To push the God of Thieves to such a pass—what manner of being could possibly stand behind him?

Reviewing the other's every move and expression, Wei Zhao saw it plainly: unless driven to a corner, this God of Thieves would never so lightly break his own rules.

The waters behind this ran deep indeed.

Wei Zhao gave a sudden start.

Could it be that behind this whole affair of the Chief God's fortuitous opportunity, something even deeper lay hidden?

A fortuitous opportunity of the Chief God's caliber is enough to draw every faction in a stampede—it would be no wonder if it stirred even mighty gods into action.

At first glance, what had happened today did not seem altogether unreasonable.

But replay it carefully, and one would find many things out of the ordinary.

In this world, the one thing to dread is laying matters out piece by piece and retracing them backward.

Had he truly, without knowing it, been buried in a pit?

An inexplicable chill crept over Wei Zhao.

Some instinct told him that if the nine entry tokens to the Chief God's mystic realm really were carried off by the God of Thieves just like this, it might not, in the end, be such a bad thing.

The waters were too deep, after all—and with the frame he had now, there was a real chance of drowning.

"Wei Zhao, this god has remembered you."

The God of Thieves gave Wei Zhao a long, deep look, and his divine sense was on the verge of withdrawing from Elder Yuehua's body.

But the very next second, his expression changed abruptly into one of horror: "Impossible!"

He discovered, to his shock, that he was trapped inside Elder Yuehua's body and could not pull free!

The God of Thieves, alarmed and uncertain, looked at Wei Zhao: "Was this your doing?"

Wei Zhao looked just as baffled: "What did I do?"

The God of Thieves was both startled and furious, yet he could also see that with Wei Zhao's means, there was no way the man could trap him.

Their levels were simply what they were.

A mere adept of the one-zhang dharma body, no matter how much he borrowed from the advantage of the Heavenly Command's local field, could not possibly have any real means of restraining a full-fledged God of Thieves.

In an instant, the God of Thieves grasped what was happening.

The only ones who can restrain the gods are the gods themselves.

Or, naturally, a being that stands above the gods.

And in the Heavenly Command, there happened to be precisely one such being.

He looked all around, his voice trembling: "The Chief God of the Circuit?"

Before the words had faded, the figure of an elementary school pupil with a backpack came into everyone's view.

Every eyelid in the crowd twitched.

The feeling this one gave was not that of a sudden arrival, but of having been here all along—only the gulf of level and dimension had kept anyone from perceiving it.

The God of Thieves was all horror: "Why are you here?"

The elementary school pupil looked at him strangely: "This is my territory. If I'm not here, where else would I be?"

"..."

The God of Thieves was briefly speechless.

By any reasonable account, to trespass on the Chief God of the Circuit's territory and run into the Chief God of the Circuit was only to be expected.

But no such step had existed anywhere in his plan.

If he had been fated to meet the Chief God of the Circuit, he would never have shown up here at all.

As the very end of the line among thieves, weighing risk against reward was an instinctive gift carved into his bones.

If this venture had been fated to bring him face to face with the Chief God of the Circuit, then the risk would have far outstripped any potential gain, and he absolutely would not have made a move.

The premise on which he had chosen to act was that someone had told him, plainly and unmistakably, that the Chief God of the Circuit would never appear in person.

Surely he could not have been deceived?

Yet horror aside, the God of Thieves quickly steadied himself: "So what if you do show yourself? A Chief God who has already fallen—could you really threaten this god, a properly registered deity?"

The elementary school pupil unhurriedly peeled a lollipop and turned to Wei Zhao: "There's an idiom, isn't there? Fierce in look but faint in heart—or is it fierce in look, weak within? Is that the one that describes him?"

Wei Zhao smothered a laugh: "Perfectly accurate."

The God of Thieves's face went dark, and for a moment he truly had no retort.

If he were not afraid at all, he would have had no need to say such things.

Whistling while walking through the night—it was purely to bolster his own courage.

The God of Thieves asked in a low voice: "What exactly do you want?"

The elementary school pupil held out one hand: "I don't want anything. I just want you to give back what you stole. Isn't that right?"

The God of Thieves narrowed his eyes: "And if I don't?"

The elementary school pupil looked at him strangely: "What's a thief acting so tough for? Steal something and won't give it back—aren't you afraid I'll beat you to death?"

The God of Thieves was choked speechless once again.

Truth be told, if not for his dread of the one standing behind him, he would have long since handed over the entry tokens and fled.

Even if the other party was a fallen Chief God, before he was utterly reduced to ashes, how many mighty gods would dare take that risk?

Besides, he was the God of Thieves, not the God of War—in terms of raw frontal strength, he had always ranked on the lower rungs among the gods.

Fine for stepping out to bully small fry, but against a hard case he was of no use at all.

Yet if he simply handed the entry tokens over like a good boy, he truly had no way to answer to that person.

The Chief God of the Circuit was not to be trifled with, and neither was the one behind him.

Purely a case of being blocked at both ends.

The elementary school pupil saw his dilemma and said with amusement: "So you're planning to quit being the God of Thieves and switch to being the God of Gamblers? You want to bet I can't beat you to death?"

The God of Thieves gave a cold snort: "You absolutely cannot beat me to death."

The elementary school pupil did not argue: "That much is true. Your true body is still in the divine realm; my hand cannot reach that far, after all—I have already fallen."

But then he shifted tack: "Even so, fallen as I am, choking the life out of this portion of your divine sense is no great problem. Can you afford the loss?"

A struggle flickered in the God of Thieves's eyes.

True, what had descended here was only a portion of his divine sense, but once the divine sense was injured, the true body would inevitably suffer as well.

Even if it would not amount to a grave wound to his vitality, the loss was not something that could be made up in a short time.

Weighed against the reward, such a risk was frankly not worth it.

The God of Thieves steeled himself: "You may not be able to keep this portion of my divine sense here either."

With that, he at once tried to force his way out of Elder Yuehua's body.

Elder Yuehua immediately wailed without ceasing, her face twisted in the utmost agony—at first glance like a vengeful ghost in possession.

Barely a breath later, that agony was replaced by an even more vivid horror.

The God of Thieves looked at the Chief God of the Circuit, ever more wary and aghast: "What exactly have you done to me?"

By rights, even if this portion of his divine sense could not escape the Heavenly Command, it should at least be able to leave Elder Yuehua.

But now, he could not even manage the most basic separation.

The elementary school pupil, lollipop in his mouth, said with a completely earnest face: "Tell me—if I don't wipe out this portion of your divine sense, but instead fuse it with this woman and let her absorb it, what do you think would happen afterward?"

A strange silence fell over the scene.

Wei Zhao and the others exchanged glances, all somewhat at a loss.