Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Upon the conference table.

All were seated.

Yet the atmosphere was exceedingly strange.

At least for Mercer, he suddenly realized that within the entire Vanity Sect, he now seemed the weakest.

On the other hand, the newly joined Du Wei...

Carrying a Demon Spirit and possessing unknown trump cards, coupled with his status as His Excellency the Duke.

How could he compare?

His position in the Vanity Sect has always been the lowest, and it remains the same now.

What irritated him most was how damn quickly this integration was happening.

At this very moment.

Looking at Du Wei sitting beside him, masked with an indifferent gaze, Mercer felt even worse.

He couldn't help but speculate inwardly, "Something is off. From what I understand, even though Du Wei is a duke, his character is very upright. How could he fit in so quickly?"

"Could it be that he has been pretending all along?"

"In fact, like us, is he a villain?"

If the envelope could read minds.

It would probably feel it had met a kindred spirit, for in its view, its master Du Wei was the biggest villain in the world, the others...

Merely laughable.

At this time.

Others at the conference table started to speak.

Someone said, "Now that His Excellency the Duke has joined the Vanity Sect, regardless of what you've done before, the Vanity Sect will choose to accept you."

"Conversely, you also need to understand what we are doing."

The speaker was Ferran.

Du Wei recognized his voice and nodded, "Please, go ahead."

Ferran continued, "The Vanity Sect was established after the emergence of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods and the birth of Evil Spirits. We have a history spanning thousands of years."

"Throughout these lengthy eons, there have always been only thirteen members."

"Each of us is a top-notch hunter, and our task is to steal the powers of the Demon Gods, which is something you, Your Excellency the Duke, have done before."

As his words settled,

All eyes turned to Du Wei.

Every gaze bore a certain peculiarity, for in plain terms, they were all treading the path Du Wei had once trod.

And in the known past, this pioneer had failed.

Du Wei saw all these looks and said indifferently, "Stealing the powers of the Demon Gods is our only means of resistance, and only by doing so can we attempt to resolve them."

"Moreover, during a certain period in the past, someone had personally slain a Demon God, so I'm not the first to try."

Ferran nodded and said, "Yes, but that is an unknown past, even the Vanity Church has no accurate record of it. We still acknowledge you a bit more."

"Furthermore, regarding Hell's Gate, everyone except Mercer has entered it."

"Inside, besides obtaining the information we want, we also acquire items related to the Demon Gods, including some things that defy common sense."

"But most of Hell's Gates have been concealed, and we have been painstakingly searching for them."

After speaking, Ferran fell silent.

He looked deeply at Du Wei and knew he could only say so much. Any more would not fit the image he had long established within the Vanity Sect.

It would easily give him away.

As an undercover agent, he had his own set of principles for behavior and handling affairs.

Du Wei understood this.

He feigned curiosity and said, "I have not encountered something like Hell's Gate in my time. My understanding of it is from before my memories were restored."

As he spoke, Du Wei gestured towards Mercer, whose expression subtly changed. He suddenly felt that bringing this man into the Vanity Sect might not have been a wise decision.

"Previously, Mercer gave me a map which recorded an account of a count who walked out of hell, carrying a Golden Scales to seek revenge in the human world."

"Is the hell referred to on there Hell's Gate?"

Someone immediately responded, "Yes, but the Hell's Gate you're talking about was destroyed by the maker of the mask you're wearing. Other Hell's Gates also have various issues."

"So, His Excellency the Duke, after you join the Vanity Sect, you won't encounter too many messy incidents. You only need to search for Hell's Gate, either with us or on your own, and bring some things out from there."

"We want to understand the Demon Gods and then become Demon Gods."

"By then, the whole world will be ours."

Just as he said this, someone interrupted coldly, "Enough, Brand. Let's talk about something else. His Excellency the Duke has just joined us and does not need to be assigned tasks for now."

The interrupted Brand frowned and spoke with a slightly hostile tone, "Gascogne, your habit of interrupting people hasn't changed one bit—in a hundred years. I hope in the next hundred, you will either cut off your tongue or get rid of your bad habit."

Brand's tone was far from courteous.

His relationship with Gascogne had always been poor, and their conflicts, both covert and overt, had become intolerable.

If it weren't for the occasional need for everyone to come together, he would prefer never to see Gascogne in his life.

The man named Gascogne's tone became even colder.

He said, "Before that happens, I will cut off your tongue first."

The others ignored the scene as if they were already accustomed to it.

Only Du Wei's eyes held a subtle expression. He quietly thought to himself, "The relationship between these two seems quite hostile, which might be of some use to me. But I need to verify this, otherwise, it's possible that they are just pretending."

It wasn't just him that enjoyed acting.

Others did as well.

Or rather, anyone who has lived long enough tends to have one facade for the public and another hidden away, unless they truly reach a certain level of power and no longer care to hide.

To the side.

Gascogne looked at Du Wei indifferently, "His Excellency the Duke, I am quite curious about your current state. Have your memories truly been fully restored?"

Du Wei raised an eyebrow, "That's two questions."

Gascogne admitted, "I want to assess your current state because we know you have your own social circle, your friends, your women. Now that you have defected from the Church, I wonder if you still hold any attachments."

"People like us have long since rid ourselves of any emotional weaknesses. We only have goals."

"We hope you can align with us."

Du Wei observed Gascogne and spoke calmly, "I am actually in a state of reincarnation. In the past, I did indeed die, and my memories have not been fully restored."

"For example, I remember having a lover in my previous life, but I simply cannot recall her name."

"As for friends or lovers?"

"I am the Duke, not Du Wei."