of losing such a talent?"
"Protecting me?"
Chen Shu smiled slightly and replied, "Does your brother, the fierce bandit, need protection to come and go as he pleases?"
"You speak of coming and going as you please in front of me?"
The black-robed man let out a scoff. "This Rain Domain is my territory now. Even a Legend would need some time to break in. Can you escape?"
"Is that so?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, remaining utterly calm, showing no hint of panic.
"Your rabbit's Divine Skill is useless."
Jealousy flickered in the black-robed man's eyes, and he said with annoyance, "To think a spatial Divine Skill fell into your hands, and you can't even utilize a tenth of its power. It's truly a waste of a treasure."
According to the Church's plan, that spatial Divine Skill was supposed to be his, but Chen Shu had snatched it away.
This was one of the reasons he had decided to intervene.
"No, you're worthy of a Divine Skill?"
Chen Shu taunted, while simultaneously trying to have the Spatial Rabbit unleash a spatial mark.
In an instant, the Spatial Rabbit vanished, successfully teleporting to the edge of the Rain Domain, but it could no longer take another step out.
The next second, it immediately reappeared beside Chen Shu.
"Well? Do you have anything else to say?"
The black-robed man curved his lips, having not made a move from beginning to end, as if he had Chen Shu completely cornered.
Chen Shu wasn't flustered. If the Divine Skill was ineffective, he still had system potions, which were of considerably high priority.
His eyes darted around as he spoke, "As a spatial Beast Tamer, why are you working for a criminal organization?"
"..."
The black-robed man chuckled softly, offering no reply.
"Why don't you join me instead? I'll pay you a salary of one hundred King-tier Beast Taming Pearls every month!"
"Hmm?!"
The black-robed man's body stiffened instantly, a glint of greed appearing in his eyes.
He desired to cultivate his own spatial contract spirits, which came at an enormous cost. This was precisely why he had been accumulating wealth.
"What's more, you know my identity. Follow me, and you'll be able to turn things around immediately!"
Chen Shu smiled faintly, "I have reputation and I have resources. Do you see me lacking these things?"
"Mmm..."
The black-robed man pondered for a moment and said, "You actually seem to be quite lacking."
"..."
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. Did he see through everything?
"To tell you the truth, I'm now receiving special attention from the Elder, and all domestic resources are at my disposal!"
His tone was filled with temptation. "Do you think nurturing my contract spirits is merely a casual matter?"
"Damn it!"
The black-robed man shook his head. He seemed to be genuinely tempted...
He had joined the Church in the first place to obtain resources, but he actually didn't want to be a pariah on Blue Star.
Now that he had a chance to clear his name, and with abundant resources to splurge on, the temptation was truly irresistible.
"What do you say?"
Chen Shu asked, "Moreover, you know my talent. Following me won't be a loss, right?"
"..."
The black-robed man remained silent. His stance was wavering, yet he felt something was subtly amiss.
"Archbishop, he's the South River Fierce Bandit!"
At this moment, a reconnaissance operative from the Church quickly shouted, "You've made a move against him, and he won't let you go!"
"Hmm?"
Chen Shu's expression turned cold. A 【Pillar of Death】 appeared, hurtling directly towards the two of them.
In an instant, space distorted, instantly redirecting the pillar of fire to another location.
"Almost fooled by you, kid!"
The black-robed man instantly regained his senses. The thought of Chen Shu's vengeful nature made him realize that Chen Shu would surely retaliate and would never truly become friends with him.
"Alas..."
Chen Shu shook his head. In truth, he hadn't expected to successfully sway the other party so easily.
"Verbal persuasion is still unreliable..."
From behind his back, Chen Shu produced a small vial of teleportation potion, preparing for an escape.
"I can actually let you go."
The black-robed man suddenly spoke, "In fact, I can even hand those two over to you for disposal."
"Archbishop!"
The two figures paled in panic, not expecting such a turn of events.
"Silence!"
The black-robed man waved his right hand, forcefully restraining the two.
Their expressions were filled with terror, but they could no longer move, not even able to speak.
"What are the conditions?"
Chen Shu was not surprised. The other party had not made a move all along, clearly having other intentions.
The black-robed man narrowed his eyes and said indifferently,
"Tell me your secret!"
"Secret?"
Chen Shu's heart skipped a beat, and he said in shock,
"You know I blew up your ancestral grave?"
"???"
The black-robed man's expression froze. Are you out of your mind?!
Even I don't know the location of my ancestral grave, and you can find it?!
He took a deep breath and said,
"You, a person with mediocre talent, reaching this height—don't you find it preposterous?"
"So that's what it is..."
Chen Shu shrugged and said,
"People cannot be judged by the same standard. What is preposterous to you is a trivial matter to me."
"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then so be it."
The black-robed man shook his head and said coldly,
"We'll capture you alive and take you back to use contract spirits for mental extraction."