Naimes walked along the village's cobblestone path, and the passing villagers all respectfully saluted upon seeing him.

Naimes also smiled warmly and greeted them kindly.

This was something that had never happened before.

Just like Naimes’ evaluation of Nael, Nael wanted to be a villain but was never thorough in being bad; he wanted to be a good person but lacked the perseverance.

Despite holding goodwill, he sealed himself off with a scowling face, isolating himself and becoming helpless.

In reality, changing people's reputation was not that difficult.

Naimes was certain that those two people from the church—called interns but actually there to inspect—had asked the villagers about him and mostly received overwhelming praise.

With just this alone, he could reduce many troubles.

“So do you understand now?” Tangs followed behind Naimes, already changed into a different set of clothes, hearing Naimes' words clearly in his ear.

“What kind of person you really are doesn’t matter to most people; what matters is the kind of person you show yourself to be.”

Setting up a persona was one of the fastest ways to gain benefits from strangers.

“Most people have limited brains; they often can’t handle complex matters, so those who dislike thinking habitually label others.”

“And then their minds follow those labels to determine how to treat you.”

“Therefore, disguising yourself as the kind of person they like is an effortless way to gain huge rewards.”

Tangs nodded slightly in understanding.

Naimes told Tangs this simply because he didn’t want his subordinate to be too foolish.

Tangs was currently riding high in confidence, and if he lacked even this basic awareness, it could provoke jealousy and cause trouble in the plans he arranged, which would be the biggest loss.

Naimes smiled and nodded at a villager, then arrived at Op’s residence.

Afterward, Naimes informed Op’s servant of his visit.

Op hurried to the door to welcome Naimes.

Inside Op’s study, the servant placed the brewed black tea and snacks on the table, then turned to leave, closing the door behind him.

“Tangs really has good luck. Although he encountered a demon, he unexpectedly opened a path to transcendence and even gained Mr. Nael’s favor,” Op said without asking the purpose of Naimes’ visit, instead sighing while looking at Tangs standing behind Naimes.

This news had only spread yesterday, and Tangs hadn’t told just anyone, but Op already knew, showing how closely Op was watching them.

“I’m just a good person to the end. I can’t turn a blind eye to sins like demons!” Naimes said, speaking of Tangs but with an underlying meaning.

Op caught the slightly ambiguous tone in Naimes’ voice and was about to probe further when Naimes continued.

“After all, in a couple of days, church people will come to inspect. If the work is done well, I can also extricate myself more easily.”

When Naimes finished speaking, sweat began to bead on Op’s forehead.

He hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe it, but his gaze sharpened.

“Oh, then congratulations. This time, Mr. Nael might get promoted and leave our little village,” Op said with a hint of joy after a brief silence.

“Not necessarily,” Naimes laughed out loud. “Besides, even if he could leave, I might not want him to.”

“After all, Mr. Op is such a generous person, which is rare.”

“Just for solving some of my due matters, I’ve already received so many tokens of trust and donations from Mr. Op.”

“Deserved, deserved!” Op was now smiling with a fake grin.

He had already understood the meaning behind Naimes’ words. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel★fire.net

Naimes had found his business and was now letting him handle it cleanly, making the matter look good.

At the same time, the bribes given to Naimes earlier needed to be legitimized, shifting from bribes to tokens of trust and donations.

This was Naimes clearly signaling his intent to distance himself from these matters.

Otherwise, Op would become Naimes’ “due matter.”

However, the threatening implication in his words was not revealed too obviously.

“Today I just came to talk about the tokens of trust and donations, so I won’t bother Mr. Op any longer,” Naimes stood up and took his leave. The tea and snacks the servant brought earlier remained untouched.

“Please stay as long as you like!” Op also stood but did not accompany Naimes to the door as before.

“I haven’t yet triggered the Forgiveness commandment, so it seems the current situation hasn’t reached the point where I forgive Mr. Op,” Naimes thought as he was about to leave, then turned his head toward the shadowy corner.

The Oath Rope sent a signal; a village guard carrying a segment of the Oath Rope was hiding there.

Naimes had come today to stir up the hornet's nest.

He wanted to send a message to make Op prepared for the inspection and arranged for the village guard to lie in wait, searching for the location where Op mined whalehide ore and the involved personnel.

Only after confirming these could Naimes gradually take control.

Then he could decide clearly whether to silence these people to ensure his own safety or help cover it up and pass through the inspection.

Naimes didn’t appear directly but sent the village guard instead, so the matter wouldn’t be directly linked to him on the surface.

“We still don’t have enough manpower,” Naimes thought.

Although Tangs had demonic power, his experience was shallow and prone to mistakes.

Pur was mature for his age, steady and loyal, but his strength was still insufficient.

With this limited manpower, Naimes felt constrained in his actions.

“I still need to develop a secret force, in the form of a cult…” After confirming the importance of his own faith from Pur, Naimes decided to develop his own cult.

But this matter could not be rushed.

Currently, the church of the True God was widespread everywhere.

Any cult not of the True God would face severe crackdowns by the church.

Even if he managed to build a cult with his limited manpower, it would be quickly discovered for lack of tight organization and then be dragged out.

Never underestimate the church’s determination to strike down heretics.

“So first, you need to control your demonic aura,” Naimes decided to proceed step by step, first solving the small problem on Tangs’ body.

“I will pass you the Breath of Holy Commandment. You must endure the pain and practice over and over!”

“Breath of Holy Commandment?!” Kullog, who was feigning death inside Tangs’ body, couldn’t help but question in surprise, “Nael, who exactly are you?!”

The name Breath of Holy Commandment was known even to him, a small demon from the Abyss. After all, its existence was engraved as common knowledge in the demons’ inherited memories.

This was the most advanced breathing technique within the Oath God’s church, said to allow even ordinary people to improve their seed rank, rising from Black Stone grade to Steel Seed.

Except for the saints of the church, basically no one else could master it!