Chapter 57: Thief Saint

The black steel beast sped through the falling snow. Inside the sole passenger compartment, eight enforcers sat in their respective seats, perfectly recreating the scene from when everyone had just boarded.

"We're almost at Winter Harbor," Number 8 said calmly, glancing out the window. "The first phase of the plan is complete. Next, comes the most crucial part..."

This Fire Usurper, Number 8, who was replacing Jiang Qin, seemed to be the leader of the eight. The moment he spoke, everyone who had been idly chatting and cracking melon seeds immediately fell silent.

Chen Ling, who had been pretending to doze, slowly opened his eyes.

"At Winter Harbor, we will rendezvous with new enforcers from other major districts and three escorting enforcers from Aurora City. According to intelligence, one of these three enforcers is a five-stripe, and two are four-stripes. The power gap between us and them is too vast; we absolutely cannot confront them directly. We must conceal our identities. Before we came, I already distributed profiles for each of your replacement characters, detailing their personalities and experiences. You must impersonate them well and avoid causing any trouble, understood?"

"What if other enforcers actively provoke us?" Chen Ling suddenly asked.

"...You'll have to endure it then," Number 8 paused. "This mission is extremely important; there can be no mistakes."

Hearing this, the other Fire Usurpers were clearly displeased, but in the end, they still nodded.

"Number 8, do we really need to be this cautious?" Zhong Yaoguang asked, puzzled. "Didn't they say a Saint of Thieves would be coming to escort and protect us? A Saint of Thieves is a super expert of the Seventh Tier; there are only five of them in the entire Fire Usurper organization... With him here, what are those few enforcers?"

Chen Ling's heart sank. A Saint of Thieves? Seventh Tier?

Although Chen Ling didn't understand what the title "Saint of Thieves" signified, he did understand "Seventh Tier"... Everyone said the path to divinity involved ten tiers to ascend to godhood, so this so-called "Saint of Thieves" was only three steps away from a divine position?

The strongest practitioner of a divine path Chen Ling had seen so far was Han Meng, and he was only at the Fourth Tier.

"A Saint of Thieves?! Really?!" Another Fire Usurper's eyes lit up. "Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Black – which one is coming?"

"White," Number 8 calmly replied. "The Saint of Thieves, White."

Chen Ling clearly felt everyone's breathing grow heavier. When they heard that name, their eyes began to shine!

Chen Ling didn't understand, but he quickly caught on, a look of yearning appearing in his eyes.

"With *that* person here! What is there to be afraid of?! Why don't we just storm the Ancient Vault of the Weapon Path?" someone among them exclaimed.

"Storm the Ancient Vault of the Weapon Path? What do you take the Path of the Weapon God for?" Number 8 glanced at him. "Among the fourteen divine paths in the world, this is the divine path vault representing ultimate slaughter. Do you think a single Saint of Thieves can break into it?"

Everyone fell silent.

"No one in the world can forcefully break into the Ancient Vault of the Weapon Path. To obtain the foundational fragments of the Path of the Weapon God, we can only exploit a loophole in the divine path trials... Otherwise, what would be the point of us? If anything goes wrong before we enter the Ancient Vault of the Weapon Path—for example, if something happens to the three leading enforcers—then Aurora City will immediately close the Ancient Vault of the Weapon Path, and none of us will be able to get in! So, before we enter the vault, you all need to keep a low profile."

"...Understood."

"Usurping the Heavenly Path, seizing the universe, in the name of the Thieving God of the End, the Silver King... May this journey proceed smoothly." Number 8 stood in the center of the carriage, touching his right fingertip to his brow, and spoke devoutly.

At that moment, everyone's expressions turned serious. As if completing a ritual of faith, they too touched their right fingertips to their brows.

"In the name of the Thieving God of the End, the Silver King... May this journey proceed smoothly."

The Thieving God of the End, the Silver King? Chen Ling imitated the others while mentally noting down the title.

This sounded like the deity associated with the Path of the Thieving God, and also seemed to be the Fire Usurpers' belief.

Chen Ling sat in his seat, his gaze fixed on the approaching harbor outside the window, lost in thought.

Aurora City enforcers, Fire Usurper Saints of Thieves... He wondered if the members the Twilight Society sent to meet him would be reliable.

The train slowly came to a stop in the wilderness, over ten kilometers from Winter Harbor.

This train wasn't officially recorded, so it certainly couldn't stop at the station. Number 8 found an abandoned factory warehouse to hide it, and then they walked the rest of the way on foot.

As they approached Winter Harbor, more and more shops and pedestrians appeared around them. Finally, the road began to show some signs of bustling life.

"Hot fried dough sticks, tea eggs, roasted sweet potatoes!" "Tofu pudding, fresh tofu pudding!" "Extra! Extra! The *Aurora Daily*'s latest news: Districts Five and Six suffered heavy damage after the disaster, possibly merging, turning Aurora's seven major districts into six? And the top scandal! The third young master of Aurora City's Constellation Merchant Guild married a famous courtesan, only to discover after sleeping with her that she was his long-lost aunt!" "Hey kid, give me a copy of that newspaper about the third young master and his aunt." "Coming right up!" The boy's clear voice echoed on the street, immediately drawing a large crowd of passersby to buy newspapers. Chen Ling noticed the other Fire Usurpers' ears perk up, seemingly eager to buy a copy themselves.

"Don't get sidetracked," Number 8 glanced at them.

The others shrugged, their spirits dampened.

"Newspapers, magazines, toys, playing cards, care to take a look?" a lazy voice drifted from nearby.

Chen Ling turned his head to see a woman sitting lazily in a dilapidated general store booth, calling out to customers while idly toying with a deck of playing cards.

On the box's cover, a Six of Hearts was clearly visible.

Chen Ling's heart stirred. He then glanced at the group walking towards the harbor, didn't stop, but subtly shifted his gaze and continued forward with them.

The eight people crossed the street and went straight to the harbor, where many figures in enforcer uniforms had already gathered, centered around three enforcers wearing trench coats.

Just as Number 8 had said, a five-stripe and two four-stripes were clearly visible on the hems of their trench coats.

"Hello, I am Jiang Qin, the leading enforcer from District Three," Number 8 stepped forward and respectfully addressed the three enforcers, handing over several documents. "The enforcers from Districts Three, Five, and Six participating in this Ancient Vault of the Weapon Path trial, a total of eight people, are all present."

A four-stripe enforcer's gaze swept over the group. He took the documents and meticulously verified each one.

When they joined the enforcers, they had all left records at headquarters. The enforcer was now cross-referencing their faces with photos, questioning and comparing each person, his sharp gaze cutting across their faces like a knife.

Finally, he nodded slightly and checked off everyone's names on the list.

"Oh, by the way, how did you all get here? The people from District Four haven't arrived by train yet, so how are you already here?" the enforcer suddenly asked.

"We came on yesterday's train," Number 8 said with a slight smile. "They said they hadn't been to Winter Harbor before, so we came a day early to explore. We didn't expect to meet our friends from Districts Five and Six on the way."

"Yes, quite a coincidence," another enforcer from District Five nodded.

"Alright then, you can move around a bit nearby for now. You can board the ship once everyone from District Four arrives... Don't go too far, just within two hundred meters of here."

"Understood."

Hearing this, the other Fire Usurpers exchanged glances and cautiously asked:

"Officer Jiang Qin, can we... go buy newspapers now?"

"...Go ahead."

The few of them turned and walked away.

Chen Ling, hands in his pockets, silently followed behind them.